VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Voters will decide on a proposed millage increase to fund special education programs for students in a Southwest Michigan county.
The Van Buren County Intermediate School District is asking for a 0.9-mil increase for special education services to operate over the next five years.
An increased millage rate would result in an additional $18 million dollars being raised over the next half decade, with most of the money going toward operational costs in the ISD’s 11 partnering school districts and fixes to current facilities that educate students with disabilties.
ISD officials say that funds will be utilized to increase reimbursement costs for each of the individual districts. The current reimbursement rate for special education programs is $1 million dollars, but with the additional millage money the ISD plans to double the amount to $2 million annually.
A millage flyer circulated by the intermediate district says that $1.7 million of the funding will go toward building rennovations at the special services facility and upgrades to the behavioral education center.
The Van Buren County Intermediate School District serves 11 districts including Bloomingdale, Bangor, Covert, Decatur, Gobles, Hartford, Lawrence, Lawton, Mattawan, Paw Paw and South Haven schools.
