Ann Arbor Parents for Schools

AAPS holding budget meetings April 12 & 13

This is a critical time for public schools in our community and in our state. Crucial decisions will be made that set the direction of our schools for years to come. It’s at times like these when the voices of parents, and all citizens who value strong public education, need to be heard loud and clear. You will have the opportunity to do this locally in the next few days, and at the state level over the coming weeks.

AAPS district officials began their public meetings about next year’s school budget at Huron High School last Thursday night. It’s a sign of the times that despite the slick, snow-covered streets, more than 100 parents, staff and interested citizens showed up to talk about school budget cuts.

A detailed list of the proposed cuts, as of the 7 January meeting, follows the article.

Part II: The problem, and a glimpse at solutions we might consider

The poor state of Michigan’s economy, combined with bad tax policy choices in earlier years, mean that school districts across Michigan are having to make huge cuts after years of belt-tightening. The defeat of the Washtenaw Schools Millage has removed one option we had to soften the blow.

But remember: we still have kids to educate. AAPS’s total enrollment actually increased this year. Unlike, say, the auto industry, our schools are not in trouble because of a lack of customers. Demand for a good education has never been higher.

Moving forward, we have two issues on each of two levels: revenues and costs, at the local and state levels. Let’s look at each.

Part I: Reflections on the defeat of the Washtenaw Schools Millage

We as a community will be faced with unpalatable choices as we try to close the $15 to $17 million budget gap that Ann Arbor’s schools will face over the next year, with more cuts to come in the coming years. But before we can make sound choices, we must have a real understanding of what our schools do and what resources that requires. And in order to do that, we must get past the caricatures which were painted during the millage campaign and instead speak to each other as real people with real concerns.

Reprinted from AAPS News:

Budget information sessions scheduled
Monday, November 30, 2009

Ann Arbor school officials will host information sessions in January, where proposed budget cuts will be discussed and suggestions from the public will be encouraged.

Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be at the following dates and locations:

• Thursday, Jan. 7 at Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Road.
• Tuesday, Jan. 12 at Skyline High School, 2552 N. Maple Road.
• Thursday, Jan. 14 at Scarlett Middle School, 3300 Lorraine.
• Tuesday, Jan. 19 at Pioneer High School, 61 W. Stadium Blvd.
• For updates, check for postings on the district’s new electronic newsletter, AAPS News.

An Open Letter to Mr. Albert Berriz and his campaign committee, the Citizens for a Responsible Washtenaw

“…I have called publicly on my fellow members of the Ann Arbor community to get involved in the difficult choices that face our schools, and to educate ourselves about what our schools do and why. But I do not believe that we will find magical ways to reduce spending without significantly reducing the services offered by our schools. This is the very choice which the Washtenaw Schools Millage was designed to avoid. But now that we must come face to face with these hard choices, I call upon you, your company and your campaign committee to stop promoting wishful thinking and start facing up to the painful decisions which face our schools and our community.”

Hard choices remain ahead, made even harder by the failure of the Washtenaw Schools Millage. But our real problem, highlighted by this campaign, is the spread of a corrosive world-view in which schools are assumed to be parasites on taxpayers rather than a common investment in the future. This cannot be changed quickly, but change it must, for the sake of our children and our community.

Reposted from Michigan Parents for Schools (mipfs.org).
Our lawmakers are once again at a crossroads, figuring out how to manage the tremendous decline in revenues for public services, including schools. Time is running out.

Constant readers will notice the shortage of news on the state K-12 education budget in recent months. There is a good reason: there hasn’t been any.