Tag Archives: budget

Ann Arbor community pushes state legislators on school funding issues

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2011-12 AAPS Budget Hearing

What: A public hearing on the 2011-12 Ann Arbor Public Schools budget is scheduled.
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 25.
Where: Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.
Details: Copies of the proposed budget are on file with the Secretary of the Board of Education and can be reviewed at the Balas Administration Building, 2555 S. State Street, Ann Arbor during regular business hours.

Download the proposed 2011-12 budget here.

Public Forum on Education

What: One of several regional education forums offering an opportunity for stakeholders to meet with Michigan Board of Education members, discuss education conditions, reform and budget proposals and the future direction of education in Michigan.
When: 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 26.
Where: University of Michigan League Hussey Room, 911 N. University Ave.
Details: Full listings of regional forums an be found here. Participants are invited to make oral or written comments. Contact Marilyn Schneider, State Board of Education executive at  schneiderm@michigan.gov or State Board of Education President John Austin at jcaustin@umich.edu.

From AAPSNews Service

Ann Arbor school officials have given state lawmakers a laundry list of ideas for specific action to assist public schools and the way they are funded.

And they have made it clear how angry they are about the state proposal to shift $900 million from the School Aid Fund to higher education. The School Aid Fund has always been used solely for K-12 schools funding, but proposals this year would change that.

When Proposal A was passed in 1994, “we were assured there would be a continuing and reliable form of funding,” said Ann Arbor Trustee Andy Thomas during a roundtable discussion at special Board of Education meeting at Pioneer High School on May 6. “This is a gross violation of the public trust.”

During an interview Friday on Michigan Public Radio, Snyder said that the action is “constitutionally allowed” and that he is proposing the use of the School Aid Fund in this manner for at least the next two years. He also said “we’ll have to address that,” when talking about school districts that have already taken action to consolidate service and cap costs and are still struggling.

Trustee Christine Stead represented the school board at the roundtable at Pioneer High School in asking state officials to:

  • Address the structural deficit – in Ann Arbor’s case that represents about several million dollars each budget year. Retirement costs can only be addressed at the state level; the increase this year will cost the district $5 million. “We get handed a percentage that we can do nothing about,” noted Stead. “Something has to be done and it can only be done at the state level.”
  • Reduce budget cuts for districts that have demonstrated cost-effective resource management – Ann Arbor has capped health care costs and consolidated many services with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District including substitute teaching, busing, International Baccalaureate program, and software. It is also implementing performance-based teacher and administrator compensation, Stead said.
  • Allow local districts authority to levy local property taxes for schools – Districts have not been allowed to do that since the passage of Proposal A, which moved the state from a local property tax-based system of funding schools to a centralized State Aid Fund which distributes taxes back to local districts. Stead noted that Ann Arbor is a “donor district” meaning that Ann Arbor district residents pay more property tax money to the state than is returned to Ann Arbor Public Schools each year.
  • Revise rules for Sinking Fund dollars to give districts more flexibility in spending – Currently, rules allow Sinking Fund dollars to be used only for purchasing, completing, remodeling or repairing facilities, site acquisition of improvement and technology infrastructure.
  • Allocate any additional funding available to the School Aid Fund to offset proposed reductions – Stead said that money should come to public schools instead of being put in a state “rainy day” fund. “We are not able to raise tuition (as universities and colleges can),” she noted.
  • Implement performance-based funding and student count day adjustments for public charter schools – Stead said many charter schools encourage students attendance for student count days (allowing them to get state funding) and then send students back to their home public school districts which do not get compensated. “Please look at that, hold them accountable and help us out here,” she said.
  • Implement a value-based budgeting approach for school districts that make progress in closing the achievement gap and have high-performing students based on graduation rates and student testing scores.

State legislators representing the AAPS area including state Sen. Rebekah Warren and state Reps David Rutledge of the 54th District, Mark Ouimet of the 52nd District, Jeff Irwin of the 53rd District and Rick Olson of the 55th District all attended and took part in the discussion.

The Legislative Roundtable session was taped by CTN Channel 18 and is scheduled to be rebroadcast on Monday, May 16 at 10 p.m., Tuesday, May 17 at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Wednesday, May 18 at noon.

