Operational millage request explained by school officials
Operation ?get the word out to the voting public? is under way. Members of the Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education, administrators, staff, and many people associated with the district are preparing to spread the word about the June 14 election, which will include two millage requests and the election of two school board members. The first of the two millage proposals is a renewal of 16.8701 mills on non-homestead property, while the second, a Headlee override, would get the millage rate back up to the 18 mills approved by local voters 10 years ago.
If approved, the district would be able to collect the full foundation grant of $6,700 per pupil. If both fail, in a worse case scenario, it could lead to the elimination of busing, athletics, a reduction of support staff and administration, and the layoff of 20 to 25 teachers. Class sizes also would increase. It?s a grim forecast, but for school officials, it places the importance on the issues passing.
THE FIRST AREA of concern for superintendent Bob Szymoniak is to get correct information to district voters. ?There?s a lot of misinformation out there,? said Szymoniak. ?What I?m hearing from the folks in the townships is that the misinformation is focused on a couple of things. ?People have the belief that this millage is for us to build a second gym, and it is not. This millage is for operation, to do what we can to maintain the level of programming that we have.? Szymoniak also said the millage request is for non-homestead property only. If the only property a person owns in the Onaway school district is the one they live on, the ballot question will have no impact on them. ?This millage only impacts non-homestead property,? Szymoniak stressed. The superintendent and other school officials have been attending local township meetings explaining the upcoming election.
Another way the district intends to get the information out is with a public forum in the Onaway High School cafeteria, April 29 at 7 p.m. A second forum may be conducted in May, and the publishing of a couple of newsletters is planned. ?We need to get accurate information out. I?ll make home visits, whatever needs to be done. This has to happen for the benefit of our kids. I need your help folks,? Szymoniak told the crowd of about 30 at Monday?s board meeting.
THE BOARD APPROVED the June ballot language and Szymoniak spent several minutes explaining it. Szymoniak said the Headlee situation went into effect in 2000 when property taxes in the district increased faster than the rate of inflation. From then on, the millage decreased to its current level of 16.8 mills and the entire rate allowed by the state was no longer being collected. ?That?s what the election in June is about, to renew the current 16.8 mills on non-homestead property, then to ask the voters to approve the Headlee override which would be for 1.299,? said Szymoniak. ?We are asking for 2.9 mills, which will take us over 18 mills when you add the two millages together,? said Szymoniak. ?We cannot collect more than the 18 mills. The difference between the 18 mills and what we are asking to approve will erode over time. Our hope is that by the time this millage is up over 10 years, it will not have eroded below 18 mills.? The purpose of asking for 2.9 mills is to ensure that the district can collect 18 mills for 10 years. ?What you are actually approving for the immediate year, following this election, is 1.299 mills,? said Szymoniak.
TO BETTER describe the impact on taxpayers, Szymoniak said a person owning a hunting camp, which has a state equalized value of $30,000, and the renewal passes, they?ll continue paying what they?ve been paying. If the override is appro
?It does appear as if it?s a new tax,? said Szymoniak. ?Folks it is a renewal of the tax. The current millage that has run for 10 years is gone, so Onaway, in effect, is collecting zero mills.? The superintendent and business manager Rod Fullerton welcome any questions from the public.