THE ANN ARBOR Board of Education is asking voters to approve a proposed five-year renewal of its 1 mill sinking fund millage. That means the owner of a home with a taxable value of $200,000 would pay $100 per year. By law, funds captured from the millage may not pay for technology or salaries for teachers and administrators. The funds would go toward specific improvement projects, including HVAC and athletic field improvements.
Should voters renew the sinking fund millage, $7.4 million dollars would be collected in the first year. It is reasonable to supplement the district’s operating fund, particularly in light of the Snyder administration’s lackluster commitment to funding public education. It’s equally important to keep in mind that the city’s residents have raised questions over the past several years about how district officials budget, spend and account for both local and state funds. The question is whether the new superintendent is proactively addressing those concerns. Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift has offered no specifics about how the budgeting process will unfold next year, or whether she will push to adopt zero-based budgeting. She has promised that the process will include “full community engagement.”