Trustee Simone Lightfoot told parents and community members to continue the fight. “If we don’t do something different, we’re going to have structural changes,” she said. “Keep the letters coming, keep the e-mails coming, keep the protesting coming. We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Added board Vice President Susan Baskett:  “Make noise. We are in a dire strait here.”

The roundtable agenda included a budget history of Ann Arbor schools, what Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget and legislative action means for the district, a discussion of reforms and time for public comment.

Snyder has proposed decreasing state school spending by at least $470 per student, while the Senate plan would drop that to $340 per student and the House per-pupil decreases would range from $426 to $467. The final education budget must be worked out between legislative committees of both chambers and the governor.

Irwin and Rutledge voted against the state House measure that passed on May 5; Olson and Ouimet voted in favor of the cuts. Rutledge called the measure a “divide and conquer plan” and said it was a strategic decision. “I think it was by design – to pit you (K-12 public education and higher education) against each other,” he told Ann Arbor officials. “It is a betrayal of trust.”

Last month, Ann Arbor officials revealed cost-cutting measures to fill a $15.1 million budget deficit for next year, including the elimination of 70 teaching positions and the elimination of high school transportation. A proposal to combine the principals of four elementary schools was taken off the table by the board at its May 11 meeting after concerns were raised by elementary parents; officials said they would need to find the money elsewhere.

“We’re looking at overall increased class sizes,” noted Interim Superintendent Robert Allen. “We’re no longer able to keep the cuts out of the classroom.”

The district has cut $34.4 million from its general operating budget in the past five years. Allen said under Proposal A, 70 percent of revenue raised in the Ann Arbor community funnels through the state to other districts, yielding a reduction of $52 million in general fund dollars since 1994.

Brit Satchwell, an AAPS middle school math teacher and president of the Ann Arbor Education Association, the district’s teachers union, made an impassioned plea to state legislators. “We have no need to be pitted one interest against the other,” he said. “It’s time the legislature paid attention to us and got us out of this structural deficit.”

Steve Norton, an Ann Arbor parent and president of the Michigan Parents for Schools, called the state action raiding the School Aid Fund “shameful.”

“The funds for the School Aid Fund have not been adequate to fund K-12 education,” he said. “They have fallen for a decade. We have believed that prosperity must come before good schools rather than the other way around.”

Parent Scott Ellsworth, who teaches History at the University of Michigan, noted “a good school system is how we define ourselves as a society. Every great society … had a good, solid school system. That’s where it begins.” He encouraged state legislators to give local districts the power to raise money and the “tools to do the job.”

Olson said a May 16 state revenue estimating conference will put a more realistic face on tax revenue numbers and allow the state to move forward with final education budget decisions.

Note: Michigan Parents for Schools has an action alert up that allows residents from throughout Michigan to send messages to the governor, state senator and their state representative all in one step.  The alert and message form can be found here.

2011-12 budget cuts shared, May 6 roundtable with legislators planned

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2nd AAPS budget forum is Thursday

What: A second budget forum on the 2011-12 Ann Arbor Public Schools budget
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28
Where: Skyline High School Commons Area. Skyline is located on North Maple Road north of the M-14 interchange.
Who: Members of the public are invited to attend the session, which includes a presentation from AAPS administrators and round-table discussions among attendees to generate discussion and ideas for budget savings
Details: Visit the school district’s website to download a PDF of the 2011-12 Proposed AAPS Budget Plan

Below: Board to host roundtable session with legislators on May 6

From AAPSNews Service

Note: This story originally published a May 5 date for the legislative meeting listed at the bottom of this story. The meeting will be on Friday, May 6.

Long-term changes to public school funding must be made at the state level to allow local districts to continue to operate in a healthy manner, Ann Arbor Public Schools Interim Superintendent Robert Allen said this week.

Allen warned this week that unless legislators in Lansing change the way schools are funded, the problem will persist year after year.

“You can’t cut your way of a structural deficit,” said Allen, who serves as the district’s operations and finance chief – a position he will return to on July 1 when new Superintendent Patricia Green takes the helm. “You’re going to cut your school district to a point where it won’t be attractive to the community.”

