Changing Seasons in School Funding

As I rounded the corner, there it was a beautiful mix of colors and sizes of plants.  At the edge of the road grew bright yellow goldenrods, immediately behind them was a cluster of wheat grass just beginning to turn brown and standing tall behind them was a group of reeds and cattails.  That scene was only three weeks ago.  Last week, the goldenrods were gone and the wheat grass had withered.  The bright spot in the landscape was the vibrantly decorated trees! 

 This time as I rounded the corner and cruised up the hill the brightly colored leaves were peaking over the edge of the road, lightly waving in the fall breeze.  Each day as I have driven up that incline I have noticed the trees becoming more vibrant with their leaves almost leaping off of their branches, bursting with color!

 

Just as the colors of the leaves have gone from green to a rainbow of reds, oranges and yellows and the season has changed, so has the way schools are funded and the amount of funding received from the state. It all began in November 1978, when Michigan voters approved the Headlee Amendment which was considered earth-shaking tax reform in those days. 

Following the passage of the Headlee Amendment, the next step in school funding reform was in March of 1994, when state voters approved school-finance reform legislation (Proposal A), which replaced local property taxes with state level taxes, principally the sales tax. Proposal A revamped how schools would be funded and also provided educational reforms. Proposal A promised a minimum per pupil foundation allowance, more equity among local school districts, lower property taxes and more school accountability.  Proposal A dramatically decreased the amount of property taxes paid by Michigan residents and limited future increases.

Property is now determined by the state to be homestead or non-homestead. Homestead property is considered to be a Michigan resident’s home. Business property, rental housing, and vacation homes are considered to be non-homestead property. Property that is not a homestead and not qualified agricultural property can be assessed up to an additional 18 mills for local school operating purposes.

The result of the school funding reform has achieved less than stellar results as of late.  In 2003, the minimum school foundation allowance was $6700 per pupil and was designed to narrow the spending gap between low and high spending school districts.  Now, nine years later the foundation allowance received by the Columbia School District is only $6966 per pupil.  While Proposal A was ground breaking legislation and allowed the major share of the tax burden to be lifted from homeowners, the funding allowance for our district has not continued to increase much over the past several years.  In fact, funding for our district was rolled back from $7316 in 2011.  This year we remain a whopping $350 below the 2011 level.  Meanwhile we have tightened our budget, costs have risen and the loss of funding per pupil is crippling. 

Currently those who have property which is classified as non-homestead are levied 18 mills for local school operating purposes.  On November 6^th, Columbia School District will have the renewal of the 18 mill non-homestead property tax on the ballot.  Please remember that this renewal does not apply to a Michigan resident’s home or qualified agricultural property and the renewal is essential to fund learning opportunities for our children. 

If you have questions about this article or how you may partner with the Columbia School District or please email me at Pamela.Campbell@myeagles.org or call me at 517.592.6641.