House Education committee hears bill to let ISDs use CTE millage to contract with other ISDs

The House Education and Workforce Committee on Oct. 12 heard testimony on HB 4060, a reintroduction of last session’s HB 4279, which would allow intermediate school districts (ISDs) to use career and technical education (CTE) millage revenue to contract with other ISDs to provide CTE programs to students.

Committee Chair Nancy DeBoer, House Education and Workforce Committee chair, opened the hearing and called Representative Matt VanderWaal to the witness table to explain the bill. “This bill will allow ISDs to use millage money to enter into contract with area ISDs for the purposes of career technical education,” VanderWaal said, describing the change as a fix to a “glitch” in current language that prevents reimbursement when an ISD’s students attend CTE programs outside their home ISD.

The bill’s chief proponent at the hearing, David Cox, superintendent of Manistee Intermediate School District, said the issue is pressing for several rural districts in his county. “Currently, it does not allow ISDs to pay other ISDs using CTE millage to provide that service for students,” Cox told the committee, adding that Manistee has five school districts that must send students to neighboring centers — some students travel 45 minutes to an hour — and those districts now pay out of general fund dollars or out-of-service-area tuition. Cox said adding the phrase “intermediate school district” to the statute would permit an ISD to reimburse itself for transportation and tuition after a successful millage request.

Supporters said the change would reduce financial barriers for students seeking CTE and streamline arrangements between ISDs. VanderWaal noted the bill previously passed the House last session by a wide margin, 100 to 6, and urged bipartisan support.

Committee members questioned implementation details. Vice Chair Jimmy Wilson asked how many districts would be affected; Cox said five districts in Manistee County would be directly impacted and agreed to provide a statewide count. Representative Joseph Pavlov asked whether an ISD is the same as a RESA; a witness responded yes. Representative Tom Koontz sought clarity on billing, and Cox confirmed that the billing would reflect actual per-student charges: “We invoice those individual districts currently, and then they use their general fund dollars to pay for that tuition,” he said, explaining the same invoicing would happen under the bill but allowing reimbursement from CTE millage once obtained.

Several statewide education organizations filed support and did not request to speak: Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals; Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity; Michigan Association of School Administrators; Michigan Association of School Boards; Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators; ABC of Michigan; Michigan Home Builders Association.

The committee did not take a formal vote on HB 4060 during the hearing. Committee members expressed general support and asked the sponsor and superintendent to provide additional information about how many districts statewide lack local CTE programs and about invoicing/financial mechanics.

Votes at a glance - Committee rule adoption: Vice Chair Linting’s motion to adopt the committee rule carried on a roll call, 10 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pass. (Motion prevailed.) - Regular meeting schedule: Vice Chair Linting’s motion to set Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Room 327 as the committee’s normal meeting day/time/location carried on a roll call, 10 yeas, 0 nays, 0 pass. (Motion prevailed.) - Excused absences: Vice Chair Linting moved to excuse absent members; by unanimous consent absent members were excused.

Next steps: Committee members asked the bill sponsor and Manistee ISD to provide more information about statewide scope and affected districts. The committee left HB 4060 in committee for further consideration; no formal committee-level passage or referral was recorded at the hearing.