Allen encouraged the community to get involved with the state funding issue during the first of two budget sessions on Monday night. He also explained that the Ann Arbor district faces a $15 million deficit going into the 2011-12 year that begins on July 1 and he laid out a plan to save $14.4 million.

The district is searching for another $683,000 in cuts or new revenues and those attending the budget forums are being asked for their ideas. The Ann Arbor Board of Education must adopt a balanced budget by June 30.

Allen noted that the proposed savings do not include the impact from the May 3 special education millage renewal election, which represents $5.8 million to Ann Arbor. A loss of this countywide initiative would create a larger deficit, as more dollars would be taken out of local General Fund for these mandated services.

“If everyone of us does not vote ‘yes’ on May 3, we are in a much more drastic situation,” noted Amy Pachera, a parent and member of the county millage committee, who spoke to the group Monday night.

The district’s budget plan would reduce 79 positions including: 70 teaching posts, three paraprofessional positions and one support position at central office and moving one administrative post to IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) grant funding. It would also reduce and combine four administration positions, moving one principal over Abbot and Wines elementary schools and another over Angell and Pittsfield elementaries.

The proposed plan includes a total of $7.1 million in reductions from instructional support services, $2.142 from operational expenses, $1.6 million savings in wages and benefits already negotiated and $1.275 in other districtwide expenses. It also projects $1.3 million in new revenue from 170 new students  in the district’s Schools of Choice program and from increased public parking fees at Pioneer High School on football Saturdays.

“With the structural deficit, we will find ourselves, year after year facing greater reductions,” Interim Deputy Superintendent for Instruction Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley told parents. “If funding changes in the state of Michigan, some of the proposals in front of you can change or be done differently. At this point in time, that is not the case. We’re trying to balance the budget as best as we know to do.”

The Ann Arbor Public Schools has cut $34 million from its operating budget in five years, including $18 million in the present fiscal year. Some of the lost staffing positions have been covered without layoffs in the past due to retirements; the district has lost 262 positions over the five-year period, Allen said.

“Eighty-five percent of our costs are in people,” he explained. “We’ve been able to achieve most of this through attrition. That gets harder and harder every year.”

About 100 members of the community and school officials who facilitated small group discussions attended Monday’s session. Another budget forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at Skyline High School.

From the small group breakouts came suggestions that the district involve more parents in discussion of elementary school principal pairings and that Ann Arbor look to other districts that have done creative things with less. There were also concerns about cuts to high school bus service and how it would impact low-income families who are not close to a public bus line or have no carpooling options. Concerns were also raised about proposed changes to noon-hour supervision, about the number of teaching positions proposed for reduction and that cuts might impact the desirability of the district.

Suggestions for more revenue included more corporate sponsorships, creating a standardized list of supplies and equipment to save money, better marketing of good things in the district, better customer service training for employees and privatizing some positions to alleviate rising retirements costs. It was also suggested that assistant middle school principals be shared, that the district’s Schools of Choice options be further expanded and that additional partnerships with universities be pursued. More distance learning was also suggested.

One parent noted that the district needed to consider more “open education” settings, saying that there is a demand in the community at elementary and middle school levels for programs such as those at Ann Arbor Open @ Mack and Community High School.

Dickinson-Kelley addressed the proposed pairing of principals, saying that the sharing of principals will be challenging, but noting that the district would increase office support and have a pool of teachers for greater flexibility at the schools.

“I am enormously proud of our schools … our teaching staff and our administrative staff” as the district works through the process, she said, adding that the current school funding climate “is going to require that we care for each other, because those resources are pretty tight.”

Two Ann Arbor school advocacy groups are also sending e-mail blasts relating to the school funding problem. Michigan Parents for Schools has an action alert up that allows residents from throughout Michigan to send messages to the governor, state senator and their state representative all in one step.  The alert and message form can be found here.

The Ann Arbor PTO Council Advocacy Committee is also alerting parents about school funding, asking them to pass out fliers, make calls and contact legislators to let Lansing hear from local parents on funding issues.

