SAGINAW COUNTY: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CTE MILLAGE

[Shadowninja]

 SAGINAW COUNTY: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CTE MILLAGE!

Lady B has spent considerable time examining administrative compensation and public spending at Saginaw Intermediate School District. But there's another issue on the November 3 ballot that deserves some attention.

Career and Technical Education (CTE). 🔧🚗🩺

And I want to make an important distinction.

Questions about a superintendent's compensation and questions about the value of career and technical education are TWO SEPARATE conversations.

One does not have to determine the other.

📋 WHAT ARE VOTERS BEING ASKED TO APPROVE?

Saginaw ISD is asking voters to renew its Career and Technical Education millage for another 10 years, from 2028 through 2037.
Here's the breakdown:

💰 Existing millage renewal: 0.9962 mills

💰 Restoration of previous Headlee reductions: 0.0038 mills

💰 Total proposed millage: 1.0000 mill

💰 Estimated first-year revenue (2028): Approximately $7.08 million

This is primarily a renewal of an existing tax, with a small restoration to bring the rate back to 1 mill.

🔎 WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

I reviewed Saginaw ISD's FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and its FY2027 Preliminary Budget.

The district maintains a separate Vocational Education Fund.

For FY2027, that fund projects:

📊 $7,106,120 in local revenue

📊 $962,143 in state revenue

📊 $556,672 in federal revenue

That's approximately $8.62 million in projected annual revenue from all sources, not just the millage.

The district's financial report also identifies planned investments at the Saginaw Career Complex, including:

🔧 An advanced-manufacturing lab

🩺 A medical and healthcare wing

🚗 Improvements to the automotive technology lab

These are examples of the facilities and educational opportunities supported through vocational education funding.

❓ WHAT ABOUT THE SUPERINTENDENT'S COMPENSATION?

This question deserves a factual answer, especially given my previous coverage.

The FY2027 preliminary budget shows no direct appropriation under General Administration in the Vocational Education Fund.

However, the publicly available financial statements do not provide the payroll-level detail necessary to conclusively determine whether any portion of the superintendent's compensation is indirectly allocated to that fund.

I'm not going to claim something the records cannot establish.

And I'm certainly not going to suggest that questions about administrative compensation automatically mean the CTE program itself lacks value.

⚖️ ACCOUNTABILITY STILL MATTERS.

My previous reporting on Saginaw ISD's administrative spending and financial accountability still stands.

The district's repeated audit findings remain legitimate concerns. In fact, its FY2025 Single Audit identifies a recurring material weakness involving budget overages across multiple funds, including Vocational Education. That finding traces back through seven consecutive audit years.

Those findings deserve attention, regardless of the programs being funded.

But those issues should be examined alongside, rather than substituted for, the documented purpose and operation of the CTE program.

Recognizing the value of educational opportunities does not mean overlooking financial accountability.

And asking questions about financial accountability does not mean dismissing the opportunities available to students.

Both can be true.

🎓 WHY DOES CTE MATTER?

Not every student chooses a four-year college.

Career and technical education offers opportunities to explore skilled trades, manufacturing, automotive technology, healthcare, and other career pathways.

Those opportunities deserve to be understood on their own merits.

💬 HERE'S MY QUESTION FOR SAGINAW COUNTY:

Have you or your children participated in programs at the Saginaw Career Complex?

What opportunities did those programs provide? What worked well? What could be improved?

I'd especially like to hear firsthand experiences from students, parents, graduates, and local employers.

Lady B isn't endorsing or opposing this millage.

My purpose is to share the financial information, ask questions, and encourage voters to examine the proposal for themselves.

Administrative accountability matters. So does understanding the programs our tax dollars support.

Neither conversation should silence the other.

📚 Sources: Saginaw ISD FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, FY2025 Single Audit, FY2027 Preliminary Budget, and November 3, 2026 CTE millage ballot language.

#LadyBudgetdown #SaginawISD #SaginawCounty #CareerTechnicalEducation #SaginawCareerComplex #CTE #SchoolMillage #SchoolTransparency #FollowTheMoney #MichiganSchools