Ann Arbor schools coping with standing-room-only classes, smaller staff

Posted on Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:59 a.m.

Ann Arbor schools coping with standing-room-only classes, smaller staff

By Amy Biolchini

Students wait in the crowded cafeteria to pick up their schedules at Skyline High School on the first day of school Tuesday, Sept. 3 in Ann Arbor.

Brianne Bowen | AnnArbor.com

It's standing room only in some Ann Arbor Public Schools classrooms after 36 teachers were cut for this school year.

Classes pushing 40 students have resulted in shared desks and standing room only for some subjects at Pioneer High School, said James Svensson, parent of a freshmen at the school.

“I’m afraid my daughter won’t get the quality education that she needs,” Svensson said.

AAPS officials have been hustling to adjust class sizes and sections following budget cuts in June.

Though district officials are continually monitoring class sizes, there will likely be classes that will have 35 students throughout the whole year, said spokeswoman Liz Margolis.

'Packing them in'

High school classes are seeing the biggest capacity strains.

Svensson, a clinical social worker at the University of Michigan, said his daughter came home from the first day of school "shocked" at how many students she was sharing class with.

In her accelerated geometry class, there are 38 students in her section, Svensson said. In another section, there are 41 students. History and German classes at Pioneer are also seeing class sizes larger than 38 students.

“There’s only so much time a teacher has,” Svensson said, stating he fears that the quality of education at AAPS will slip as a result of the staff cuts.

In general subjects like English, social studies and math, “…they’re packing (students) in,” said Linda Carter, president of the Ann Arbor Educational Association.

Large class sizes are the biggest concern for teachers, Carter said. She’s been touring AAPS buildings this week with her team.

“I understand where we are financially as a district … but you really want to have a manageable, smaller class size,” Carter said. “You don’t need 29 kids in the first grade. You want to be able to service and teach all the kids.”

Cuts to staff

The Board of Education approved cutting about 40 positions from the district’s staff in June. It accounted for 45 percent of the district’s overall $8.7 million cut to operations.

After 233 teachers were put on layoff notice over the summer, district officials scrambled to match open positions with their available staff. At least three of the teachers that received layoff notices resigned for other jobs, Carter said.

A total of 20 employees resigned over the summer and 35 employees retired.

In many instances, teachers retired and they weren’t replaced, Carter said.

However, the district wasn’t able to avoid its first-ever layoffs: Two employees—an equivalent of 1.2 full-time employees—were laid off.

“We have not been through this before,” Carter said. “This was new ground.”

One was a .2 FTE dance instructor at Community High School, and the other was a full-time business education teacher at Skyline High School, Carter said.

Adjusting class size

Any class size that’s larger than the maximum in teachers’ contracts are being evaluated, Margolis said.

“We are monitoring class size every single day across the district,” Margolis said.

In particular, district officials are monitoring two large classes at Community High School: Spanish II and Latin I. Additional sections may be added, Margolis said.

At high schools, enrollment figures continue to fluctuate as district staff drop students from the roster that haven’t shown up for the new school year. Margolis estimated that process should be complete by Sept. 11.

Teaching positions remain open within AAPS. At Pioneer High School, there are three substitute teachers in classrooms that the district is still working to hire full-time teachers for.

“You want to have the kind of positive public relations that comes from the Ann Arbor Public Schools district: ‘Come to Ann Arbor. We have smaller class sizes.’ …We can’t really say that right now,” Carter said.

The district needs more teaching assistants as well.

In kindergarten classrooms, if there are 23 students a teacher is assigned a part-time teacher assistant automatically.

If there are more than 28 students in first or second grade, a teacher has the option of accepting $300 per student per semester in their paycheck, or requesting a teaching assistant in the classroom. That threshold for grades 3 through 8 is 30 students in a classroom.

In the high school, if there are more than 32 students in a classroom a teacher has the option of getting $60 per student per semester in their paycheck or requesting help with grading.

“We wouldn’t keep the classes at 40 (students),” Margolis said, stating that a likely cap this year may be at 35 students for some high school classes.

Counselor positions that have been eliminated have resulted in two counselors traveling between buildings for the first time.

Staff are moving between Clague Middle School and Huron High School, as well as between Tappan Middle School and Skyline High School. Forsythe Middle School also experienced a reduction in counselor positions from 3 to 2.5, resulting in a counselor traveling between Forsythe and Slauson Middle School.

The absence of a full-time counselor for some of the grade levels is “huge,” Carter said.

Amy Biolchini is the K-12 education reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.

Comments

Elizabeth

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 9:52 p.m.

I know you aren't getting much data from the district, but any comparisons to past years would be helpful. In the pre-Skyline and pre-1998ish elementary redistricting, there was a lot of crowded classrooms in AAPS. My AAPS 3rd grade class in the late 90's had 33 students for awhile and my Huron classes in the mid 2000's regularly had 35+ students and often started the year with more students than chairs. While the situation now sounds bad, it is actually significantly worse than it has been in the past? I got an awesome education at Huron, even with the large crowded classes.

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 8:56 p.m.

