Faced with mounting budget shortfalls, Washtenaw County schools are reaching out to taxpayers for help.

The Regional Enhancement Millage Proposal, which will be voted on today, seeks to provide funding for public schools countywide. If it passes, the millage will increase property taxes in Washtenaw County by $2 for every $1,000 of taxable value during the next five years. That money, projected at $30 million for the upcoming year, will then be distributed to the county’s 10 districts on a per-pupil basis.

Todd Roberts, superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools, explained that Washtenaw County’s schools have faced significant funding issues for several years. According to Roberts, AAPS’s cost-cutting measures have included reducing staff and putting a cap on health care contributions for employees.

Despite those efforts, Roberts said, the millage was unavoidable.

“This is the only option to increase revenue (adequately),” Roberts said.

In August, the county school district’s Board of Education voted to place the millage on the Nov. 3 election ballot.

Since that vote, the district has faced substantial new cuts.

Roberts explained that the state controls 90 percent of the district’s funding. Over the past two weeks, the state has reduced this year’s funding by $525 per pupil. Roberts anticipates additional cuts of more than $600 per student for the 2010-2011 school year.

Roberts said the millage would help to compensate for some of those losses.

“All of those things combined point to the need to raise additional revenue,” Roberts said.

He added that the millage alone would not eliminate budget issues. Even if it passes, the district will continue to reduce costs and consolidate services, Roberts said. But if the millage doesn't pass, Roberts believes the district will face major reductions.

Roberts said the largest reductions would take place among staff, since 85 percent of the district’s funds go toward compensating employees.

The millage proposal faces significant opposition from several groups, two of which — Citizens for a Responsible Washtenaw and Ann Arbor Citizens for Responsible School Spending — pulled together locally based campaigns over the past several weeks.

Niki Wardner is a founding member of A2CRSS and self-described “homemaker and public school volunteer” in Ann Arbor. Two of her children currently attend Ann Arbor public schools.

Her group includes several former school board members and focuses on irresponsible spending.

Wardner said she’s disappointed with the AAPS’s handling of budget issues.

“(AAPS) don’t seem to be willing to look at other solutions — everything from cutting administration to consolidating districts and services,” Wardner said.

Though Wardner said she’s largely pleased with AAPS teachers and administrators, “there’s something inherently wrong with how the whole structural thing is set up.”

She cited what she considers the district’s over-reliance on taxpayer money.

“There’s a lot of issues and I feel like their answer is, ‘Give us the money and we’ll take the next five years to fix the problem,’” Wardner said, “And my answer is, ‘You’ve already had five years. Why should I give you money for another five?’”

Albert Berriz serves as treasurer of CRW, a group allied with A2CRSS. He is the CEO of McKinley, a locally based real estate investment and management company. Berriz said his group includes mostly business people and also targets irresponsible spending.

The group proposed a “five-point plan for (district) transformational change,” according to Berriz.

“Our program has not been to say ‘vote no’ because we don’t like it, but to give a substantive solution to the issue,” Berriz said.

He said the CRW has produced alternatives that don’t require taxing residents in a state whose unemployment rate is about 15 percent.