One of the most prominent issues of this election is the $2.3 million Special Education Millage Renewal Proposal. A millage is a property tax that funds school districts – his proposal would renew an old millagee that would provide money that schools could use for staffing, along with covering unreimbursed costs of special education services across Washtenaw County, which includes 13 districts, including Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, and Ypsilanti. 

“There’s a whole continuum of services,” said Suzanne Dickie, the head of the Special Education Department at Huron. “It also can go towards assistive technology. So some of our kids, even here at Huron, are non verbal, and they have what’s called a communication device, and it speaks for them. Money can go towards that, to get a new communication device or update the software, things of that nature.” 

By giving the district money to avoid depleting the general fund, the millage could also cover services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy. It also would not increase the tax rates of any Washtenaw County occupants. 

“[Tax rates] are going to be the same as they were,” said Dickie. “I think that’s important for people to know, especially when budgets right now are super tight.”