Special Education Millage Renewal Put Before Kalamazoo County Voters

*Kalamazoo, MI* — Kalamazoo County voters will decide whether to continue special education funding for local school districts at the May 5 election.

The Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency is asking voters to renew a special education millage to fund special education programs in KRESA's nine school districts.

The millage was first passed in 2015 and renewed in 2021. If passed, KRESA would levy 1.5 mills, generating $16.8 million over six years.

The millage rate equates to a $1.50 tax on each $1,000 of a property's taxable valuation. A resident with a $200,000 home with a $100,000 taxable value would continue paying $150 each year toward the millage.

The proposal will be on the ballot for all voters who live within any of those nine school districts:

  • Climax-Scotts Community School District
  • Comstock Public Schools
  • Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools
  • Gull Lake Community Schools
  • Kalamazoo Public Schools
  • Parchment School District
  • Portage Public Schools
  • Schoolcraft Community Schools
  • Vicksburg Community Schools

KRESA Superintendent Dedrick Martin told Kalamazoo Public Schools trustees to start talking about the vote.

"We're talking about things that are federally mandated and what we have realized between the state and the federal funding, it's not enough to cover the cost," Martin said.

Martin explained that if the special millage did not exist, school districts would have to cut into other programs or services to fund them.

"And what we are asking for is 1.5 renewal, this is not an increase, this has been passed two other times before," Martin said.

The funds would support public school academies and the nine districts in KRESA's coverage area.

"The millage would cover 100% of school districts' federally mandated special education services. That equates to $492 a student," Martin said.

Without the millage, school districts would have to use general fund dollars to cover special education costs.

"In most situations, that cost will come at the expense of other non-special education programs," Martin said. "Examples include cutting athletics and arts programs or laying off staff members to free up funding."

Martin warned that if the millage isn't passed, districts would "lose hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars overnight."

The millage is a continuation of the 1.5 mill tax rate voters approved in 2021. Since 2021, the tax rate has fallen to 1.4862 mills because of Headlee rollbacks.

Headlee rollbacks reduce millage rates if the value of property increases faster than inflation.

The Portage trash referendum is another hotly contested item on the May 5 ballot.

Voters can register to vote up until April 20, 2026, the 15th day before the election. After that, residents can register in person at their local clerk's office through May 5.

Absentee ballots must be requested by 5 PM on April 30, 2026, if requesting by mail. Residents can request and vote an absentee ballot in person at their clerk's office until 4 PM on May 4.

Absentee ballots must be returned to the clerk's office by 8 PM on Election Day, May 5.

For further information on the Special Education Millage, voters can contact Kalamazoo RESA at communications@kresa.org.