Editor’s Note: Once comments are compiled from the budget forums, they will be put up on the school district website www.a2schools.org. Watch the main home page for updates.

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Board to host roundtable session with legislators

A session about state school funding with The Ann Arbor Board of Education and area legislators is scheduled for Thursday, May 5 Friday, May 6  from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Pioneer High School cafeteria.

The sessions will include a history of AAPS budget, Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget implications, ideas for reform and public commentary. The event will be telecast on CTN Education Channel 18.

Public comment time will be limited, so those wishing to speak are asked to sign up in advance at 734-994-2232.

2 community forums scheduled to present proposed budget

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Two community forums are scheduled to present the proposed 2011-12 Ann Arbor Public Schools budget.

Both sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. and are scheduled for Monday, April 25  in the Pioneer High School Cafeteria Annex and on Thursday, April 28 in the Skyline High School commons area. Pioneer is at the corner of Main Street and Stadium Blvd. and Skyline is on Maple Road just north of the M-14 interchange.

The sessions will address:

  • How will the State of Michigan’s budget proposals impact the district?
  • What has the district done in the past years to address the state shortfall in public education?
  • The impacts of the countywide Special Education Millage Renewal Election scheduled for May 3, 2011.

School Bells: Ed Foundation hosts budget sessions April 15

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AAPS Educational Foundation logoAnn Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation is hosting a 2011-12 budget presentation by Interim Superintendent Robert Allen from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and again from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 15.

Both sessions will be at the Ann Arbor Preschool & Family Center, 2775 Boardwalk, Ann Arbor, located north of Eisenhower. For more information or to RSVP call 734-994-1969 or e-mail:  bstoelt@aapsef.org.

Volunteers sought for April 13 seedling planting day at Tappan

Volunteers are sought to help make the annual Agrarian Adventure Seedling Planting Day a day to remember for students. This year’s event will be Wednesday, April 13 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tappan Garden, located behind Tappan Middle School, 2251 E. Stadium Blvd. (Rain date will be April 18.)

“We can accommodate most anybody,” said organizer April Schmidt, the Agrarian Adventure Farm-to-School coordinator. Volunteers do not have to have children attending Tappan to participate and no special gardening skills are needed.

Tappan teachers were invited to bring their students out for the day of planting, and about five teachers plan to participate. “The students will come out with their teachers and will do a variety of planting in the seed trays, spread compost and get the gardens ready for the season,” Schmidt explained.

Volunteers are needed for 1- to 2-hour slots (or longer) during the event, as well as before 8 a.m. to set up and after 3 p.m. to clean up, said Schmidt. Help is needed with everything from greeting and directing tasks, to helping students plant in the greenhouse and help to get outdoor beds ready for planting. For a full list of tasks and volunteers needed for the event, visit www.agrarianadventure.org.

Help is also needed before the April 13 event to fix the sides of raised bed in the greenhouse and to be part of the garden’s summer watering schedule starting in May.

E-mail Schmidt at farmtoschool@agrarianadventure.org to volunteer. A Volunteer Information Session is scheduled from 6-7 p.m. on Sunday, April 10 at the Tappan Garden, but Schmidt said volunteers may contact her until the day before the event.

Some of the seedlings from the event will be distributed to other Ann Arbor Public Schools that have school gardens. Anyone from AAPS schools wishing to share in the seedling distribution should e-mail Schmidt at farmtoschool@agrarianadventure.org. Most of the seedlings will be vegetables.

WISD board names superintendent finalists, schedules sessions

Two leaders of intermediate school districts are finalists for the superintendency at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

Thomas Goodney, deputy superintendent/chief of staff for the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio and Scott A. Menzel,  superintendent of the Livingston Educational Service Agency were selected as finalists from a field of six by the WISD Board of Education.

The new superintendent will succeed William C. Miller who retired in December.

Tom Goodney

WISD finalist Thomas Goodney

Scott Menzel

WISD finalist Scott Menzel

Both finalists have been invited back to the district for second interviews.  Goodney will be in the district on Wednesday, April 13 and Menzel on Thursday, April 14. Community forums will be conducted on both days from 4:15-5:15 p.m. and the WISD board will do final interviews from 6-7 p.m. All sessions are scheduced at the WISD Teaching and Learning Center, 1819 S. Wagner Road, Scio Township. A WISD team will visit the finalists’ school districts during the week of April 18.

