Ann Arbor Board of Education vets school board candidates
Difficult and possibly unpopular decisions will soon face the person chosen later this week to fill a vacated Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education seat.
Eight candidates vying for the seat vacated by Adam Hollier Feb. 12 say they are up for the challenge. The district faces an $8 million budget shortfall this school year and, depending on the state funding outlook, up to a $20 million gap in the 2010-11 school year.
The school board interviewed the applicants Monday evening. School board members will appoint one of the candidates to fill Hollier's seat at their regular March 10 meeting, following brief public statements by the candidates.
At the Balas Administration Building, the board quizzed candidates about revenue generation and cost-savings ideas.
Hard choices facing the board in the coming months could include layoffs, reductions to employee benefits, the privatization of maintenance and bus services, and opening the district to schools of choice.Â
Few candidates addressed the specific issues head-on during the interview.
Victoria Haviland said ideas for adding revenue and resources to the district include sending a clear message to the community about what's needed and possible partnerships with area universities to identify grant money. For cost-cutting measures, the former teacher who now trains teachers at the university level said she was ready to learn more and debate proposed measures, such as the privatization of some district services.
Jeff Sabatini said his experience as a journalist and lack of traditional experience in the education field would be an asset, allowing him to act as a watchdog on the board. Big ideas that go against the traditional - such as year-round schooling - are interesting and worth further debate, he said. "There are a lot of alternative educational ideas that have been out there for a long time that are proven, and with the will, could be implemented and produce cost savings," he said.
James Corey complimented board members' approach to addressing the budget situation thus far and acknowledged they faced a difficult situation. He suggested the district consider technology as cost-savings measure. Corey, a former teacher and current graduate student in public administration who now works for the digitization project, Google Book Search, said districts spend money on books that can now be downloaded for free.
Susan Collet said she was familiar with proposals for savings, such as the outsourcing of some staff, but would hold off on commenting on specific ideas for revenue or savings so she could gather more information. The auto industry engineer said she would try to make decisions based on what was best for district children.
Andy Thomas credited the financial crisis facing the district as his primary motivation for potentially joining the board. The retired hospital administrator said he doesn't have an agenda, but wants to help solve budget problems in a thoughtful, rational manner. Thomas was one of three candidates who directly addressed a proposal to open up the district to schools of choice. He said it was an area of concern but stopped short of opposing the idea. "We need to have a plan B in place," he said.
Schools of choice allows students from within a county or contiguous intermediate school district to attend another school district if it becomes schools of choice. State funding follows each student to the district he or she attends. The option of limited schools of choice has been proposed as a way to generate a projected $1 million-plus annually in revenue. Some 150 schools of choice seats could be opened - 50 kindergarten or first grade seats, 50 sixth grade seats and 50 seats at the alternative high school at Stone School or Roberto Clemente School.
Haviland and candidate Jack Panitch echoed Thomas' sentiment of concern.
Jack Panitch, a tax lawyer turned stay-at-home dad, said he has "a lot of learning to do," but as a board member would work to help preserve education, which he called the community's best asset. He said several of proposed ideas for budget savings are great and need to be discussed. "The fact is I don't want to say anything more without all of the data," he said.
Christine Stead said she has vetted some options proposed for savings, but preferred to speak about revenue ideas. The business management consultant said she favors more strategic approach toward sustainability and independence, with both foundation work and an eye on business partnerships.
Margy Long, a retired non-profit executive, said the board shouldn't shy away from proposing another countywide millage. In November, voters struck down the 2-mill, five-year schools enhancement millage that would have raise $30 million for public schools countywide per year, costing the owner of the home with a $100,000 taxable value $200 per year.Â
She said privatizing maintenance and bus services was an area of concern. "I'm very concerned that the employees that have the least ability to absorb that kind of trauma are the ones we end up putting the trauma on," Long said.
Haviland, Thomas, Panitch, Stead and Long have children in district; Sabatini has a child entering kindergarten; Collet's children graduated from the district and Corey attended Ann Arbor Public Schools but has no children in the district.
Hollier's short tenure on the board ended following his resignation. He had withdrawn from the board's last race just shy of the May 2009 election, but was elected anyway. In the end, he agreed to serve and was sworn in July 2009.
Hollier's resignation is the second on the board in recent months. Longtime Ann Arbor school board member Helen Gates-Bryant resigned last November and was replaced by Simone Lightfoot in December. During that replacement process, seven people applied for the seat.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Jeff Sabatini did not address schools of choice in his interview, while Jack Panitch said he favors schools of choice. AnnArbor.com regrets the error.
Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter
Comments
Jack Panitch
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 : 7:25 a.m.
And a very humble "thank you" to those who wished me well!
Jack Panitch
Wed, Mar 10, 2010 : 11:58 p.m.
Snapshot: I'm smiling. You made the "Your Voice" section with your comment. I'm reading it just exactly one hour after getting back from the candidate presentations: the Board chose the very well-qualified Christine Stead, and it was a great choice. I'm not laughing at you or your post, I'm laughing at the irony. Have a great night!
snapshot
Wed, Mar 10, 2010 : 8:25 p.m.
