Economic studies have found that the quality of education has the greatest impact on the decisions of individuals and firms to locate in a given area. [45]
Public education is more responsible for property tax burdens than any other service provided by local government in Michigan. [46] On average, about 70 percent of property taxes statewide are spent on school expenditures. This trend is not apparent Downriver, where only Grosse Ile Township and Romulus spend at least 70 percent. Examining Downriver cities, only 63.9 percent of property taxes are spent on schools. This is because townships do not offer the same range of services as cities. The average township levy is 3.33 mills; the average city millage is 16.69 mills. But only four of the 17 Downriver communities use at least 63.9 percent of their property taxes for school millage:Brownstown Township, Flat Rock, Grosse Ile Township and Romulus. [47]
Table II
School Taxes as a Percentage of Property Taxes, 1987
Downriver community |
Percentage |
Allen Park |
60.5 |
Brownstown Township |
66.7 |
Ecorse |
52.8 |
Flat Rock |
63.9 |
Gibraltar |
62.0 |
Grosse Ile |
70.5 |
Lincoln Park |
59.8 |
Melvindale |
50.8 |
River Rouge |
49.2 |
Riverview |
61.3 |
Rockwood |
61.6 |
Romulus |
73.2 |
Southgate |
58.5 |
Taylor |
61.8 |
Trenton |
59.9 |
Woodhaven |
63.5 |
Wyandotte |
59.1 |
Data from Michigan State Tax Commission, op. cit.
Downriver has property tax millages for education which are slightly higher than the statewide average but as a percentage of total taxes, school taxes Downriver are lower than average for cities in the state.
One conclusion which can be drawn from this is that the Downriver communities should consider lowering the percentage of property tax burden which is not school-oriented. This would make the area more competitive with the rest of the state for those individuals and firms which value educational services relative to other city services.
Downriver school districts spend substantial amounts of money on education. Table III ranks Downriver school districts by current operating expenditures per pupil among the state's 525 K-12 school districts: [48]
TABLE III
Ranking for Current Operating Expenditures Per Pupil
School District |
Rank |
Allen Park |
61 |
Ecorse |
98 |
Flat Rock |
153 |
Gibraltar |
193 |
Grosse Ile |
41 |
Lincoln Park |
329 |
Melvindale |
39 |
River Rouge |
82 |
Riverview |
134 |
Romulus |
36 |
Southgate |
110 |
Taylor |
79 |
Trenton |
26 |
Woodhaven |
177 |
Wyandotte |
70 |