Great Schools in a Great Community
Financial Information
No expected tax rate increase over the current rate
St. Joseph Public Schools has the opportunity to ask the community to support a bond election that is not anticipated to raise taxes over the current rate. If approved, the debt rate would be expected to remain the same, with no tax rate increase over the current rate. The debt millage rate has been 3.7 mills since 2020.
What is a mill?
School District Debt Millage Comparison
School districts use mills to calculate taxes collected to repay bonds issued for capital improvements like new buildings, renovations, buses, and technology.
How are schools funded?
Michigan schools are funded through a combination of state, local, and federal sources. With voter approval, school districts can levy taxes for capital projects through bond proposals to improve facilities and infrastructure in order to allocate more dollars to the operating budget, which supports educator compensation, curriculum, utilities, etc.
Expenditures of bond money, by law, are limited to projects like school infrastructure, new construction, renovations, school buses and technology needs.