Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti school boards to tackle budget proposals this week

Students walk in front of East Middle School after classes in Ypsilanti on Friday afternoon.

Mark Bialek | For AnnArbor.com

As Ericka Knowles dropped her nephew off at Ypsilanti’s East Middle School Friday morning, she had mixed feelings about the district’s recently announced proposal to close that school and Chapelle Elementary School.

“My son goes to Adams (elementary school), so we were hoping that wouldn’t be closed,” she said. “He’s doing really well there, so that’s good news for us. But my nephew (a seventh-grader) really likes it here at East. He’s got some really good teachers. It will be shame if they close it.”

Knowles and the rest of the Ypsilanti community are expected to learn the fate of the two schools Monday night when the school board votes on the proposal by Superintendent Dedrick Martin.

Monday’s meeting will kick off a week of budget cut discussions and votes in Washtenaw County districts.

On Monday, the Ypsilanti school board will be presented with a plan to shear $6.4 million out of the district’s budget.

On Tuesday, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District will be presented with a plan to hack $1.5 million out of its budget.

And on Wednesday, Ann Arbor Superintendent Todd Roberts will unveil his formal recommendation for cutting up to $20 million out of the district’s budget.

Included in the plans for the three districts are closing two schools, cutting dozens of teaching jobs and eliminating hundreds of support jobs.

Other Washtenaw County districts - including Saline and Chelsea - also have recently announced cuts, while some are still debating ways to make up budget shortfalls. Across the state, nearly all districts are facing budget problems tied to cuts in their per-pupil funding from the state of Michigan.

“I don’t think it’s ever been this bad all over the place,” said Michael Williams, who has two Ann Arbor school district graduates and currently has a daughter attending Huron High School. “All these cuts are really going to change what kind of education our kids get. It’s going to be really interesting to see how it sorts out.”

None of the proposed cuts are final. They all have to be approved by the various school boards over the course of the next several weeks.

Ypsilanti

In Ypsilanti, that vote will come during Monday night’s board meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

The district, which is operating under a state-mandated deficit elimination plan, is trying to cut $6.4 million this year. The centerpiece of the plan is the closure of the two schools and likely elimination of 23 teaching positions.

“They are just destroying the district,” Melanie Ires said as she dropped her granddaughter off at Chapelle on Friday morning. “I’ve lived here for 46 years. We always liked the school district, and having neighborhood schools is a big part of that. They are totally getting rid of that with this. I think they are going to lose students over this.”

Students board an Ypsilanti school bus at East Middle School on Friday.

Mark Bialek | For AnnArbor.com

Parent Rick Lowe, who has two daughters at East Middle, said he’s not happy about the closures, but thinks it’s time for it to happen.

“I don’t think the board really wanted to make any hard decisions in the past, and everything just built up,” he said. “They don’t have money. They don’t have the students. They have to make cuts.”

Elaine Cole, who has a son at Chapelle, said if the board approves the plan, it is looking in the wrong direction for cuts.

“They need to look at the administration and make big changes there,” Cole said. “They can save money there without hurting the kids, I know that.”

WISD

The WISD provides support to the local districts and runs special education classes.

The WISD’s total operational budget is $22.3 million - of which $18.8 million is spent on special education, officials said. Cutting $1.5 million from the budget represents more than 6 percent of the total budget.

Spokeswoman Gerri Allen said the proposed cuts include extending the current hiring freeze, cutting 6.5 non-instructional positions and reducing or eliminating several contracts and programs for teacher mentoring and other programs.

Each of the local school boards will get a chance to review the WISD’s budget before the WISD school board votes on it.

Ann Arbor

Roberts has not yet publicly revealed the contents of the proposal he will present Wednesday. That meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Ann Arbor District Library’s fourth-floor board room.

But earlier in the year, Roberts made draft suggestions during a series of public meetings. Those proposals included asking teachers for a 4 percent salary cut, possibly privatizing the district’s busing and custodial work, changing the district’s alternative schools around and making cuts to athletics.

Todd Roberts presents proposals for cuts at an earlier budget session.

“I’m really interested in seeing what makes it into the final version of the cuts,” said parent Tina Kohlman, who has two elementary students in the district. “I think the cuts (Roberts) proposed during the meetings were good. I hope they stick with them.”

But parent Bob Will, who has three children in the district, said he doesn’t think those cuts go far enough.

“They need to consolidate some of the elementary schools that are under capacity,” he said. “Then they need to get bigger pay cuts from the teachers. If they don’t do that, they’re just going to have the same trouble next year.”

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