Passage of the millage would restore the total district and county tax rate for education paid by homeowners closer to a level consistent with what citizens found in the past was required to maintain quality public education. The current district and county tax rate for education within AAPS is 11.4 mills. (Please see explanatory note at the conclusion of this essay.) This total is comprised of 4.4 mills for the district’s operating budget (limited by state law), 2.0 mills for district capital bond payments, 1.0 for the district sinking fund, and 4.0 for services (98 percent for special needs students) provided by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD). Passage of the proposed countywide millage would increase the total tax rate for homeowners to 13.4 mills.

The current tax rate for district and county education paid by homeowners is low by historical standards. The provisions of Proposal A forced a steady decline in the tax on homeowners for the district’s operating budget from 11.4 mills in 1994 to 4.4 mills today. Citizens welcomed the decline in the property tax rate on homeowners. However, the failure of the state to fulfill its promise implicit in Proposal A to fill the gap created by the decline in district operating levies has left supporters of public education worried for the future of our students and our community. The AAPS are struggling to maintain the high quality of the past in this fiscal environment.

In more detail, the total district and county tax rate for education paid by homeowners was in the range of about 14-15 mills in the late 1990s. The total rate fell into a range of about 12-13 mills in 2000-2005 and has subsequently declined further to 11.4-12.2 mills in 2006-2009.

In conclusion, passage of the proposed millage would increase the total district and county tax rate for education paid by homeowners in the AAPS District to 13.4 mills. This rate would be comparable to that paid by homeowners about ten years ago and less than that paid by homeowners in the mid and latter 1990s. We citizens of today in the AAPS District have the opportunity on November 3 to demonstrate we place the same high priority on quality public education as did those in the mid and late 1990s.

Explanatory Note: Some writers include the state mandated 6 mills education tax in their discussion of local taxes for education. Because this essay focuses on local decisions and not on state decisions, it does not include the state education tax. Those readers who prefer to include this tax should adjust upward by 6 mills the millage rates cited below. This adjustment will not affect changes in the millage rate over time, which is the concern of this piece.