Char-Em ISD Career Tech Funding Renewed by Voters

Voters in Charlevoix, Emmet, and northern Antrim counties approved a 1.0-mill renewal for Char-Em Intermediate School District on Tuesday, May 5, extending 30 years of funding for career and technical education programs.

The millage passed decisively across all three counties, generating approximately $8.2 million annually. Emmet County voters backed it 65% to 35%, Charlevoix County approved it 60% to 40%, and Antrim County passed it 56% to 44%.

The millage, first approved in 1996, funds 23 career tech programs operating in more than 50 classrooms across the district's 11 school districts. Programs include airplane piloting, utility line repair, welding, agriculture, and public safety careers.

The funding also supports Char-Em Street STEM, a mobile trailer that delivers science, technology, engineering, and math instruction to 5,000 kindergarten through eighth graders annually across every district, charter school, and parochial school. The millage covers six summer camps for K-12 students, career counseling, work-based learning, business and college tours, and employment opportunities for students with disabilities.

"Recognition of the importance of vocational education has never been greater," said Char-Em ISD Superintendent Scott Koziol.

For more information about CTE initiatives and programs, visit www.charemisdcareertech.org.