When you have hundreds of high school kids taking an *extra* seventh class, there are bound to be larger classes. The kids have to go somewhere. The core of the issue is the scheduling- tell the kid a class is FULL- and arrange schedules that accommodate more kids. Giving every kid every class they want enables class sizes to reach 35-40+ sometimes they need to make choices. its called the real world. If only 10 kids want a class, no more class- cancel it.

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:30 p.m.

I meant that the schools need to lay out a master schedule where there are multiple options to take core classes, and that they don't all overlap, leaving limited options. Perhaps the trade-off for allowing students to take seven classes if they choose is larger class sizes. And since Skyline had to lose three teachers to keep trimesters, one would anticipate class sizes to increase. Bob, did you include days off in your calculations?

Basic Bob

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:08 p.m.

Each half-credit at Huron and Pioneer requires approximately 79 hours of classroom time. Each half-credit at Skyline requires 63 hours. Now that's some creative scheduling.

moe

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 7:30 p.m.

What happened to all of the extra space at Pioneer for Clemente students?

Eli

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 6:58 p.m.

Homeschool.

tmo

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:36 p.m.

If the BOE wants the sinking fund ballot to pass, they need to map out SPECIFICALLY how it will be used to meet specific classroom size goals. In other words, give numbers on what it will allow the district to achieve. Presently they are simply asking for a blank check and implicitly saying 'trust us' by actions like cancelling meetings with the public.

tmo

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:52 p.m.

aamom, While directly the sinking fund can be only be used for facility improvements, the public relations documents being circulated by BOE trustees themselves are tying the passage of the ballot to class size. These documents indicate that the new funds will offset funding cuts that have resulted in larger class sizes. In other words there is an implication that more money would be left in the general fund to pay teachers I guess. That could possible be the way it turns out, but only if there is restraint and certainly it would be nice to see some numbers on how this will more directly reduce class size. If they make these claims, the public is owed more details in my opinion.

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:15 p.m.

Right Bob. But it can't be used for teachers so there is no way the sinking fund millage would address classroom size goals as tmo was hoping it might.

Basic Bob

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:09 p.m.

The sinking fund can also be used for athletic practice facilities.

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:43 p.m.

Sinking fund can only be used for building maintenance, not for teacher salaries.

Greg

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:31 p.m.

From checking out several organizations web sites that should be faily impartial ( IE: It seems the US is still spending quite a bit more than most countries per student on education. ( IE: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/9613031ec013.pdf?expires=1378903032&id=id&accname=ocid195144&checksum=AFCEF41F4A9FA704E94F0FB5BB552854 ) Now I guess the question is then, why are we always being told constantly by those running the schools that we are not spending enough??? Could it be because of bureaucrats who want to grow their salaries and the size of their kingdom rather than supporting the teachers and kids. Seems like that is the trend in Ann Arbor school district from what I read about this administration. Spends like a drunken sailor (as if the funds are unlimited) - but that is truely unfair to the sailor as at least he is spending his own money.

Robert E.

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:53 p.m.

Seriously Greg...don't you think that's a bit of a stretch? Grow their kingdom? Come on man...that's just ridiculous...the simple fact is our schools are woefully underfunded...looking at comparisons to other countries means nothing...challenges of public education are way more xomplex in the U.S. compared to other countries...

treetowncartel

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:31 p.m.

So long, farewell, .....gonna miss this place

Kyle Mattson

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.

We'll miss you too treetown. Hope to see you over on Mlive in the future.

thorj97

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:26 p.m.

If you haven't read the article "Ann Arbor schools Board of Education cancels Wednesday meeting", make sure you check it out. Apparently there is a "lack of agenda items" for the BOE to discuss. You cannot make this stuff up.

Goober

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 6:39 p.m.

The Ann Arbor voters love this BOE.

jimbo

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:37 a.m.

Just buy more desks, then it won't be standing room only! Duh.

eastsider2

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:31 p.m.

Ah, but then you need to buy bigger classrooms to put the desks in. Some rooms are already over crowded. No more desks will fit. No more chairs will fit. Set aside the problem of a teacher trying to teach 40 kids at once, they physically cannot fit in some of the rooms. (all comments relate to pioneer high school)

SonnyDog09

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 11:46 a.m.

I am sure there must be union work rules against moving chairs from one room to another.

Robert E.

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:15 a.m.

Wow...please please people don't be so naive to think that this problem is not a systemic consequence of extreme lack of funding allocated for public education in this country...everything would be just fine if our federal and state govt would simply fund out children's public education adequately...blaming the AAPS BOE is a cop-out and waaaaaay too easy of a target... While there is plenty of blame to go around, the absolute inescapable truth is that federal and state conservatives in this country have slowly but surely cut enormous chunks of funding from our children's public education while at the same time brainwashing people with their ridiculous teacher-bashing rhetoric...I guarantee Nixon, Goldwater, and likely even Ronny Reagan would be horrified by what conservatives have done to public education...so so sad...

snoopdog

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:03 a.m.

