Voters in Cheboygan, Otsego and Presque Isle counties will have a millage proposal on the ballot this November to try to make career and technical education courses available to all students throughout the region.
If approved, the Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District’s 6-year, one mill proposal would be collected from 2026-2031. The funding would enable school districts in the COPESD the ability to offer more career and technical education (CTE) courses and allow for students to travel within the ESD for courses at other schools.
Of the 10 school districts supported by the ESD, only four currently offer CTE courses. According to education officials, this means the region is considered a “CTE desert.” COPESD Superintendent Jamie Huber said the hope of the millage is to expand offerings to all students in the district.
“It’s really all about creating and expanding opportunities for students to connect to their futures with employers that are right here in our three-county region,” Huber said.
The millage funding would be used in its entirety to expand CTE offerings for local schools.
Huber said the ESD has created a steering committee consisting of business owners and community members who are looking to help build the local workforce. Many discussions have also stemmed from various vocational academies and camps offered by the ESD.
According to information from the COPESD, a 2024 survey showed that 94% of respondents said their plans to expand CTE offerings were a good idea.
In addition, 67% of respondents acknowledged a growing need for high school graduates to have CTE-related skills and 69% of respondents indicated likely support for a potential tax increase of up to one mill to fund CTE program opportunities.
The COPESD serves Cheboygan Area Schools, Gaylord Community Schools, Inland Lakes Schools, Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, Mackinaw City Public Schools, Onaway Area Community Schools, the Posen Consolidated School District, Rogers City Area Schools, the Vanderbilt Area School District and the Wolverine Community School District.
According to the release, the COPESD is just one of 15 educational service districts in the state without a CTE millage in place. There are 56 service districts total.
For more information on the millage proposal, visit cteforcop.org.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: ‘Expanding opportunities’: COPESD seeks approval for CTE millage to increase courses
Reporting by Karly Graham, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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