Hamtramck Board Approves Proposed 2025–26 Budget, Restores 18-Mill Levy and OKs $8.6M Grant Match

The Hamtramck Board of Education on the evening approved a package of budget and operational measures, including the final amendment to the 2024–25 budget, the proposed 2025–26 budget and the district’s tax rates for the coming fiscal year.

Speaker 3, who led the budget presentation, said local revenues in 2024–25 rose by about $268,000 due largely to roughly $200,000 in investment earnings and about $70,000 from restoring the non-homestead levy to 18 mills. “We restored the 18 mills and it equated to about $70,000,” Speaker 3 said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Speaker 3 described a sharp projected increase in state revenue for 2025–26—driven primarily by an $8.6 million infrastructure/health-and-safety grant the district received—which the presentation said reduces the district’s need to use roughly $12 million in general-fund dollars. Speaker 3 explained the grant requires a 1-to-2 local match; “we have to contribute $4,300,000 to get the 8.6,” the presenter said. The board’s final-amendment vote reserved the match funding in the budget.

The board voted, with four members present and three absent, to: - Approve Resolution 2 (final amendment, 2024–25) and Resolution 3 (proposed 2025–26 budget). - Approve Resolution 4 to set tax rates for fiscal year 2025–26 at 18 mills on non-homestead taxable value and 3.9289 mills for recreation on all taxable value. Speaker 2, reviewing the L‑4029 tax document, said voters had restored the non-homestead millage to 18 mills and that the board estimates a foundation allowance of about $10,000 per student.

Other votes and items: The board approved Resolution 5 to employ Sandra Jackson as special education compliance manager, effective July 1, 2025. (The salary number in the transcript is not clearly transcribed.) The board also awarded a contract for bleacher replacement at the community center to the vendor identified in the transcript as “intercal spectral seating” for an amount not to exceed $181,548 and approved the consent agenda of routine hires and minutes.

Process and next steps: Presenters emphasized the need to plan for MDE guidance on fund balances; Speaker 3 warned that carrying a fund balance materially above two to three months of expenditures will prompt review by the Michigan Department of Education and recommended a plan to spend down surplus on capital items or staff where appropriate. The board also approved entering closed session under Section 8(c) to discuss collective bargaining strategy and returned to open session later that evening.

Quotes and context: “If you look down at the bottom … that was the amount that we were reserving to do the HVAC projects,” Speaker 3 said, describing how the district reallocated sinking-fund reserves after receiving the grant. The presentation also noted a $2,000,000 two-year coaching grant, of which roughly $1.2M is expected to be spent this year with approximately $800,000 carried into the next fiscal year.

What wasn’t decided: Board members discussed using sinking-fund balances to protect the general fund or cover the match, but no separate, additional formal action was taken beyond setting the budget and reserving the match. Several budget figures and vendor name spellings in the meeting transcript were not fully clear and are presented as stated in the meeting record.

The board set its next meeting dates for July 9, Aug. 13 and Sept. 10 and adjourned at 7:39 PM.