How about we get rid of public sector unions and allow business folks, and other professionals teach courses. Many of us are qualified and we would not demand a pension , healthcare for life or 12 sick days a year. I don't get any sick days so I would be happy to settle for 6 sick days. I will even let you drop the step raises and the paid time off professional days or personal days. Heck, give me 60 grand for working 9 months and I will sign on the dotted line. Good Day

Robert E.

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:02 a.m.

Snoop...yer kiddin right?

lynel

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:11 a.m.

How about you go into a classroom for one week and then get back to us about how easy it is. Or just one day.

Stephen Landes

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:52 a.m.

Cut central administration and hire teachers. I am sure the district doesn't need all the central staff it has. Just decide not to do some of those functions if they do not have direct bearing on supporting teachers in classrooms. If necessary outsource some of that administrative work (e.g.: payroll) to service companies. Then get rid of the duplication in athletic department staff (ADs for each high school? no way). Then look at classes being offered: prioritize and eliminate those that are lowest on the priority list. Focus resources where they are providing direct support to teachers and students.

belboz

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:47 a.m.

Glad Skyline was built to solve that overcrowding at Pioneer. If some redistricting had been done for this year, we'd not have this issue. How about some proactive work this year for the start if next year BOE. Close some schools, consolidate, and save.

TheDiagSquirrel

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:28 p.m.

I'm sure the AAPS BOE is beyond thankful that Annarbor.com is moving to MLive, where there wont be as many commenters exposing their continued incompetence.

thorj97

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:19 a.m.

OR as many readers, since many who have grown accustomed to Annarbor.com won't be switching to MLive after the 11th.

15crown00

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:23 p.m.

They better get it done.SRO in high school classes? never heard of such a thing.

tmo

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:47 p.m.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe I saw a BOE trustee passing out election materials in support of the upcoming sinking fund ballot at the Pioneer capsule night last night. One of the claims in the flyer is that the sinking fund would help offset funding cuts that are responsible for increased class sizes. Can AA.com reporters try to evaluate whether there is any validity to this claim? The flyer was produced by Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee. I thought the fund was to be used for facilty improvements. Are funds to pay teachers freed up by the sinking fund revenue?

DonBee

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:27 a.m.

tmo and towncryer - Without the sinking fund, facilities work has to come out of the general fund (e.g. the fund that pays salaries and benefits). In 2002 there was no sinking fund and there was a significant amount of money that was spent on maintenance from the general fund that could be covered by the sinking fund. Similar to this back in 2002 some of the bonds were covered out of the general fund, because the bond money was not enough to cover them. The sinking fund, used correctly can take a significant amount of stress off the general fund, but lately it has been used for a number of projects that are interesting, such as the new artificial turf at Skyline. I would want to see some definition from the board on how the money will be spent in the future.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:16 p.m.

I received one in a classroom also. I would like to hear about the validity of the claim also.

Julia Mattucci-Clark

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:36 p.m.

...and there are no agenda items for a BOE meeting? This is baffling.

DPHSTeacher

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:28 p.m.

Let's see, keep the Latin teacher--but lay off the business teacher. Really?! You will NEVER use Latin in the working world. You will use the skills that business education courses teach you such as personal finance (who doesn't need to know how to manage their money in the down economy?); computer applications (you'll use all of the MS Office programs in college and the workforce); or general business administration studies (everyone will work in a business one day). What the heck is the matter with administrators throughout the country when they cut business ed. but keep Latin? I don't care if it's a romance or ancient language. Means nothing. Keep the practical courses. Maybe if half the country had learned personal finance in business education courses, the housing market wouldn't have collapsed in 2008 and the economy wouldn't have tanked when people took out mortgages they didn't understand and couldn't afford--all because of ignorance.

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.

Jason's Latin 1 class at Community is packed. Of course, Jason is an awesome teacher!

MichU

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:16 p.m.

Latin rocks! It's a foundational course, and I'm glad that my son has the opportunity to study it this year.

aaparent

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 10:56 a.m.

The Latin program at Pioneer with Finch and the newer Latin teacher Ganio are big assets to this district. In addition to what other commenters have posted, many students do Latin to understand grammar better to make up for big holes in the AAPS curriculum in writing, grammar, and more in K-8. Is there still Latin in the middle schools or was that cut?

J. A. Pieper

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:25 a.m.

Maybe in your school system, your comments would be accurate, Latin for DPHS?

kuriooo

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:18 a.m.

I agree with the people commenting that Latin is incredibly important - for standardized testing, foreign language learning and language comprehension in English.

CLX

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:18 a.m.

An amazing teacher is valuable regardless of the course, but an amazing Latin teacher is a gift. Studying Latin is studying language itself, it's patterns, how it is formed, etc. There are several different business class options; there is one Latin course.

Stephen Landes

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:02 a.m.

I'm surprised that a teacher (if your screen name is anywhere close to accurate) would write such things. Latin is the most practical language course outside of English: it is the root for many other languages; one can learn how to study a language by studying Latin (the skills are transferrable); of course Latin is used in many professions. My son studied Latin in high school here and then went on to study film in college. After four years of Latin he found he had read the central works that form most of the plots and stories of today's films and had done so in their original language. He has since learned German, French, Italian, and Spanish all with the help of his high school Latin. We need more students studying Latin, learning about the roots of our language and culture. Otherwise we face a future of a decreasing vocabulary among our children and a resort to spelling and speaking anyway one wishes to because it's all equally valuable. That's a ridiculous way to chart a course for the future.

ahuronparent

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:47 a.m.

