MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Marquette-Alger RESA millage proposal that was passed on Tuesday will help the districts evenly fund their special education programs. Marquette Area Public Schools’ (MAPS) special education funding has been in a deficit for over two decades and has had to subsidize over $2 million every year from its general fund.
“We’ve added a ton of resources over the years mostly by way of staff but also curricular resources and additional programming at the elementary, the middle school, and at the high school level,” said MAPS Superintendent Zack Sedgwick. Sedgwick commented that the money from the millage increase will help train special educators, and also keep money from the general fund for other existing programs.
Marquette Area Public Schools has noticed a trend of needs increasing in students since the pandemic. The grant dollars from the pandemic have helped MAPS add three full-time social workers and fund their free summer school programs, but even those funds are being used up.
“Where the grants from COVID paid for those programs such as summer school in the past those grants are gonna run dry and now because of this millage, we’re gonna be able to potentially use the general fund for programs to keep programs like that running,” continued Sedgwick.
The passed increase in millage will also allow for more infrastructure repairs, now that money for special education won’t be taken out of the general fund. Sedgwick noted that even with a $1 million sinking fund, big projects can quickly deplete those dollars. “Although we have a sinking fund which is wonderful, that roughly million dollars a year goes really quick when it costs you $600,000 for an HVAC system for example at Bothwell. Just one project and you quickly burn up that million dollars.”
