On the Aug. 4 primary ballot, Detroit Public Schools Community District is asking Detroit voters to OK Proposal S, an administrative change for the 2026-27 school year that will allow the district to levy a crucial operating millage.
We urge Detroiters to vote YES on Proposal S.
Prop S doesn’t introduce an additional tax, nor will it increase the current tax rate. It simply allows DPSCD to collect the 18 mills now levied by Detroit Public Schools ‒ generating about $120 million annually ‒ on business, rentals and other non-homestead properties.
Confused? This administrative tangle dates back to the Michigan Legislature’s 2016 DPS restructuring, due to the financial stress the district was under. The Legislature created two entities, DPS and DPSCD. DPS ‒ the old district ‒ exists only to collect tax revenue generated and pay the old district’s operating and capital debt, while newly created DPSCD educates children.
Because the operating millage was diverted to DPS, each year the state backfilled $120 million required to operate the district from the Michigan 1998 tobacco settlement fund.
DPS expects to pay off that debt in September, and the state is planning to end its annual subsidy, creating a financial situation of some urgency.
Proposal S switches taxing authority for the 18 mills now levied by DPS to DPSCD, and the administrative switch will keep the district’s budget whole.
The millage is estimated to generate approximately $112 million in 2026, and is not levied on homeowners.
DPSCD, the largest public school district in the state, has made progress under the leadership of Dr. Nikolai Vitti and the district’s elected board, but there is still more work to do. Detroiters can’t afford to blow a hole in the district’s budget ‒ especially when approving Proposal S will essentially preserve the fiscal status quo.
How to vote in Michigan
Local clerks mailed absentee ballots to Michigan voters June 25. Registered voters may cast ballots early, in person, in some Michigan communities starting July 6, and statewide from July 25 to Aug. 2 ‒ check with your local clerk for your city’s early voting start date, location of early voting sites and absentee ballot dropboxes for absentee. And, of course, you can vote ‒ and register to vote ‒ in person on Aug. 4, Election Day.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroiters should vote yes on school millage switch | Endorsement
Reporting by Detroit Free Press Editorial Board, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Detroit Free Press Editorial Board, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