Goodney is in his sixth year in his current post in Columbus, Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree in mass communications at Northern Michigan University, his master’s degree in speech at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and his doctorate in educational leadership, also at Miami University.

Menzel is in his fourth year as LESA superintendent in Howell.  He received his bachelor’s degree in religion from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., his master’s degree in philosophy and social policy from The American University in Washington, D.C. and is completing work on his doctorate at Eastern Michigan University.

Early College Alliance co-hosts information night April 12

The Early College Alliance @ EMU and the Eastern Michigan University School of Engineering Technology host an information night from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, in EMU’s Sill Hall, Room 002. (Click here for a PDF download of Sill Hall location on the main EMU campus.)

The ECA&EMU is a public, early/middle college program gives students an opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school and offers strong, academically focused students a chance to enroll in advanced, college-level coursework. Ann Arbor is a partner in the program, as are the districts of Chelsea, Lincoln, Milan, Whitmore Lake, Willow Run and Ypsilanti. The program is being coordinated through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Students attending the program receive their high school diplomas from their home school district.

Tuesday’s event will describe the many programs and opportunities the School of Engineering Technology offers. Faculty members will be available for questions and answers followed by a tour of the many laboratories. Light refreshments will be served. Details on Tuesday’s event: Philip Rufe, 734-487-2040 or e-mail to prufe@emich.edu.

Students who live in Washtenaw County or a county contiguous to Washtenaw County and are currently in the ninth or 10th grade in any public school district, charter, or home school, are eligible to enroll in ECA@EMU for the 2011-12 academic year.  Details: www.earlycollegealliance.org or call (734) 487-4290.

Ann Arbor schools face $15-21 million budget deficit for 2011-12

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Related stories:
Washtenaw voters consider special education millage on May 3
Schools of Choice plan would invite other Washtenaw students for 2011-12
View the presentation from Interim Superintendent Robert Allen

From AAPSNews Service

Heading into the 2011-12 budget season, the Ann Arbor Public Schools faces a $15.1 million deficit based on projected funding cuts and increased retirement costs from the state and a $21 million deficit if a countywide special education millage does not pass in May.

Ann Arbor Interim Superintendent Robert Allen

Ann Arbor Interim Superintendent Robert Allen

In the coming weeks, Interim Superintendent Robert Allen and his staff will share a draft budget plan that will detail proposed budget reductions. The district is estimating General Fund expenditures of $195 million for the coming year but expects revenue of only $180 million.

This is the second year the district has faced a similar financial dilemma, but this year has the added burden of the proposed state use of the K-12 School Aid Fund to fund higher education institutions.

“That’s what’s creating this problem for us in K-12,” Allen said. “We don’t have a local option. You can’t tie K-12 into higher ed. It’s a totally different playing field.” Allen said colleges and universities have the option of increasing tuition when faced with a deficit – whereas K-12 districts do not.

Under a state budget proposal from Gov. Rick Snyder, Ann Arbor faces a $700 per pupil hit: a straight $300 cut to aid, a $170 funding cut from last year that will not be restored and another $230 in increased pension costs to the district.

This $15 million expected deficit for Ann Arbor assumes that the May 3 countywide Special Education millage renewal will be approved by voters. If it does not pass, Allen said, the Ann Arbor Public Schools must continue to fund mandated special education services, taking the $5.8 million from the district’s General Fund and pushing the expected budget deficit to $21 million.

Included in the $15 million projected deficit, the district is anticipating an annual expenditure of 8 percent in health benefits over the next three years and a retirement rate increase from 20.66 to 24.46 percent for the 2011-12 year. A portion of state retirement costs are pushed down to local school districts from the state and are not controlled locally.

“They are expected to continue to escalate,” Allen said. As more district employees enter the retirement system and employee numbers and salaries are reduced, less is contributed to the system and costs rise. “That’s where the imbalance comes in,” he explained.

