Houghton Portage Township Schools Will ask Voters to Extend the Bond Millage to 2031

In November the Houghton Portage Township Schools will ask the community to extend the district’s bond millage for two more years. Earlier in the year the district gathered insight from the community for potential facility improvements. An expanded elementary student flex space and early childhood learning center, as well as improvements to STEM education and facilities in the middle school and high school. Superintendent Hill says that the district has seen more students roaming the halls in the past decade, and they expect those figures to continue to grow.

And I will honestly say that the solutions that we came up with are not what I thought the solutions were. And I think that that was a good thing because we got a lot of voices, we heard from a lot of people, and we’re able to talk through a lot of things. We had a steering committee that helped us kind of dial in all that information of parents, staff, and community members, and then we had a bond proposal that was vetted by the Treasury and formalized by the board this summer. – Anders Hill, Superintendent, Houghton Portage Township Schools

Moving on from the determination phase and into informational work. The district plans to share details of the bond proposal and facilities projects ahead of November. Hill added during his presentation that the extended millage will not increase taxes for residents. Only extend the millage beyond 2029 to 2031.

And we know this is a cost to taxpayers. We know we’re asking them to extend that rate. So we want to be mindful of that. We hope that we’ve been good stewards of the funds that we’ve been given and done a good job. And it’s something people see as a worthwhile investment. But 23 million dollars would be generated. It would be a 0% millage rate increase over the current levy. So taxes would not increase. Right now that tax, that millage rate is set to drop off and start going down in 2029. And we’re asking voters to extend that out two more years from 2029 to 2031. – Anders Hill, Superintendent, Houghton Portage Township Schools

Since 2013 Hoprtage Portage Township Schools’s student population has increased by eight percent. In 2027 the district anticipates the district will educate nearly 1600 students. The bond proposal language and more details for the Early Childhood Center, elementary expansion, and middle school and high school improvements can be found online. Those with questions about the millage or want to learn more should contact Houghton Portage Township Schools for more here.