Special Education Millage Fails, Engadine School Passes
Incumbents Retain Seats on St. Ignace Council
By Karen Gould

Two school millages on the ballot for a second time produced mixed results, with a special education levy failing to capture areawide support and a two-mill school building repair request in Engadine passing by 22 votes. Election results Tuesday, November 6, brought no surprises in the makeup of the St. Ignace City Council, with all incumbents retaining their seats.

A special education appeal for 0.75 mills sought by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD) lost by a larger margin the second time around, with 1,091 voters casting "no" ballots. The levy, if passed, would have raised $1.4 million, which would have been distributed to local schools that provide special education programs.

In May, the same proposal failed by 385 votes, with voters rejecting it 3,309 to 2,924. A greater turnout of voters in November failed to generate the support needed to pass the measure, and in fact, more voters rejected the proposal, defeating the levy 4,518 to 3,427.

"We're disappointed," said Susan Cabat, assistant superintendent of special education. "Special education students will continue to be served, but general funds of local districts will be supporting special education at ever-increasing levels as costs increase."

Approximately 24% of Mackinac County's 9,453 registered voters weighed in on the millage issue.

School superintendents in the region will determine if the millage is placed before voters for a third time, she said. The group meets monthly and the issue likely will be discussed at its November 14 meeting.

If school leaders decide to send the special education millage out for a vote again, voters could be asked to reconsider the proposal as early as February.

The proposal was put on the ballot a second time, ISD Superintendent Pete Everson told The St. Ignace News Monday, November 11, after failing the first time by a close margin in a low voter turnout election.

"Our board only sponsors elections at the request of the local districts," he said. Local districts already are coming up with funding for special education and will continue to use general purpose funds for the programs.

With the proposal failing by a greater margin the second time, Mr. Everson does not believe local districts will consider putting the levy before voters for a third time.

"I don't anticipate that would happen anytime soon," he said. "After two failed requests, I don't expect it would pass if it were proposed again. We need to consider what people have stated with the election results."

Passage of a two-year levy of two mills will raise $294,340 for building repairs at Engadine Consolidated Schools. Plans include replacing single-pane windows, repairing deteriorating exterior brickwork, and upgrading heaters at the school.

"We are very pleased with the community support we got," said Superintendent Stu Hobbs.

A similar proposal failed in May, when the school sought one mill for two years. Had it passed then, the school would have collected $134,921.

"It motivated us," said Mr. Hobbs of the voters' rejection of the levy, "to make a push and reach out to people."

The success of the appeal Mr. Hobbs attributes to a three-step plan that included the organization of a parents' group to promote the millage, meetings with area service groups, and a media campaign.

"All of this," he said, "really seems to have paid off."

After looking more closely at repairs and the costs, school officials determined two mills, rather than the one-mill request made in May, was needed to generate enough funding.

"The reason we went to two mills," said Mr. Hobbs, "is things were more expensive than we anticipated."

Voters made no changes to the makeup of the St. Ignace City Council. Earning the most votes was incumbent William LaLonde with 319, followed by Paul Fullerton at 296 votes and Mervin Wyse with 240 votes. Leading the challengers for the three open seats on the board was Steve Dufresne with 204 votes, followed by Mary Nichols with 175 votes and Dean Baker with 158 votes.

St. Ignace Mayor Paul Grondin, who ran unopposed, received 415 votes.

With 522 ballots cast in the city, more than 25% of voters turned out to have a say in the city's leadership positions. For the election, 2,066 residents were registered to vote.

For the first time, voters were required to present photo identification as part of a new state law to help preventvting fraud. A Michigan driver's license, stateissued personal identification card, military identification, and U.S. passport were some of the identification forms accepted.

"Most of the voters knew they had to have it," said Kris Vallier, Moran Township clerk. "And they did."

Voters who did not have a picture identification with them were allowed to sign an affidavit, and then were issued a ballot.

Overall, the election went smoothly, said County Clerk Mary Kay Tamlyn. The polls closed at 8 p.m. and Mrs. Tamlyn began to receive the first results about 8:05 p.m., coming in from Mackinac Island.

Michigan's next election, the presidential primary, is scheduled for January 15.