Today's New York Times has an op-ed piece on this issue, regarding the possible sale of works of art at the DIA, and what that would mean culturally speaking. Michigan's school system is mentioned, as is the value of art and the humanities in the business world. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/arts/design/in-detroit-a-case-of-selling-art-and-selling-out.html

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:26 a.m.

Apparently no one signed up for the boring business classes that you can learn on your own (don't need a class to learn MS office). Instead, kids flocked to interesting Latin classes, which includes culture and history, and since Latin is the basis or language, it is quite useful. I took Latin in high school, and found it helped with vocabulary (root words), as well as on standardized tests. Administrators cut the business classes that were empty- no need to have a teacher for an empty classroom. FYI, kids learn computer applications in middle school. Only those looking for an easy "A" take a business class on MS Office. Latin is one of TWO languages my kid took in high school.

ahuronparent

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:17 a.m.

You really think that some personal finance classes in business ed would have saved the country from a historic financial collapse? Would that our problems were so easy to fix. You set up a false dichotomy: both business classes and Latin / French / German / Spanish are useful. Students who are well prepared for college and beyond should take both a foreign language and also classes dealing with how the business world works.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:25 p.m.

"You will NEVER use Latin in the working world". Said no doctor or lawyer ever. How often is French used for that matter? Don't start attacking different offerings because AAPS administers didn't take these personal finance/business education courses you speak of---this is exactly what they want. Don't notice the guy behind the curtain pulling the strings...

rcastentman

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:26 p.m.

Apparently, some people have had their heads in the sand for the past 5 years or so? Every other school district in the area has been cutting their budgets, laying off staff, outsourcing, and spending down their fund balance. It may have taken a bit longer for AAPS to join them due to the large fund balance AAPS had. Where other districts made tough decisions over the past 2-3 years, AAPS kept spending, "hoping" things would get better. They haven't. Here's a catch-22 to ponder. AAPS opens up slots for "schools of choice" students from surrounding school districts. This practice helps to sustain the budget because every student brings $$ with them....although not as many $$ as an in-residence student brings. So...school of choice students add money to the budget....and help to fill the classrooms. But wait! The classrooms are now overcrowded and effective teaching may/may not be happening! Should AAPS reduce class sizes by opting out of school of choice in the future? Some would say yes. But remember.....they'll be losing the $$ those students bring with them. Which, in turn, means fewer $$ to spend on staff....which then results in crowded classrooms........which means in-residence students may start looking elsewhere for a quality education.......which means less $$ for the district. Well, you get it. Some would call it a "death spiral". But this is nothing new to those of us who have been watching what's happened in surrounding districts. Our only hope is this: once all of the school districts in the State of Michigan have felt the pain, have overcrowded classrooms, have outsourced everything but the teachers, have no fund balance left to spend, then and only then will the the folks in Lansing begin to consider solutions. Until that happens, better get used to overcrowding and making difficult budget decisions. That's just the way it is in public education in Michigan today.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:28 p.m.

I could almost agree with you except that many believe AAPS have not cut to the bone (see Balas, athletic budget, etc...). That I believe is what is angering many people about the overcrowding, along with its detriment to a good education.

aakay

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:33 p.m.

I have been baffled by the populace of Ann Arbor for many years. Why do the parents of students at Huron, Pioneer, and Skyline sit idly by and watch money siphoned from the three high schools serving the largest number of students to fund a private high school, i.e. Community High? Please keep in mind that the students at Community are not in any way underprivileged. The students at Community High would experience success at any one of the three main high schools.

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:31 a.m.

But at Pioneer and Huron there are every elective your precious little one could ever want. Some kids bring a lunch- and doesn't Pioneer allow juniors and seniors off campus for lunch? Any kid can get into CHS- but if they don't apply, they cant complain. Where are your facts that CHS is the most affluent in town? Do you check everyone's household income yourself? Ever look in the parking lot? Far more luxury vehicles at PiHi and Huron. Crybabies.

CLX

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:22 a.m.

aa2mom: So if your kid doesn't get into Community, he or she can't thrive? If that's true, then it's particularly outrageous that only a select few get the attention and nurturing, and the rest of the peasants get the leftovers. It's a two-tier system, and some get less so that some can get more.

Basic Bob

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:02 a.m.

Community High School. It's merely coincidence that they are the whitest and and most affluent public school in town. They would suffer greatly if they couldn't lunch in Kerrytown every day and then take the bus back to Huron or Pioneer for their afterschool activities.

ahuronparent

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:21 a.m.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand cue the Community bashing, right on schedule. As if that solves anything. Your comment suggests you're fundamentally unfamiliar with the students at the school, and the curriculum and staff.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:29 p.m.

We do notice---but it seems to be the sacred cow. It has been argued to death in these comment sections.

aa2mom

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:33 p.m.

