Students and staff at Lake Michigan College had cause to celebrate Tuesday, after the .48 capital millage that is projected to garner $40 million for the Benton Harbor-based community college over the course of 10 years passed by a margin.
Residents in Berrien County and parts of Van Buren County voted on the millage. According to unofficial ballot results from Election Magic.com, with 70 out of 70 precincts reporting there were 35,619 voters who supported the millage and 34,935 who voted no. The millage passed by 684 votes.
It is a vote College President Emeritus/Acting CEO Bob Harrison said is going to improve the educational experiences not only for current students, but also for students 10 to 20 years in the future.
Having set funding for infrastructure will open doors to bringing more programs to students, Harrison said. Moving forward, the school will began researching new programs to provide to students on its three college campuses, in Niles, Benton Harbor and South Haven.
“This gives us the starting point to re-envision our facilities,” Harrison said. “We will start a detailed planning process with the community about what the community needs are and how we want to make changes to the facilities.”
Working with alumni, community members and local schools, Harrison said college leaders would discuss what programs they would like to see.
The capital millage, which is a property tax to homeowners, will cost around $2 a month for those who have a home at a market value of $100,000.
The millage will target four areas including safety and security, modernizing classrooms, student support services and money saving critical improvements. More than 50 classrooms are expected to receive updates as well as at least two instructional halls.
In addition to giving students the opportunity to have more programs available, the millage is one key to helping the college to keep future tuition costs low, Harrison said.
This is the first capital millage that LMC has ever proposed and getting it on voters’ radar took work that, according to Harrison, would not have been possible without the dedication of students and staff.
Dozens of students spent their Tuesday evening near the poll precinct, asking voters to honk and wave in support of the millage. They also passed out yard signs and worked to spread awareness about how the millage would benefit not only students, but also the community where the students might one day have jobs.
Harrison said that he encourages, students, staff and the community to express concerns or ideas for improvements.
“There is no time to waste,” Harrison said. “It will be important to look at priorities, as well as needs.”