Comments on: AAPS Mulls Redistricting to Save Costs

By: a2person

a2person — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 14:59:37 +0000

Snyder fundamentally changed the rules last year. Proposal A specifies that while local districts cannot raise operational money to run their districts, the state would allocate all the money from the School Aid Fund (which is funded through a formula of taxes etc state-wide) to K-12 Education. Last year, Snyder loopholed that money away, giving a bunch of it to Higher Education, so that he could fund his business tax cuts. Last year, there was actually enough money in the School Aid fund to INCREASE per-pupil allocation for the first time in forever, but instead he decreased it dramatically. So the argument that the money just wasn’t there is totally false. And yes, for-profit charter schools (which have recently been un-capped and de-regulated) get public school funding, even if they are only online schools. They don’t have to pay for busing, and tend to push away kids with special needs. That leaves a very unfair playing field, and increasing deficits in the public schools. This IS the fault of Lansing, plain and simple. And the structural deficit that will require something like a 10% cut every year in perpetuity (as has been happening already for something like 5-6 years) is due to the pension system. It is unsustainable due to fewer people paying in. Lansing and Snyder are the only folks that can fix it (legally) and they do nothing.

By: James Jefferson

James Jefferson — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 02:46:32 +0000

Is food for the soul the same thing as soul food? I agree we should go for battery rebuilds, bring that to the table next time. At least with the school board they are almost always all in attendance, unlike the city council members. So… What is the source of this projected budget shortfall of $17 million? Have we been told that the state will be decreasing our funding next year by that amount? If so, it is fair to place at least some of the blame for this fiscal crisis on the state. I have heard that money that is normally given to the school districts is being given instead to charter and private schools, so that is again a problem at the state level. I for one would like to thank the school board for doing what must be a serious pain in the butt job. I don’t always agree with their decisions, especially when it comes to the sanctity of administrative pay, but, having served on corporate and non-profit boards myself, I know how hard it can be to get things done.

By: Herb

Herb — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:11:34 +0000

Some decades ago GM was Michigan’s largest employer and taxes on its plants and tooling and its workers’ pay and houses produced a lot of money for local school districts and the State of Michigan. Now GM has shriveled into a shadow of its former self and the biggest employer is Walmart. Their serfs do pay taxes but not enough to support the existing school systems. Pay and benefits for administrators, teachers and other employees all need a big cut or the system will collapse. It is childish to blame this on Lansing or Snyder like they are a bunch of ogres. The state government does not have the money. Unlike the federal government it cannot print it.

By: A2person

A2person — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:54:46 +0000

That’s the main take-away message you got from this article??? The board works really, really hard, for very little reward. And the school district is in serious trouble due not to any fault of their own, but due to Lansings de-funding of schools, and a structural deficit created by the pension system that legally only Lansing can fix, but refuses to. It’s really sad, for Ann Arbor and for all our communities and kids.

By: Robert LaJeunesse

Robert LaJeunesse — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 01:42:39 +0000

Last time my car battery died, I replaced the battery, not the car. Over $27,000 for 35 new “sound field” systems just because the batteries in the old ones need replacing? We have a battery store in town that rebuilds / replaces just about any battery at a fair price. Why not use them?

No wonder the AAPS budget is out of whack.