With poll: Ann Arbor school board mounts spirited defense of district spending

In February, district administrators hope to finish up a budget for the 2010-11 school year that's likely to include more than $15 million in cuts.

It started tonight with presentations by Kathy Griswold, former Saline schools Superintendent Beverley Geltner and Ted Annis. The three are among the leaders of the Coalition for Responsible Schools for All Students, a group formed to oppose the countywide schools enhancement millage, which failed last month.

In their remarks, the trio said the group is now working to get administrative and economic reform of school districts. They also said they plan to use forensic auditors to try to analyze what they characterized as a dense school budget.

After they finished, Friedman spoke up, even though the board rarely responds to public commentary.

Ann Arbor school board member Randy Friedman

“There’s an expression in retail,” he said. “If you break it, you own it. I’m glad that A2crss.org has made tangible for the community the identity of those, who through their misinformed opposition to the millage created the mess we are in."

He accused the group of putting out “slanderous” material during the campaign about the management of the school district by administrators.

Friedman also took on Albert Berriz, the CEO of McKinley Inc, a real estate firm. Berriz largely bankrolled the campaign of those who opposed the millage.

Friedman said he and Ann Arbor Superintendent Todd Roberts met with Berriz during the run-up to the millage vote to explain the district’s finances and budget.

“He brought almost no constructive, informed input to the table,” Friedman said, adding that he told Berriz to be straight with the public about his motivation for leading the fight against the millage. 

Friedman said that motivation was saving money on McKinley’s property tax bills since McKinley is one of the largest private property owners in Washtenaw County.

“I simply can’t respect the opinion of people who don’t try to learn before they complain,” Friedman said.

Berriz, who was not at the school board meeting, had a different take on the meeting.

He said he met with Roberts and Friedman to walk them through his five points of transformation he wants to see the district take.

“At that point I had not come out in vocal opposition to the millage,” he said in a telephone interview with AnnArbor.com.

He has previously said he didn’t run his anti-millage campaign to save money on his property taxes.

“My reputation in the community speaks for itself,” he said Wednesday night.

Berriz also said he’s still interested in helping the school district solve its budget crisis. He gave AnnArbor.com a letter he sent to school board President Deb Mexicotte on Nov. 23.

“I would like to submit for your consideration the idea of assembling a Blue Ribbon panel
of financial and business executives to advise you on ways to improve your financial performance and help with your budget issues," it reads. "We have some of the brightest financial minds in the Midwest right here in the Ann Arbor region, and I am certain that if I called them personally, we could assemble a formidable group that would be willing to advise you as to best practices and creative ways to address your current budget crisis. It is my recommendation that this process go on concurrent with the public input process that you intend to start in January.

“I believe the business community is very interested in helping you, and this assistance could be of significant value to you and your team in the upcoming budget discussions you will be having with the entire community.”

Berriz said he hasn't heard back.

Friedman wasn't the only board member to counter-punch against the idea that the district isn't transparent with its finances.

Trustee Glenn Nelson used a copy of the budget, the first-quarter financial report and the district audit to illustrate what he said was a transparent way to track the district’s finances.

Nelson also took on the notion that the district hasn’t been making cuts.

“For people to stand at the podium and act like there haven’t been cuts … is disingenuous," he said. "The cuts are real. The cuts are people who do affect the education of students in this community.”

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.