@aakey, You must have no children who need alternative learning environment to nurture them grow and transition to young adults. It is not true that 'the student at 'Community High would experience success at any one of the three main high schools.' Absolute wrong!

Wondering

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:44 p.m.

When we as a community start approving educational millages only when we see clear evidence of good management and good educational outcomes, rather than as a result of crisis management and sensational stories about educational disarray, then our schools will begin to function more effectively. If we want our schools to function according to the principle "let's just throw more money at all the problems," then we should continue to approve millages in response to highly-publicized, well-timed crises. For those of us who have lived in this community for many years, the number of times that we have seen pre-millage educational crises is quite disturbing. Time to expect professional conduct from both our educators, and to reward only those who choose to operate in that way. The same principle should apply to those politicians whose children are in private school and who have been doing their best now for many years to undermine the public education that has supported our democracy since our democracy began. The way to change this situation is to vote at the local and state and national level--for those who support competent management and instruction in public education. And vote not to support any millage increases until those leaders demonstrate they know how to use the money they already have fairly and effectively.

kris

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:12 p.m.

Yes....best comment on this thread

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:01 p.m.

Well spoken.

Dan

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:40 p.m.

It would be suprising if there were not significant adjustments in class scheduling after only four days of school. Of course staff is stretched to make these adjustments but it would not be prudent to size the staff based on what is a peak load requirement to get class sizes levelized at the start of the year. There must be uncertainty about how many and what students (location, class requests etc.) will show up for the start of each year but that is a part of the job of the adminsitration to sort it out at the begining of the year. The scheduling software has its limits and human action is likley needed. It is not up the BOE to micro-manage that. If these difficulties still existed after corrective steps in the next several days, then it would be signficant. Probably a good idea for the administration and buliding leaders to comment via their own methods and to supply feedback for media on what it is doing and "how it is going" so the information the stakeholders are receiving is a bit more balanced than portrayed in this article.

Mark O'Boyle

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:33 p.m.

Forsythe Middle School lost a Counselor also, we no longer have Grade Level Counselors. We have 2.5 instead of 3. One travels between Forsythe and Slauson. This delivery system affects the whole school community negatively.

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:25 a.m.

Good thing we have an awesome Forsythe counselor who does his best to accommodate the kids and work through their scheduling issues, despite last minute district changes! We appreciate him!

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:29 p.m.

A counselor position at Forsythe Middle School was also cut. I've added that information to the end of the story.

Unknown

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:21 p.m.

This is both deeply heartbreaking and inexcusable! The state thinks they're improving education when they're really killing it!

Get over it

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:40 p.m.

And send us the way of Detroit by voting for those with a track record of supporting competent effective public unions

Wondering

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:05 p.m.

No, the state does not think they are improving education--they are indeed trying to kill it. We all can do something about that. By voting for those who have a track record of supporting competent effective public education.

David Barnett

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6 p.m.

It is my understanding that Ann Arbor its self cannot just spend extra money on operational expenses (salaries). That has to be distributed couty wide, which is why we can't millage our way out of this. Can someone confirm this? If it is true then we are at the whim of the rest of washtenaw county. It might be smart to petition Lansing to loosen these restrictions, especially when it comes to non-core curriculum, which would allow us to free up other money for more core curriculum teachers.

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:22 a.m.

You are correct David.

matt1027

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:39 p.m.

But we have money for a skate park. And overtime for cops (one detective made $120k last year) who can't solve any crime that doesn't have video evidence or the suspect is caught in the act. Useless...the sexual assaults and murder have no progress. But there all over those money making MIPs.

DonBee

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:21 a.m.

Matt1027 - While you and I pay taxes from one wallet, the various governmental units have put lots of buckets out there to hold the money, and moving money from one bucket to another is almost impossible because of the way the laws are written. While the city did the skate park (mostly with donations and private fund raising), and the city paid the detective that money - AAPS is a separate legal governmental unit and does not share revenue with the city.

DJ Earl

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:50 p.m.

Everything you mentioned has to do with the city. This is about schools. They're you go.

A A Resident

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.

The Ann Arbor Schools have been "crying wolf" for as long as I can remember. Is it any wonder that some of us have learned to ignore it? I guess their latest little drama tactic is to fail to put enough chairs in each room for the students. "Standing room only". Very creative, highly conspicuous, and it sounds terrible. But that's not the kind of creativity we're looking for. Bet I can find unused chairs elsewhere on school grounds.

towncryer

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:10 a.m.

Not to mention a fire hazard.

eastsider2

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:16 p.m.

CLX is correct. I was in Pioneer classrooms last night and if you put more chairs in some of those rooms, you would not be able to move - there would be no aisle left to walk in. Most high schoolers have adult bodies. And with their books/backpacks taking up more room... I'm sure it's not easy to get from one side of the room to the other. I can't say how the other HS rooms are.

CLX

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:39 p.m.

Stop in and glance at the classrooms. Some are just not designed for 40 chairs, desks and kids. Some are. And even if you can get 40 chairs in the room, the tight squeeze is not ideal, and the desks/chairs are really on top of each other (found this out at curriculum night). Some of these students have adult bodies.

harry b

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:55 p.m.

