Allen's speech to the East China School Board on September 23rd:

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Good Evening,

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I am here to speak about the latest tax scheme that the school board decided to put on the November 5th ballot.

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According to Zillow, the average home value in the school district ranges from $213,000 to $362,000 depending on the zip code. This means the average increase in taxation would be from $290 to $490.

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I do not need to tell you the impact that inflation has had throughout our area, but that is not the only argument against the largest proposed tax increase in the school district’s history. In 2020, voters approved a bond tax proposal to the tune of over $112,000,000 as you know, which the superintendent of the school district claimed was a comprehensive all-inclusive update of all facilities in the district. This significantly freed up monies in the general fund.

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Speaking of the general fund, even with less staff and students, the state has significantly increased the foundation allowance each year of the last four years. According to Munetrix, the district’s general fund has jumped from $44,000,000 to well over $50,000,000 in revenue in one year. Even with this additional funding, the district leadership refuses to set aside more money for a rainy day.

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In 2022, voters voted down (for the first time ever) a renewal of the sinking fund tax which was set at .3992 mills, which brought in between $600,000$700,000 per year. When they tried to sneak that election by in May (costing taxpayers nearly $70,000 in special election fees), they claimed that was sufficient to upkeep district buildings. I still disagree and believe that they have more than enough in the general fund and the millions taxpayers just shelled out for the massive bond tax project, but that was what they said at the time.

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After that failure, they are now asking for well over 6x that amount they originally requested at 2.75 additional mills. This is a slap in the face. This new proposal would bring in over $6,000,000 per year for 10 years, right after voters voted to 100% update facilities, freeing up general fund cash that they could set aside for repairs. There is still over $2.6 million in the sinking fund “fund balance” according to the most recent school district audit report.

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This amount makes no sense and notice that no one is explaining the “need” for this. Is this another attempt to combine high schools? I am not sure what the scheme is, but it is not to “maintain buildings”, they have more than enough in their general fund to do that, not to mention the $2.6 million just sitting there in the sinking fund.

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Some will point to our millage rates and ask why some districts are higher than ours. We have the highest taxable value, it’s not even close (which determines the bond tax rate.) According to the county we have a higher taxable value than Marysville, Algonac, Memphis, Yale and Capac school districts combined. We also have a higher taxable value than the Port Huron Area School District which is well over double our size in student population and staff. So, with that in consideration, we pay more in taxes than most of these districts.

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The fact is most school districts in the state do not have a “sinking fund” to begin with. Especially, if they just got done passing an over $112,000,000 bond tax. Most people, I assume do not mind paying more in taxes, but not for nothing.

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In closing, thank you for taking the time to listen to the other side of the story and I appreciate your time and consideration. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out. I urge you and every citizen of the East China School District to get out and exercise their right to vote.