Farmington Public Schools faces voters Nov. 3 with a School Improvement Bond on the ballot, just weeks after a countywide school funding measure failed, forcing budget adjustments in neighboring districts.

Oakland County voters rejected the Regional Enhancement Millage on Aug. 4 by a narrow margin: 51.1% against, 48.9% in favor. The 1.5-mill, six-year levy would have sent about $781 per pupil annually to nearly 30 districts, including Farmington Public Schools, The Oakland Press reported.

Farmington was among the eligible districts. Superintendent Kelly Coffin said in an Aug. 7 statement to C&G Newspapers that Farmington community voters gave the millage strong support, though the countywide result fell short. No public source has disclosed the specific dollar impact the failure had on Farmington's budget.

The consequences elsewhere in the county are concrete.

Ferndale Public Schools Superintendent Camille Hibbler said the failure cost her 3,000-student district more than $1 million in new funding per year over the next decade. She said 75% of those dollars would have gone toward staff pay.

"We knew we would be able to afford it if the enhancement millage passed," Hibbler said, describing contract negotiations that included wage reopeners for teachers, bus drivers, secretaries and administrators. Without the money, Ferndale staff missed out on a possible 2.5% raise that had been contingent on the millage passing.

Novi Community School District cut three positions at its Sept. 17 board meeting: supervisor of communications, accounting coordinator and security systems coordinator. Novi Superintendent Ben Mainka said the district had no layoffs and called the reductions "strategic, structural changes" made during the annual budgeting process.

Oakland County remains one of the few southeast Michigan counties without a dedicated school millage, according to The Oakland Press. Wayne, Macomb, Kent, Monroe and several other counties have adopted them.

The Farmington bond proposition appears on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, according to Oakland County Times. The bond amount and millage rate were not available from public sources as of Sept. 24. Farmington families will decide both measures' fates within months of each other.