Oakland County school millage voters were narrowly rejecting a proposed 1.5-mill countywide tax increase early Wednesday, with the no side ahead 51%-49% as ballots continued to be counted. About 330,500 ballots had been tallied, or roughly 91% of precincts reporting, after the lead had changed during the night.
At 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, the yes side led by about 500 votes. By 3 a.m. Wednesday, the margin had moved the other way, leaving the outcome close enough that each new batch of ballots could still matter for homeowners and districts across Oakland County.
Erin Reynoso at Berkley City Hall
Erin Reynoso, a teacher in Southfield Public Schools and parent in the Berkley School District, said she voted for the countywide measure and dropped her absentee ballot just after 5 p.m. outside Berkley City Hall. She said she is always a "yes" vote when a school system asks voters for money.
"We just have to make Michigan a better place to be a teacher because I've seen who's coming behind me. There's no one," she said after voting. Reynoso added, "Teachers coming in now don't even get a pension as I have. So there has to be some other sort of carrot."
Oakland County millage numbers
The proposal would have lasted six years and added $125 million a year for Oakland schools in its first year. A home with a taxable value of $300,000 would have paid an estimated $450 a year for the dedicated millage, and the money would have been shared among districts based on student population.
That works out to about $781 per student. The first dollars would have become available in December and the millage would have ended in 2032, giving districts a set window for operating revenue rather than a permanent tax stream.
Qua Glenn on school spending
Qua Glenn, a Meijer worker from Waterford Township, said he voted for the millage to make sure schools have enough money and enough supplies. He described his older son's school as "very hands-on" and said, "We want to make sure we can keep on giving stuff like that to other kids as well."
The proposal was described as an Oakland Countywide school enhancement millage intended to help schools compete for teachers and keep up with inflation, while officials said the money could be used for any operational purpose. That open-ended spending authority became part of the debate: supporters argued districts need the flexibility, while critics questioned why the measure did not require the money to be spent in one specific way.
Oakland County's request was lower than the nearly 2 mills on the books in Wayne County and the 1.8 mills in Macomb County. Wayne County's millage is estimated to generate $108 million annually, while Macomb County's brings in $55 million a year; about half of the counties in Michigan have a school enhancement millage.
The final result remained pending as more ballots could still be counted. If the no side holds the edge, the proposal falls short; if the remaining ballots move the vote back, Oakland County school millage supporters still have a path to approval.
