Ann Arbor school district releases budget information

As parent Rick Lotham was getting ready to cast his vote in the fall on a countywide schools enhancement millage, he went searching for information on how the Ann Arbor school district spends its money.

“I couldn’t really tell just from what they had posted on their Web site,” saidÂ Lotham,Â the parent of an elementary school student and a middle school student. He ended up voting no.Â

“They might be spending the money the way it should be," he said. "But I couldn’t figure it out, so I didn’t want to give them more money.”

That’s why Lotham was glad to see the district has posted a 100-plus-page PDF of budget information onÂ its Web site, including breakdowns of spending at each school, the number of employees at each school, information on the district’s revenues and other financial details.

â€¢Â Read the PDF

The PDF is located next to a survey on the Web site, asking for suggestions from residents on cost-cutting ideas.

The district is looking at a projected budget deficit of around $20 million for this year and next.

“We wanted to provide as much information as possible to people so they understand where the funding comes from and where we are spending the money,” Ann Arbor Superintendent Todd Roberts said.

The district is also hosting a series of budget information sessions in January. The first is Jan. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Huron High School.Â

Similar sessions will be held on Jan. 12 at Skyline High School, Jan. 14 at Scarlett Middle School and Jan. 19 at Pioneer High School. All sessions start at 6:30 p.m.

The intent in putting the document up in advance of the meetings is to allow people to view the information prior to coming, district spokeswoman Liz Margolis said. She said further information would be added as the district goes through the budget process.

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