As voters prepare for the November 3 election, Hemlock Public School District is continuing its effort to provide clear, factual information about Michigan school finance and the district's non-homestead operating millage renewal.
Michigan's system for funding public schools can be complicated. District revenue comes from several sources, including state funding, local property taxes, federal programs, grants, and voter-approved millages. Each source has its own purpose, restrictions, and requirements.
One important piece of that system is the non-homestead operating millage, which Hemlock voters will consider for renewal this November.
Under Michigan's Proposal A school funding structure, local operating property tax revenue is combined with state funding to help provide a school district's per-pupil foundation allowance. School districts levy up to 18 mills on property that is not exempt from the local school operating tax.
For homeowners, one distinction is especially important: a qualifying owner-occupied principal residence is exempt from this local school operating millage.
The November proposal is also not a new tax. It is a four-year renewal of an existing operating millage currently supporting Hemlock Public School District.
For Hemlock, the millage generates nearly $3 million each year. That revenue is already part of the district's operating budget and helps fund the everyday work of educating students, including classroom instruction, staffing, student services, transportation, technology, utilities, maintenance, and other regular school operations.
"This is one of those areas where understanding the structure matters," Superintendent Don Killingbeck said. "Nearly $3 million in annual operating revenue is significant, but it is also important for residents to understand what those dollars are, where they come from, and what they support. School finance is more than a collection of numbers. Those numbers ultimately translate into teachers, programs, transportation, technology, student support, and opportunities for kids."
The operating millage is different from a school bond. Operating revenue supports the district's regular annual expenses, while bond proceeds are restricted to specific capital purposes identified in the ballot proposal and permitted under Michigan law.
Over the coming weeks, Hemlock Public School District will continue breaking down school finance into understandable pieces, including how Proposal A works, which properties are affected by the operating millage, how the revenue is used, and how the district's two November ballot proposals differ.
"Our goal is not to make school finance sound simple when it isn't," Killingbeck said. "Our goal is to make sure people have good information, understand the context, ask questions, and know what they are voting on before they cast their ballot."
Community members are encouraged to learn more, ask questions, and review information related to the November proposals on the Hemlock Public School District election webpage.