Actions at the local level

Allen shared the stark numbers the district has faced in recent years: The district has cut $34.4 million since the 2006-07 school year.

Eighty percent of the Ann Arbor district’s general operating costs are instruction and support, 10 percent are operation and maintenance, 3 percent are transportation, and the remaining 7 percent are for central administration and other costs.

Last year, the district cut $18.6 million from the General Fund budget by restructuring programs and reducing some positions because of state-level retirement incentives which prompted some early retirements. The district also moved its bus service to a countywide consortium, placed a cap on health care over several years and negotiated cost reductions with its collective bargaining units. The district also opened up limited schools of choice for out-of-district residents and plans to continue to offer this in the coming year to gain students and additional per pupil revenue from the state.

“We’ve consolidated, we’ve outsourced, we’ve asked for concessions, we’ve put caps on health care,” Allen said. “We have deliberately tried to keep things away from the classrooms.”

But now, he added, “we’re looking at everything. As we’re required to do more and more cuts, we will have to go deeper and deeper which will end up impacting the quality of education.”

Allen said the district would look at multiple ways to attack the 2011-12 deficit:

  • Continue collaborating with local universities, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and other area ISDs and local districts on programs ad partnerships.
  • Expand private giving to the school district through donations and grants and through groups such as the AAPS Educational Foundation, school PTOs and booster clubs.
  • Continue to make expense reductions.
  • Lobby the state for a change in the way schools are funded. This could involve increasing local control over school funding or changing the funding or retirement costs (controlled at the state level, but partially funded by individual districts.)
  • Focus on increasing student enrollment. The district now has an estimated 1,274 K-12 students living in the district who attend non-AAPS schools. The district would see an additional $903,600 in additional revenue with 100 new enrollments. The district will have an expected 190 seats open for the 2011-12 school year in grades kindergarten, first and sixth grade and selected seats in grades two through five.

Allen also stressed that each fund in the district has specific uses and that only the district’s General Fund can be used for operating expenses including salaries, benefits, utilities, supplies and equipment. Other funds and their restrictions and allowed uses include:

  • Grant Funds are restricted by the grantor, such as Title I, IDEA, and Career & Tech Ed.
  • Bond Funds are restricted by the voters to fund capital projects such as construction, technology and bus purchases.
  • Debt Services Fund is restricted by law to pay debt service on bonds sold by the district.
  • Sinking Fund is restricted by state law to fund capital projects including land acquisition and remodeling and repair of current facilities through contracted sources.
  • Special Revenue Funds are restricted for specific purposes such as food service and the district’s Community Education and Recreation Department.

Actions at the state level

In 1994 Michiganders voted on a state funding model for schools – Proposal A, which shifted the responsibility of funding the K-12 system from local property taxes to the state. It also limited a local district’s ability to levy local school operating millages.

Last year, when the legislature shifted $208 million from the School Aid Fund to the General Fund for community colleges it was designed to be a one-time transfer being used under a tight deadline and extreme circumstances, according to officials from Save our Schools, a Lansing-based coalition of education groups.

This year, Gov. Snyder has proposed to shift $900 million of those resources from K-12 to universities and community colleges. The transfer will result in a minimum $470 per pupil cut for every district, according to information from SOS.

The cuts will be on top of the increase in state mandated costs for retirement, which will cost schools another $230 per pupil. Adding these numbers together, there is an effective $700 per pupil cut, SOS said.

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2011-12 Ann Arbor Public Schools budget process timeline

•    January-March 2011 – Revenue  and Expenditure projections
•    Jan. 24-March 18, 2011 – Budget Planning by department and level
•    Jan. 24-March 18, 2011 – Meeting with bargaining units regarding budget planning
•    March, 2011 – Input-gathering forums (Staff, Parents, Community)
•    March 1-25, 2011 – Development of Draft Budget Plan
•    March, 2011 – Meeting with Instructional Council regarding Draft Budget Plan
•    April, 2011 – Briefing to Board of Education on Draft Budget Plan
•    April, 2011 – Meetings with Staff, PTOC, AAPAC, BPSSG
•    May 11, 2011 – Briefing and approval on Budget Resolution and Notice
•    calling for a Public Hearing
•    May 19, 2011  – Publish Notice for a Public Hearing
•    May 25, 2011 – First Briefing & Public Hearing on Proposed Budget
•    June 11, 2007 – First Briefing of Millage Resolution
•    June 8, 2011 – Second Briefing and adoption of Millage Resolution; approval of the General Appropriations Act

Public invited to participate in budget meetings

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Ann Arbor school officials are hosting public information sessions in January where discussion and budget cut suggestions will be encouraged.

