Schools bonds have become a tough sell in Michigan. Not this time

Michigan voters approved school bond requests at a higher rate than past recent elections
Monroe County Community College says it will live within its means after second attempt to renew operating millage fails
Superintendents of districts where bonds did not pass say they are evaluating their options

Michigan voters approved school bonds requests at a slightly higher rate Tuesday than in recent elections.

Voters approved 64.6% of school bond requests, according to a Bridge Michigan analysis of Gongwer News Service election data.

School districts can use bonds to pay for major projects but they must ask voters for permission to borrow money.

In recent years, school bonds have been less popular with voters, despite tax proposals for police, roads, libraries, parks and senior citizens largely passing, according to a joint investigation by Gongwer News Service and Bridge Michigan.

School leaders say they need funds to repair aging buildings, modernize classrooms and expand academic offerings.

Related:

School buildings across Michigan need an estimated $23 billion in renovations and repairs, according to a state-commissioned report released in March. That doesn’t include the state’s nearly 300 charter schools.

Here are five school funding takeaways from the Nov. 4 election.

Passage rate up slightly

The 64.6% approval rate is higher than the 58.3% in August, 49% in May and 62% in last November’s election.

“It seems like a pretty solid year,” said Don Wotruba, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards. But he said leaders in districts where bonds failed are likely looking to see what they can do differently.

Voters approved about $2.37 billion in school bond requests and rejected about $1.12 billion in bonds, according to the Bridge analysis.

You can look up local bond requests and their results in the graphic below.

Results mixed on big asks

Of the five largest school bonds on the ballot, three passed and two failed. Novi, South Lyon and Zeeland schools got voter approval to take out bonds, while Lake Orion and Rockford school district voters rejected bonds.

After 50 years, the high school is due for an update, the Novi district said in a video about the bond.

“With aging infrastructure, antiquated safety design, lack of technology and innovation spaces and an absence of natural light, it no longer matches the energy and creativity of today’s learner.”

But in Lake Orion, voters rejected a $272 million ask to provide “career-ready lab spaces” at the high school, update classrooms across the district, including special education classrooms, and update technology and security.

The district had also pitched updating the Community Education Resource Center to provide an alternative high school setting and support for adult students who receive special education.

The vote was close, with 50.32% of people voting no and 49.68% voting yes, according to unofficial election results from the county.

Community college funding measure fails for a second time in Monroe County

Voters rejected a Monroe County Community College maintenance and improvement millage renewal.

Unofficial election results showed that 15,789 Monroe County voters rejected the measure to 13,512 voters who supported it, or 54% to 46%. The 0.85-mill tax would have continued to cost owners of homes worth $250,000 about $100 per year.

The Monroe County Republican Party campaigned against the millage renewal. College officials told Bridge in August that the GOP opposed how the college responded to a newly expanded civil rights law by providing gender-inclusive bathrooms. In 2024, Michigan expanded the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and the college put up signs outside multistall bathrooms welcoming students to use them based on their gender identity.

MCCC President Kojo Quartey did not address the bathroom issue in a statement after voters rejected the millage renewal request Tuesday, for a second time since last November.

“This outcome does not diminish the value our community places on education,” Quartey said. “I believe the failure of this renewal simply reflects the very real economic pressures many families are facing today. We understand that times are difficult, and we respect the voices of our neighbors who are doing their best to balance personal needs with public priorities.”

“MCCC will continue to live within the means provided by voters, stewarding every resource with care, creativity, and transparency,” the president continued. “However, the unfortunate reality is that the failure of the millage renewal will limit our ability to respond swiftly to the evolving needs of our students, our workforce, and our region.”

Intermediate school district results mixed

The Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District and Barry Intermediate School District failed to get operating millage increases.

But voters approved a Washtenaw Intermediate School District millage increase to create a career and technical education program.

Across the state, there were 23 school operating millage renewals on the ballot. Voters approved 86.4% of proposals.

There were three operating millage increase requests. Requests from East Jordan Public Schools and Ecorse Public Schools passed, while Oxford Community Schools’ request was rejected.

When voters reject a bond, leaders go back to the drawing board

Sara Croney, superintendent of Gwinn Area Schools near Marquette, told Bridge Wednesday morning she is trying to figure out what comes next after voters rejected a $48 million bond.

This was the fourth time voters have rejected a bond in recent years, but Croney said the district needs funds to replace the roof on the middle and high school building, saying it “could fail any time.”

She spoke with community members Wednesday morning, and the group urged her to hire a firm to survey residents on what they would be willing to pay for. They also urged her to wait until the next November election to bring forth another proposition to the voters.

“But I feel like I’m playing Russian roulette because the roof could go at any time. Any time. Then what do we do?”

In Richmond Community Schools, Superintendent Brian Walmsley told Bridge he knew the vote would be close and he wonders if economic uncertainty around the federal government shutdown affected voters. He said families are hurting with the pause on federal food benefits known as SNAP.

Voters’ “personal situation” determines “whether they vote yes or no,” Walmsley said.

He said the building for fourth through eighth grade students is out of space, with every classroom used and a stage being used for class time too. He said he is not sure what is next yet.

“We’re processing it, we’re trying to understand the reasons why.”