The Oakland Schools Board of Education voted 3-1 to approve a resolution to place a regional enhancement millage on the August 4 primary ballot.

School boards that represent a majority of the total student population in the county passed resolutions requesting the board to vote to place the millage on the ballot.

The enhancement millage would be a 1.5-mill levy over six years that would generate $125 million in its first year. Over the six years it would generate an average of $781 per pupil for all students enrolled in public schools, public academies and charter schools.

If passed by county voters, the millage would be collected county-wide, distributed equally by Oakland Intermediate School District (ISD) to all public school districts and eligible public school academies.

“Oakland Schools does not receive additional funding should voters decide in favor of the millage,” said ISD Superintendent Kenneth Gutman. “The funds are not kept by the ISD.

“Revenue is distributed to local school districts and eligible public school academies based on a per-pupil formula. Each school district and eligible public school academy gets funding proportional to enrollment, not property wealth.”

Across the state, almost half the student population live in counties with a dedicated school millage.

They include Macomb, Wayne, Kent, Midland, Kalamazoo, Monroe, Muskegon and Ottawa counties. Those eight represent 600,000 students, or 44% of the total state student population.

The millages range from .085-mills in Kent County to 1.9-mills in Wayne County, which has had a countywide millage in place since 2016.

The Oakland County proposal would cost $150 per year on a home valued at $200,000. Funds received by the 28 county districts would be unrestricted and could be used for anything from salaries to construction projects to purchasing equipment.

If approved by voters, collection of the new millage is slated to begin in December 2026.

Information about the proposed enhancement millage can be found online by visiting www.OaklandEnhancementMillage.com.