At the July 9 meeting of the Alpena Lions Club, District Governor Dave Zeller presented Lion Scott Foerstner with the Lions Club International Centennial Service Challenge Patch for 2017-2018.

Superintendent Scott Reynolds of the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District (AMA-ESD), and Melissa Cook, AMA-ESD business manager, were the speakers at the meeting.

Program chair for the meeting was Mark Sandula.

Cook began the program by discussing how the tax dollars, generated from the millage, are allocated among the four counties they serve. Reynolds expanded on the services that the counties receive, breaking it down into special education services, other instructional services and non-instructional services.

Reynolds went on to explain how important the local millage is to the AMA-ESD.

“The majority of special education services the AMA-ESD provides are the responsibility of the local school district, and required by law,” Reynolds said. “Local districts pay nothing for these services, which are provided by AMA-ESD as a result of funding — including the Special Education Millage. The absence of such support could eliminate the annual payout to districts, as well as requiring a charge for those services.”