Why is Ann Arbor having such a problem in their schools. It not like they are Inkster or Detroit. Very wealthy people live in Ann Arbor. You don't see these problem in Plymouth/Canton, Northville, Novi. What are they doing differently.

harry b

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:48 p.m.

AAMom I disagree Canton is number 3 in the state. Novi is number 7. Northville is #11. Ann Arbor is 44. http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MI/districtrank.aspx

harry b

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:42 p.m.

jmcmurray So Plymouth Canton raised taxes with the voters approval. Kids are not sharing a desk. They do have bus service. Why doesn't Ann Arbor just raise taxes. At least Plmouth Canton kids are learning in a third world enviroment.

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:20 a.m.

@ harry b The talk among my friends in Michigan is the same. All the schools are cutting and people don't feel like they are getting the same quality of education. AA is just bigger so problems and successes are magnified. Also, AA has always prided itself on providing a very high quality education. When many of us moved here we had our choice of towns to live in. While the ones you listed above are very nice, the schools couldn't compare so we chose AA. Now we are slipping down to mediocre with everyone else. Proposal A is working as planned.

CLX

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:42 p.m.

You may also have different populations with different needs in different places. Building costs may differ, etc. I think it's worthwhile to see what we could do better, but a flat comparison to other places is not necessarily useful. And as a community, we're entitled to want more or different things for our kids.

jmcmurray

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:16 p.m.

sorry about the bad link. Here it is again, if anybody actually wanted to do some research for themselves. http://www.pccs.k12.mi.us/sites/pccs.k12.mi.us/files/shared/Bond%202013%20FAQ%20WEB.pdf

jmcmurray

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:09 p.m.

It's everywhere, Harry. Novi's running with a defecit, and Plymouth/Canton had to ask their residents for more money. http://novi.patch.com/groups/schools/p/novi-faces-nearly-4-million-deficit-in-2011-12-school-budget http://www.pccs.k12.mi.us/sites/pccs.k12.mi.us/files/shared/Bond%202013%20FAQ%20WEB.pdf

Charles Curtis

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:54 p.m.

Perhaps the BOE and admin should do some work on scheduling in June and July and not be caught with their pants down every Sept. And this will get worse when count days happens and we find not as many students are attending even though classrooms are over capacity. And then all the extra cost in teacher assistants or bonus pay for too many kids in class will be another surprise and what did our BOE do...cancel their meeting. GET TO WORK and get on with redistricting, consolidating, or what ever the politically correct term is today. But we might have saved some money on their food budget, or did that get ordered and given away?

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:44 p.m.

they need to put all the high schools on skyline 20 percent less filling credit hours. then they can give 30 hours for the price of 24 to those who want it. or massive study halls or passes for those who don't. they can offer more choice and less teaching. and if someone is denied a class, oh well, make it up another time, just like college.

justcurious

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.

Is the disgruntled parent the one who said "standing room only"? Some of the comments are taking this quite literally....he has a lot of power to make so many believe him. "It's standing room only in some Ann Arbor Public Schools classrooms after 36 teachers were cut for this school year. Classes pushing 40 students have resulted in shared desks and standing room only for some subjects at Pioneer High School, said James Svensson, parent of a freshmen at the school. "I'm afraid my daughter won't get the quality education that she needs," Svensson said."

eastsider2

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:12 p.m.

Yes, at Pioneer two of my child's classes were "standing room only" with not enough chairs for students. Others had enough desks/chairs bu there were so many of these in the room it was hard to move around. A couple classes had reasonable class sizes.

Tizz

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:31 p.m.

Pioneer, Community, Huron, Skyline, Robert Clemente and Stone School High School were rated the best high schools in Michigan by U.S. News and Business Report. So why can't AAPS function as well as it used to do? This is shameful.

a2schoolparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:49 p.m.

Not sure if they really are the "best". Huron is ranked 16th in Michigan, and 763rd in the nation. Regardless of how meaningful such ratings are, this ranking is not what Ann Arbor should be proud of, which is an extremely educationally-oriented town.

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:47 p.m.

nothing has changed. they always had overfilled classes the first week. even worse, they were in trailers. they need to close the 89 year old downtown high school and move those kids into the mistake on maple.

justcurious

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:26 p.m.

My my calculation.... "The Board of Education approved cutting about 40 positions from the district's staff in June. It accounted for 45 percent of the district's overall $8.7 million cut to operations." That's $97,875 per position.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:53 p.m.

That's correct. AAPS teachers average $104,000 in total (salary plus benefits) compensation. Almost all of the positions cut were teachers. I think 2 were office professionals/ support staff. They make less than teachers, but only about 30% less.

a2schoolparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:24 p.m.

So when the next millage vote comes (which is soon), how do I decide? I am so torn. The quality of education is being compromised, it has been compromised for a while, many kids (including mine) don't get what they need. But on the other hand, having read so many articles about how BALAS and BOE do things and heard from other parents about what they know, I just don't want to give more money to THIS PARTICULAR BUNCH OF PEOPLE.

