In the midst of trying to sort out the muddle of school funding it's easy to forget that we need to vote today.
In Leland we vote every year to approve a Headlee Amendment override. The easy way to understand this one is to say "Vote yes, or we won't have an operating budget next year." The state budget assumes that we can pass this one; if we couldn't pass it we would only get a small fraction of our per pupil grant. Other districts in the area vote on this every 3 years. Leland puts it before the voters annually.
In Suttons Bay they are voting to approve a .25 mil sinking fund. This is an additional tax that will fund building maintenance. School districts may no longer ask for additional millages for operating costs, but they can ask the voters for additional money for maintenance. More schools are turning to sinking funds as a way to take pressure off their operating budgets.
I think of our school boards and administrators as playing some sick game of Twister, trying to satisfy more requirements from more agencies with revenues that they can only guess at. We can support our public schools today with a quick trip to the polls.
Starting this year, school elections are at your regular polling place, not at the school. In Leland it is the Fire Hall. Polls are open until 7 pm.
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