Menominee County ISD to use new funds to spruce up facilities

MENOMINEE, MICH. – Menominee County Intermediate School District Superintendent Steve Martin credited the high voter turnout Nov. 5 for the first ISD Career Technical Education millage to win voters’ approval in Menominee County’s history.

“Our schools are an investment. They’re not a cost. They’re an investment. And that’s huge. So we’re glad we had a good turnout,” he said at the Nov. 25 board meeting. Of 10,670 ballots cast, 5,798 voted in favor of the ISD referendum, while 4,872 voted against it, according to the Election Summary Report on the Menominee County website.

“I think we did pretty good with that vote. It was kind of one of the highest voter turnouts, not because of the ISD millage, but it helped us,” he said.

Menominee County ISD works with the public school districts in the Menominee area, the Stephenson area, Careny-Nadeau townships, North Central and Uplift Michigan Online School. It provides a Head Start early childhood education program and special education services.

In eight of the nine largest townships in Menominee County, voters said yes to the millage, he said. “In four of our townships, we lost by less than 10 votes,” Martin said. The referendum asked voters to vote yes or no to a 1 mill increase to generate $867,000 annually for the next 10 years to create and support career and technical education in the Intermediate School District.

Martin would like to win the support of up-county residents by showing them why Career Technical Education is important. “In 10 years, this has to be brought up again to voters. We want to make sure they see a value in it,” he said. He plans to offer tours of the CTE program in Menominee to encourage residents from the northern end of the county ISD district to see for themselves what their tax dollars are providing.

Menominee County’s ISD focuses on special educational services, such as speech/language and occupational therapy, Martin said. It also offers preventive education, such as the Healthy Youth Coalition and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides a free book monthly for children up to age 5 at library events. It also supports general education.

While some Career Technical Education is offered through the general education program in Menominee County, Martin said the 1 mill for ISD would expand CTE offerings.

Menominee County ISD was one of just seven ISDs in Michigan without a designated CTE millage, Martin said in a presentation before the Menominee County Board in October. “It’s money that can be strongly invested in our county,” Martin said.

Menominee County ISD had $608 per student to work with, compared to a statewide average or $1,156, before the referendum, Martin said. The additional mill will add $280 per student to the current $608 per student the ISD has to work with. The new per-pupil amount is about $270 below the state average, he said.

“Student interest is what’s going to drive the staffing and classes,” he said. Martin discussed the possibility of offering CTE programs for construction trades and foodservice and hospitality fields.

The 1 mill increase provides about $867,000 annually for the next 10 years to create and support Career and Technical Education in the Menominee Intermediate School District.

Martin said the first priority is a new roof with an estimated cost of $350,000, followed by a renovation for the Head Start early childhood program. The program needs three classrooms, a staff bathroom and a secure entrance, Martin said.

He also would like to improve the back hallway area of the school building, where Healthy Youth Coalition of Marinette & Menominee Counties and Communities that Care of Marinette & Menominee Counties operate. One idea is to provide a large conference area for meetings.

In other items, the board discussed Michigan’s Safe Drinking Water Act, which requires school districts to have a water management plan by January 2025.

The Menominee County ISD already has water filters in place, according to Martin. “We’ve kind of already implemented the changes,” he said.

At the elementary school, where ISD offers Head Start, it tests the water monthly, Martin said.

The board approved ISD’s participation in class-action litigation over large increases in insulin health care costs, Martin said. ISD will be represented by Thrun Law Firm, a Michigan law firm specializing in school district representation, he said. The firm will not charge fees until a financial resolution is reached.

The board also approved hiring a new part-time classroom aide. It also approved a special education classroom agreement and a contract for virtual speech therapy services for students. It approved the 2024-25 CSRP Handbook and updates to the ISD calendar.