J. A. Pieper

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:47 a.m.

I am also caught about what to do with the up coming sinking fund millage. As a parent, and educator, I see too much waste in AAPS, and have voted NO on everything in recent years. The waste just irritates me to no end, because I have to cut back my spending, and there is less I am able to do for my children. I believe that AAPS could still do better, especially when funding their administrators. The BOE could do themselves a great service by specifically stating what the sinking funds were going to be earmarked for, as another post suggests. I also believe that the district IS trying to scare voters into voting for this, I mean Standing Room Only for some of our classrooms? This is horrible, but a devious plan for the BOE to get us to vote yes! The more important vote will come with the countywide enhancement millage, coming in November of 2014, where I will definitely be voting NO! I bet everyone will be suffering this year next time, so that it has more hope of passing. Mark my words, this is probably part of their long term plan!

West Side Mom

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:28 p.m.

We need to let the BOE know that for this community to back another Sinking Fund millage, the BOE needs to produce a capital improvements plan that shows what capital improvements are going to be need in over the next 5-years and how and where Sinking Fund money will be spent to meet those needs. Not generalized buckets; not ad hoc plans formulated the year the money comes in. I supported last Sinking Fund millage last time but will be hard pressed to do so this time if there is no plan other than to simply spend the money. Not easy to do either as my kids attend AAPS.

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:50 p.m.

yes, the boe and unions want you to feel cornered. they are responsible for the mess, and they will benefit from the millage. no good reason to let them win, because they will still shortchange certain students.

Maizenblue

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:06 p.m.

So Ann Arbor is so poor that we can't afford reasonable class sizes, or even water for the middle school swimming pools? Did "greedy" teachers and "incompetent" administrators and board members really bring us to this low point? We are dealing with the aftermath of an economic meltdown caused by a complete failure to properly regulate the financial industry. Compounding that has been our state government's priority for corporate tax cuts, rather than support for education and other public services at all levels. Manufacture crisis after crisis, cut cut cut, appoint emergency managers, tear up contracts, and beat up retirees. What a sorry state we are in!

thankfulmom132

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 10:47 a.m.

aamom, I don't think it is just an Ann Arbor problem. However, I would think that Ann Arbor would be a leader in finding ways to provide the simple service of a desk and chair for their students. The news has been full of districts in Michigan that are making changes to improve the education of their students with the money provided. But, theses districts have been proactive instead of reactive. Have you not read about the many districts providing technology to enhance the education experience and be cost effective at the same time? What does Ann Arbor have to offer except excuses for their lack of planning?

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:13 a.m.

thankfulmom132 Please tell us about about these wonderful districts in Michigan that you speak of? Friends I have talked to from Saline to Traverse City all complain about the same things. Cuts in programming, increase in fees etc. Your head is stuck in the sand if you think this is just an Ann Arbor problem.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:37 p.m.

Maizenblue, Ann Arbor has had the lowest unemployment rate of the state during this very trying financial time. Why are other school districts in Michigan able to provide a desk and chair for their students? Begin to think of how to change. Ann Arbor is being left behind.

A2rocks

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4 p.m.

The administration is most likely waiting until count day before making any decisions on fixing the overcrowding in some classrooms. Better get accustomed to this...it's been happening in most neighboring districts. In a few years 35 students will sound like an average sized class. What a shame!

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:51 p.m.

they do every year. nothing new.

A2transplant

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:54 p.m.

Ahh...almost a ripe time for businesses to step in and "save the day," since the public doesn't want to.

Bulldog

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:49 p.m.

After reading all of these comments I am thinking perhaps the BOE did not need to cancel their scheduled meeting due to lack of agenda items. I think there is plenty to discuss and comment on at Public Forum.

sandy schopbach

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:39 p.m.

Ann Arbor, like Grosse Pointe, has always been known for the quality of the education it provides. People choose to move to either of those places in order to procure a better education for their children and hopefully ensure a better future for them. While small classes aren't a prerequisite for a quality education, large classes are a definite detriment if all the students aren't quick learners who can cope on their own. Teachers just don't have adequate time to help everyone who needs help. In an AP class (if those still exist), the students may well do fine; not so with a standard class that cuts across all learning abilities. My high school classes were sometimes 32. Most of us did well. But I can't imagine having to share a desk or trying to "learn while standing". That's just ridiculous. I know there are budget problems. But hasn't Ann Arbor always voted tax hikes for education? There's only so much that can be cut from the budget, and either the Board has already done that or they have made poor choices because doing away with teacher positions when students are 35 to 40 to a class is just unacceptable.

kuriooo

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:49 p.m.

Well put, particularly about the numbers of students in relation to various learning abilities, etc.

Greg

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:39 p.m.

This school district spent millions long after they knew financial troubles were coming. They bet that they could use the reserves to outlast the cuts so they would not have to make the hard decisions they should have been making instead of continuing to spend more than they were taking in. We need some administrators that know how to manage a budget instead of burying their heads in the sand and hoping things will work out.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:34 p.m.

With second week of school reports like this, it's easy enough to see why the Board of Education cancelled their meeting for tomorrow. They didn't want a mob of angry parents creating a "standing room only" situation at the Library too.

jns131

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:32 p.m.

