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.

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.

Top district officials held open public meetings last week to talk about school funding and the AAPS budget.

Update: A copy of the district’s presentation, and a place to submit questions online, can be found on the AAPS web site.

Attendance was modest in the extreme, and details of any potential cuts were few, but it was a good opportunity to explain to citizens what has been happening with school funding and where the district finds itself today. Even before the Governor’s proposed budget cuts (see story on MIPFS site soon), the AAPS was projecting a deficit of nearly $6 million on a budget of $185 million that would continue the current level of services. While the Governor’s proposed $59 per pupil cut (nearly $1 million in Ann Arbor’s case) is probably moot because of the Federal stimulus funding, the district may still face another $60 per pupil cut in state funding in a separate provision that only applies to higher-spending districts.