The forums will present current budget information and options for addressing the district’s budget deficit. Participants will be asked to work in small groups to assess the options and to offer their thoughts and other possible ideas and suggestions. The district is examining the current school year budget and the 2010-11 budget for needed reductions and any revenue options. It is anticipated that $20 million in reductions will need to be made for the 2010-11 school year.

Budget information will be posted on The Ann Arbor Public Schools Web page the week of Dec. 14 as well as an online opportunity to contribute ideas and suggestions related to the AAPS budget. Look for the district budget box on the right side of the site.

Attend a meeting:
Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. and are scheduled for:
• Thursday, Jan. 7, Huron High School, 2727 Fuller Road.
• Tuesday, Jan. 12, Skyline High School, 2552 N. Maple Road.
• Thursday, Jan. 14, Scarlett Middle School, 3300 Lorraine.
• Tuesday, Jan. 19, Pioneer High School, 601 W. Stadium Blvd.

Budget information sessions scheduled

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Ann Arbor school officials will host two-hour 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 – Huron High School cafeteria, 2727 Fuller Road.
• Tuesday, Jan. 12 – Skyline High School commons area, 2552 N. Maple Road.
• Thursday, Jan. 14 – Scarlett Middle School cafeteria, 3300 Lorraine.
• Tuesday, Jan. 19 – Pioneer High School cafeteria, 601 W. Stadium Blvd.

For more information closer to these meeting dates, subscribe to this site or visit The Ann Arbor Public Schools main Web page.

Community input sought on budget

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Dear Readers,

I want to thank the many staff, student and community members who took the time  during the recent millage election to become more knowledgeable about education funding in our district and in the state.

Todd Roberts, Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent

Todd Roberts, Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent

It is important that everyone stays engaged in the conversation about school funding as we work to address budget issues we face in The Ann Arbor Public Schools over the next few months.  I believe that it is also imperative to make sure our voices continue to be heard in Lansing when it comes to providing adequate funding for education in our state.

At this point we are still waiting to hear from Lansing what our actual per pupil funding will be for this current school year. As you recall, AAPS was looking at a $525 per pupil loss in funding (approximately $8.7 million) this year.  The state House then put forward a plan to restore $117 per pupil and half of the 20j funds (which is about $116 per pupil for AAPS) that were cut.

If the state Senate approves the House plan we would lose $292 per pupil in funding (approximately $4.8 million) for this school year.  The governor has said that she will sign the House plan if approved by the Senate.  At this point the Senate seems unlikely to support the House plan.

I expect that we will have a better idea of what our funding will be by next Friday (Nov. 20) when the full funding proration order is supposed to go into effect.

The next steps in our budget process will take careful and thoughtful planning that will include input from parents, staff and the AAPS community. We are faced with some difficult, but not insurmountable, challenges and decisions.  We will host a series of meetings in December for staff and in January for parents and the community where we will discuss our financial situation and present options for reducing costs and enhancing revenues. During these meetings we will gather feedback about possible options in order to complete our draft budget plan for 2010-11 in February.

We also need to address the reduction in state funding this school year. Over the coming weeks we will take steps to address the loss in funding for the current fiscal year. Our goal in addressing the loss of funding for this school year is to reduce costs through means that will be least disruptive to our students and educational programs.  We will discuss our options for cost reduction this year at a study session with the Board of Education on Dec. 3.

I know that we will continue working together collaboratively to ensure that our students receive an outstanding education despite the challenges we face.

I look forward to working with you in the coming months.

Todd Roberts, Superintendent
The Ann Arbor Public Schools