Revised School Code Section 1613 allows a school district or ISD to direct local taxing jurisdictions to levy half or all of school taxes on July 1 by filing a summer tax resolution with the local taxing jurisdictions. If your school currently has a summer tax levy and would like it to continue in 2025, your board of education must adopt a resolution and file a copy of it with each city and township within your school’s boundaries on or before December 31, 2024.
The December 31 deadline is statutory. When we receive calls from clients asking what they can do when the deadline has been missed, the unfortunate answer is “nothing.” Failing to adopt and file a summer tax resolution by December 31 means that all school taxes for the subsequent year must be levied in December.
Section 1613 states that a “[summer tax] resolution by its terms may be applicable until revoked by the board.” Although this language suggests that a school board does not need to adopt and file a summer tax resolution each year, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that Section 1613 requires annual school board action to effectuate a summer tax levy. School officials should not rely on language in a summer tax resolution stating that it is effective “until specifically revoked by the Board” to bypass the required annual summer tax resolution process. Doing so jeopardizes the school’s ability to levy summer taxes for the given year.
A school that did not levy a summer tax in 2024 may institute a summer tax levy for 2025. Likewise, a school that previously authorized a 50% summer tax collection and wants to increase to a 100% summer tax collection (or vice versa) may make that modification for 2025. To authorize a summer tax levy for the first time, or to modify the collection percentage, the board must adopt a different resolution at a properly noticed public meeting and file a copy of it with each city and township within your school’s boundaries by December 31, 2024. To implement or modify a summer tax collection for 2025, please contact a Thrun Law Firm finance and election attorney who will provide you with the required resolutions and forms.
The State of Michigan pays the collection costs for the State’s education tax (6 mills) if no other summer property tax is collected by the tax collecting unit (other than the State education tax and county taxes). If your school has a partial or full summer tax levy and the only other summer tax collection in your jurisdiction is the State’s education tax and county taxes, your school will be solely responsible for the applicable summer tax collection costs.