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Alpena -- Voters across Alpena, Montmorency, and Alcona counties will consider a renewal of the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District (AMA ESD)
special education millage on the upcoming November 3 ballot.
The millage was originally approved in 1989 and has been renewed four times since. The ballot proposal requests a continuation of the current rate of 1.2872 mills covering 2027 through 2036.
This rate is lower than the 1.3318 mills approved by voters during the previous renewal in 2016.
The AMA ESD partners with Alpena Public Schools, Alcona Community Schools, Atlanta Community Schools, and Hillman Community Schools, and many of the programs and services
funded by the millage are delivered directly within the local school districts.
AMA ESD Superintendent Justin Gluesing said the district is focused on providing residents with clear information about the millage and the programs and services it funds.
"We want residents to understand how the revenue is used across our three-county service area," Gluesing said. "We are focused on making sure voters have a clear picture of what the
millage funds, who receives those services, and how the revenue is distributed throughout the
AMA ESD region."
The funding generated by this millage is used in three primary areas:
● Pied Piper School and Specialized Classroom Programs: The millage helps fund
programming at Pied Piper School, which serves students with moderate-to-severe
cognitive impairments, severe multiple impairments, and autism. This includes the
early childhood special education and emotional impairment programs housed within
our local districts.
● Special Education Services: The millage helps fund in-home and school-based
special education services, including physical, occupational, and speech therapy,
school psychological and social work services, behavioral support, Early On and early
intervention programming, and post-secondary planning.
● Direct District Financial Assistance to Local Districts: The millage helps reimburse
local school districts to offset special education costs. Since 2016, the AMA ESD has
distributed more than $12,000,000 back to our local public school districts.
"The proposed renewal is for 10 years, which is consistent with the previous two renewals approved
by voters," Gluesing added. "Given the election costs associated with placing a proposal on the
ballot, we also wanted to be mindful of those expenses while maintaining a term that has been
familiar to voters in past renewals."
To learn more about the renewal or the services provided by the AMA ESD, visit the AMA ESD’s website (amaesd.org) and click on the "Millage Renewal" link at the top of the page.