Ann Arbor schools budget plans contain potentially controversial moves

About two years ago, Ann Arbor school board Trustee Randy Friedman raised eyebrows in the district when he suggestedÂ its marketing campaign focus on attracting students from outside the district through schools of choice.

That suggestion landed with a big thud, never to be raised again in a public board meeting.

Flash-forward to Thursday night.

As Ann Arbor Superintendent Todd Roberts announced a draft plan for making up a $20 million budget deficit in the next two years, he included opening 100 schools of choice seats in the district in kindergarten, first grade and sixth grade - along with 50 seats at the district’s alternative high schools.

Parents and others in attendance at Thursday's meeting broke into smaller groups to discuss the proposed budget cuts.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Roberts projects the district could gain $1.5 million in revenue from that move. The state pays Ann Arbor, like every other district, a per-pupil grant that forms the bulk of the district’s revenues.

While the proposal has a long way to go before it’s put in place, it could be part of a package of changes coming to the district that have been resisted for years - even while they were implemented in neighboring districts.

Roberts said he’s gathering feedback from the community on his proposal first and could tweak it before sending it to the school board for approval.

Also sure to spark conversation are proposals to possibly privatize busing, implement pay-to-play athletics and privatize custodial workers. Read the entire list of proposed measures.

School board President Deb Mexicotte said the inclusion of such proposals means the district is serious about looking everywhere for savings.

The possible moves were outlined by Roberts during a community meeting on the district’s budget issues. Three more similar meetings will occur this month, with the next one at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Skyline High School.

After Roberts outlined his proposals, the 100-plus people in attendance gathered in small groups around tables to discuss the moves. Other cost-cutting measures include eliminating 34 teaching positions, seven administrator positions and eight clerical positions.

The draft plan also calls for a 4 percent cut in wages and benefits for all staff - something that would have to be bargained with the various unions.

Teachers union President Brit Satchwell was at the meeting and said he thought the plan offers a starting point for discussions. He said he was also hopeful the district could take care of the teacher position cuts by attrition and not filling positions that opened up.

Several parents in attendance supported the ideas presented by Roberts.

“We all thought it was fair and there were no bombshells,” Wayne Baker, who has a second-grader at King Elementary School, told the large group as he reported on the discussion in his smaller group. “It looks like the right thing to do.”

But plenty of questions were also raised, including some who wondered whether the district looked at capacity numbers that could lead to school closures. Some concerns were also raised about privatizing workers.

Mexicotte said when the district privatized its food service workers a couple years ago, it was able to build clauses into the contract to protect wages and benefits for workers.

Parent Steve Norton said his small group thought the district was looking at the right things, but wondered about details. It was a view that appeared to be shared by many parents in the room.

“I think we all have some reservations about how things will turn out.”

More coverage: â€¢ Ann Arbor superintendent outlines draft plan that cuts 34 teachers, institutes pay-to-play sports â€¢ Ann Arbor student-athletes may pay to play to cover budget shortfall â€¢ Background on the district's budget.