Jack, we need to stop blaming the state and looking to them for solutions. We also need to stop taking a paternal view of taxpayer supported jobs. There are plenty of privatized services that are working very well, if not better than payrolled, union employees. We also need to stop talking, analyzing, and wasting time and money debating rather than making decisions so we can get on with educating the children rather than protecting vested interests and necessary jobs. We also need to square the unions away and make it clear that non union people need jobs too. Non union people are qualified to perform just as union folks are.There should be no concern between a properly vetted union or non union school employee as it relates to job performance or child safety. For anyone to indicate otherwise is clear evidence of a hidden agenda.
owlnight
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 4:50 p.m.
Jack-at least i can hear you, good luck
jeffsab
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 4:18 p.m.
Jack, perhaps the reporter confused you with me. I certainly do not favor schools of choice, and did not even address the issue in my interview. Best wishes for Wednesday.
Lisa Starrfield
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 1:49 p.m.
Blueplate, Schools of choice may not be simply taking money from another district. We have a large number of children in Ann Arbor who attend private schools rather than public. By providing them some choice within the district and perhaps magnet programs, we may lure them back.
just a homeowner
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 11:37 a.m.
Andrew, you never know how many kids will enroll until the school year starts. Actually until count day. I would like to hear how Jack might cut costs. How about closing Community and selling the building and moving it to Skyline? How about cutting buses to CHS? How about pay to play? How about consolidating elementary schools?
blueplatespecial
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 11:34 a.m.
Andrew- Thank you it does clarify the issue. I also agree with you on giving school of choice access for programs that students may not have access to in their home districts (i.e. Clemente). Best of luck in your bid for a board seat.
Andrew Thomas
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 11:23 a.m.
@ Blueplatespecial: You are correct, the "school of choice" option is essentially a zero-sum game in which some districts will win at the expense of others. I would support this option to the extent that it is applied to schools such as Roberto Clemente which are unique in the area, and which could attract students from other districts who are in danger of falling through the cracks, and who have no other opportunities to succeed within their own districts. The other problem with the "school of choice" option is, you don't know how many students you actually attract until well into the school year, at which time budget adjustments are more difficult to make. So if you build the budget around projected revenue of $1.1 M from attracting 150 "school of choice" students and you only attract 80, you have a half-million-dollar hole in the budget. That's why I said we need a "Plan B" that can be quickly implemented in case the "school-of-choice" students don't materialize. Hope this clarifies the issue (as well as my position).
blueplatespecial
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 10:58 a.m.
Jack- Given what I have read from you here, I had to say I was surprised by the response attributed to you in the article. Glad to hear you have put yourself forward for this challenging (and thankless) position. Good Luck. I did have a questions about school of choice. At the end of the day, isn't it merely a transfer of wealth from another Washtenaw district to Ann Arbor? All local districts are hurting to some degree so taking a $1 million from them would further increase their pain. And the children remaining in the home districts would suffer more cuts so that Ann Arbor students wouldn't have to suffer as much. This doesn't seem equitable. If my understanding of the impact of schools of choice is correct, I would not support it and would like to see other revenue plans explored.
Jack Panitch
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 9:42 a.m.
P.S.: I don't need a reporter to make me look vacuous. I can do that all by myself, thank you very much. Anyone who wants to see just how vacuous I am should plug my name into the search function on Annarbor.com, drink a large cup of coffee and start reading.
Jack Panitch
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 9:15 a.m.
I must have been so incredibly boring that I put the reporter to sleep during my interview. Her portrayal of my comments omits important details. When asked for specific ideas about revenue and cost-cutting, I first mentioned schools of choice as an idea on the revenue side I fully supported. The reporter omits my name as one of the people citing schools of choice. That is a small omission in comparison to the next. On the cost-cutting side, I, did, indeed, explain that, given my legal training, I was reluctant to prejudge without all the facts. I explained that Brit Satchwell was on record as saying that there were ideas for cost cutting that went beyond anything discussed with the public in the budget forums, and, not having the full picture, I did not want to commit myself to anything that made no sense later. Heres Brits quote: [beginning of quoted material] Our bus drivers and custodians do not make large salaries. They provide more than just transportation and cleaning. Their well being within our community is our well being. Shame on us if we throw them "under the bus" because we can. There are places within the budget to cut that go beyond those items proposed thus far in our community budget forums. Let's pause, put ourselves in the other guy's shoes, and do what's right as we navigate the financial mess left to us by a dysfunctional state government. Privatization will not solve that larger problem or even help us cope here at home until Lansing does its job. Let's not spiral downward any further by privatizing... these employees are local homeowners, shoppers, and school parents, and our neighbors. Brit Satchwell [in response to blog comments about the story Staff, parents concerned over consequences of privatizing custodial services at Ann Arbor Public Schools, Annarbor.com, January 14, 2010. [end of quoted material] Anybody see the point in passing judgment now on a moving, shape-shifting, work-in-progress? I dont.
ScottyBoy
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
Michigan: Welcome to the State of deferred maintenance.
DagnyJ
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 7:04 a.m.
So, none of these candidates look like they have the chutzpah to do what has to be done with the school budget. Mushy ideas and responses. And float another millage? What are you, nuts?