MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — An election proposal local schools say is critical: The Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) will ask voters to approve millions in special education funding via a millage request on the May ballot.
The money, administrators said, would patch a decades-old gap.
“For over 40 years, there has been this gap,” MAISD’s Carlie Parker said.
As associate superintendent of special education, Parker oversees around 4,000 students enrolled in district-wide special education programming.
“The districts always do what they need to do,” she said. “But there's more we can do for all of those students.”
Getting the funding in place, she explained, had been a routine hurdle for decades.
“Districts have to make difficult financial decisions on what that money that they have in their general fund is going to be spent on,” Parker said. “Each year special education does take a significant portion.”
That’s because federal and state education dollars only cover a portion of the annual cost.
The resulting shortfall, according to MAISD figures, tops an estimated $20 million.
Without a dedicated local source of revenue to make up the difference, the dollar amount has widened over the years.
“Muskegon Area Intermediate School District is the only one who can put a countywide special education millage on the ballot,” Parker said. “That is why districts have not done so individually, even though they are all fiscally impacted by the underfunding of special education.”
The proposal on the May ballot would boost the amount collected under the district’s current rate, expected to bring in an estimated $8.7 million in new funding through 2031.
On its website, MAISD highlighted the potential cost savings to individual districts.
According to official estimates, districts would save:
- Fruitport: $1.25 million
- Holton: $310,000
- Mona Shores: $1.44 million
- Muskegon: $1.49 million
- North Muskegon: $296,000
- Oakridge: $663,000
- Orchard View: $861,000
- Ravenna: $296,000
- Reeths-Puffer: $1.61 million
- Whitehall: $695,000
- Muskegon Covenant: $27,000
- Muskegon Heights Academy: $227,000
- Muskegon Montessori: $25,000
- Three Oaks Academy: $77,000
- Timberland Academy: $150,000
“It is at a cost to our community,” Parker said. “We believe that the community of Muskegon County supports education for students and we believe that they understand when we invest in children, we invest in our global community.”
The district said a study recently showed around 62% of those polled signaled they would vote yes.
If it does receive the green light in May, the millage would cost the owner of a $100,000 home approximately $88 extra every year for the next decade.
For additional resources and frequently asked questions, visit the MAISD website.
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