Saginaw ISD asks voters to renew its career-tech millage for 10 more years: what 1 mill costs and what it has paid for

SAGINAW, Mich. — Voters across the Saginaw Intermediate School District will decide Nov. 3 whether to keep paying a countywide property tax for career and technical education for another decade.

The Saginaw ISD proposal would renew the current levy of 0.9962 mill for 10 years, 2028 through 2037, and add 0.0038 mill to bring it back to a full 1 mill. The current tax expires with the 2027 levy, so a “no” vote would not change anyone’s tax bill until then. If approved and levied in 2028, the millage is expected to raise about $7,082,354, according to the ballot language.

What it would cost you. One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value, which is usually well below its market value. A home with a taxable value of $100,000 pays about $99.62 a year under the current rate. At the full 1 mill it would pay $100, an increase of 38 cents a year. The extra 0.0038 mill is what the ballot calls a restoration of millage “lost as a result of the reduction required by the Michigan Constitution.” That reduction is the Headlee rollback, which trims a tax rate when the value of existing property rises faster than inflation. Restoring it is, in effect, a small tax increase above today’s rate, so voters should know a “yes” is not strictly a flat renewal.

What the money pays for. The tax, first approved by county voters in 2018, covers eligible tuition and transportation costs for students in career and technical education programs, so local districts pay nothing for those costs, according to a resolution the Saginaw Public School District board adopted Sept. 16 to endorse the renewal. The resolution says the millage has served 6,138 students and reimbursed local districts nearly $27 million since it passed.

The same resolution says enrollment at the Saginaw Career Complex grew from 490 students in 2018 to 993 in 2026, and that the number of programs of study rose from seven to 21 career pathways. In the 2025-26 school year, it says, county CTE programs worked with 272 business partners, placed students in 335 work-based learning spots at 98 sites and helped them earn 735 credentials and certificates. Those figures come from a supporter of the proposal; The Mitten Daily did not independently audit them.

Where it appears. The question is on ballots in every precinct of the intermediate district, which is mostly Saginaw County but reaches into parts of neighboring counties. The Gist voter guide, which draws on state sample ballots, lists it for voters in seven counties.

Other Saginaw County school asks. Birch Run Area Schools wants to renew a 0.9-mill sinking fund for building repairs, security and technology from 2029 to 2038, expected to raise about $432,694 in its first year, and Bridgeport-Spaulding is asking to renew and restore an 18-mill operating levy on non-homestead property, about $2.9 million in its first year, MLive reported from county records. Homeowners’ primary residences are exempt from that operating tax.

How to vote. Michigan voters could register by mail or online through Oct. 19 and can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office, with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Early in-person voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, by mail or online, or in person at the clerk’s office by 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvassers must finish by Nov. 17 and the Board of State Canvassers by Nov. 23. Voters can see their own sample ballot at the Michigan Voter Information Center.

Sources:
The Gist, “Saginaw Intermediate School District: career and technical education millage renewal” (ballot language as printed, from Michigan Department of State sample ballots; seven counties), https://thegist.vote/question/2026-general-mi/saginaw-intermediate-school-district-saginaw-intermediate-school-dis
Of, By and For the People, “Saginaw Intermediate School District Area Career and Technical Education Millage Proposal” (ballot language, precinct list), https://www.offorandbythepeople.com/michigan/saginaw/proposals/saginaw-intermediate-school-district-saginaw-intermediate-school-district-area-career-and-technical-education/
Saginaw Public School District Board of Education, “Resolution in Support of Saginaw County’s November 3, 2026, Career and Technical Education Millage Renewal,” Sept. 16, 2026 (2018 approval, 6,138 students, $27 million, enrollment and program figures), https://meetings.boardbook.org/Documents/DownloadPDF/14429383?org=1662
MLive, “Here are proposals that will appear on Saginaw County ballots in November 2026,” October 2026 (Birch Run and Bridgeport-Spaulding proposals), https://www.mlive.com/politics/2026/10/here-are-proposals-that-will-appear-on-saginaw-county-ballots-in-november-2026.html
Michigan Voter Information Center (sample ballots, voting dates), https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/
Tax math: The Mitten Daily calculation from the ballot rates (1 mill = $1 per $1,000 of taxable value).
Photo: kennethaw88, “Saginaw County Governmental Center.JPG,” July 19, 2014, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saginaw_County_Governmental_Center.JPG

Saginaw · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Saginaw · Election 2026 · Millage · Saginaw ISD · Career and Technical Education · Property Taxes