Voters renew AMA ESD special education millage
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ALPENA - Voters in the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District on Tuesday renewed the special education millage that supports students with disabilities across the region.
The 1.2872-mill renewal passed 9,974 to 4,829, or 67.38% in favor, according to unofficial results from county clerks in the district. The ESD covers Alpena, Montmorency and Alcona counties, and the totals combine results from more than one county. Results are unofficial until certified by each county’s board of canvassers.
The renewal continues at the current rate for 10 years, from 2027 through 2036. The ESD estimates it will collect about $3,536,404 in 2027, according to the ballot language.
Because it is a renewal, property owners will see no increase from the millage. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. At 1.2872 mills, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $50,000 pays about $64 a year, and a home with a taxable value of $100,000 pays about $128.72.
The millage was first approved in 1989 and had been renewed four times before Tuesday’s vote. The current rate is lower than the 1.3318 mills voters approved in the previous renewal in 2016, according to The Alpena News.
The ESD partners with Alpena Public Schools, Alcona Community Schools, Atlanta Community Schools and Hillman Community Schools, and many of the programs the millage funds are delivered inside those districts, according to The Alpena News.
The millage helps pay for programs at Pied Piper School, which serves students with moderate to severe cognitive impairments, severe multiple impairments and autism, along with early childhood special education and emotional impairment programs housed in local districts. It also helps fund physical, occupational and speech therapy, school psychological and social work services, behavioral support, Early On and early intervention programs, and post-secondary planning.
The millage also reimburses local districts for part of their special education costs. Since 2016, the ESD has distributed more than $12 million to local public school districts, The Alpena News reported.
Before the election, AMA ESD Superintendent Justin Gluesing said the district wanted voters to understand how the money is spent.
“We want residents to understand how the revenue is used across our three-county service area,” Gluesing said in a Sept. 10 news release reported by The Alpena News.
In the same release, Gluesing explained the length of the request.
“The proposed renewal is for 10 years, which is consistent with the previous two renewals approved by voters,” he said. “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.”
The current millage expires with the 2026 tax levy. The renewal takes effect with the 2027 levy.