Courtesy Photo Students participate in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs in the Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District.

Six out of 10 districts in the Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District (COP ESD) do not have access to Career and Technical Education programs (CTE), but a millage to be voted on in November could provide those districts with top-of-the-line programs.

All three districts in Presque Isle County are part of the six lacking CTE programs: Posen Consolidated Schools, Rogers City Area Schools, and Onaway Area Community School District. The lack of access to programs makes the area a CTE desert.

Jamie Huber, superintendent of COP ESD, said that CTE provides an opportunity for students to connect with Northeast Michigan employers and move on to start their careers locally.

“Research shows that when students take CTE programs, they have higher graduation rates,” Huber said.

There are 56 ESDs in the state, and the COP ESD is third to the bottom of the list in the amount of taxes it levies, he said.

“It takes resources to make changes for students,” Huber said.

Given the need for skilled workers and skilled trades, it’s important to have CTE opportunities available to students. Huber said the approach is to look at adding one or more CTE programs in districts in the ESD that currently lack them. Districts will be able to work together to provide access to programs in neighboring districts.

“Collectively, we can do this better together than any one district on their own,” Huber said.

Huber said the ESD sent out a survey to registered voters back in 2024, and the response suggested that voters and employers would like to see an expansion of CTE offerings.

COP ESD is currently one of 15 education service districts throughout Michigan without a CTE millage, according to the COP ESD’s millage proposal web page.

If approved, 100% of the revenue generated by the levy for the next six years would support the expansion and enhancement of vocational education programs in schools throughout the region, according to the web page.

​Under the proposal, industry partners would advise COP ESD and local school districts on CTE curriculum and program development to align student learning with the current and emerging needs of the regional workforce.

The ballot language reads as follows:

“Shall Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District, State of Michigan, come under sections 681 to 690 of the Revised School Code, as amended, and establish an area career and technical education program, which is designed to encourage the operation of area career and technical education programs, including for vocational training purposes, if the annual property tax levied for this purpose is limited to 1 mill ($1.00 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a period of 6 years, 2026-2031, inclusive; the estimated of the revenue that Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2026 is approximately $4,824,559 from local property taxes authorized herein?”

Voting will take place on Nov. 4 in Otsego, Presque Isle, and Cheboygan counties. Voters could be asked to renew the six-year millage before it sunsets in 2031.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.