If anyone was anyone, upon exiting the Pioneer High School Building Monday nite from parent nite, you would think it was a Michigan home game. The parking lot was packed and full. There were parents in droves Monday nite. I could nite believe it. So after reading this? No surprise there. I thought Skyline was having enrollment issues.

C'est la vie

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.

Time to organize a protest rally in front of Balas. Enough is enough!

Brad

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.

Any "standing room only" situations at Balas? How about layoffs there? That's what I thought.

J. A. Pieper

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:13 p.m.

Brad, I totally agree, love to see some Balas people sweat it out, just like the teachers do in my building No windows that open, must leave inside and outside doors closed, air conditioning is set to come on when temps hit 78 degrees according to reading monitored at Balas. Oh, and regular thermometers in the classrooms are indicating it is in the high 80's, but those don't count, we only use them for science. I do believe that all staff at Balas should work under the same conditions that staff and students in the classrooms face! And then we get notes from the energy efficiency people questioning why we use FANS in our classrooms! We are not asking for the temps to be at 65 degrees, we just want to have some moving air that helps all of us breathe!

aaparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:58 p.m.

It seems the knee-jerk response from Balas is to say it's not their fault. If it isn't their fault or responsibility to manage difficult finances in the best way possible, then whose fault is it? It's the BOE's job to manage the policy decisions and hire/fire the superintendent and other large decisions. I am tired of the BOE and Balas providing justifications for poor planning and near incompetence and then posting advertisements about being exceptional. At the very least, let's find a new marketing campaign. "Trying Our Very Best In Tough Times" "Doing more with Less"

SemperFi

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:08 p.m.

No standing room problems there. Their AC works properly, too. Can't say the same for the AC at PiHi.

Leahpanda

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:28 p.m.

Returned from capsule night very concerned about what my child will learn at Pioneer this year! 40 kids in German. Kids sitting in he floor. How are they suppose to learn a language in his atmosphere? Evil and wrong. Bring the teachers back. People at Balas with teacher certain should be teaching a class somewhere! When will we see the numbers change? When kids get so discouraged they drop the class? This is not a solution!

Get over it

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:17 p.m.

Bring back the teachers lets bring back parents

TryingToBeObjective

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:09 p.m.

Skyline cancelled German 4. Would that option be preferable?

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:04 p.m.

"Any class size that's larger than the maximum in teachers' contracts are being evaluated, Margolis said." I'm a fan of teachers, but I'm no fan of unions in general. However, what does it say when the only thing keeping the district "administration" from cramming 40 or 50 kid to a classroom is a union contract? Not what's best for the kids or any of the reams of information from studies of youth education and established best practices...a union contract. This is a scary thought, and it should bring hoards of angry parents to the board meetings. It's difficult to believe that there were no administrative and non-classroom overhead cuts that could have been made to the budget, before they started cutting teachers, and even more difficult to believe the current situation is the result of anything other than a deliberate attempt use and exploit kids in order to manipulate their parents. It's pretty disgusting. Also, if the current situation results in more aids being hired and unbudgeted cash payments to teachers for the excess number of students in their classes, where is the savings?

AMOC

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:19 a.m.

Solitude, my "total teacher compensation" number of $104k is directly from the BoE budget discussions this spring, and includes salary and benefits, but does not include "points", or other over-time / extracurricular payments. The average is $4k larger than the similar number quoted by Robert Allen in the spring of 2012. So the total cost to AAPS of an average teacher went up by 4% from year to year.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:53 p.m.

Ann E, it is the district that is trying to manipulate parents, not the teachers.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:52 p.m.

AMOC the figure you quote for AAPS average teacher salary is grossly inflated. Per the state, it's $72,122, which I don't believe includes the value of benefits. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/b1014_12_422158_7.pdf

Ann E.

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:18 p.m.

Most people in unions would prefer not having to be in a union. You are witnessing one reason they are necessary and exist. I do not think it fair to assume this is a "deliberate attempt (to) use and exploit kids in order to manipulate their parents." Isn't it unrealistic to think teachers and staff could absorb such cuts without any impact on students?

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:42 p.m.

Teachers in AAPS make an average of $104,000 in salary plus benefits. Full time classroom aides get a little less than half that much in total compensation. (Not all people in this category work full time.) Expect to see most of the newly-assigned aides in these overcrowded classrooms charged against the Special Education budget somehow, because the costs for Special Education aides are partially reimbursed by the Feds, the State and Washtenaw County's Special Education Millage. Only if there is no student with an IEP in the room will AAPS consider the aide a "classroom over maximum" expenditure, and I bet they will pro-rate the cost of the aides on a period-by-period basis. Also, expect that there won't be any additional aides actually hired until just after the November election, and only if the Sinking Fund Millage is renewed.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:56 p.m.

I would guess that teachers make more than aides do, but not more than 2 or three aides, and certainly not more than a full-time "district spokesperson" makes, or any of the other full-time functionaries at the district level who apparently aren't even capable of making sure there are enough desks and chairs in the classes they are overloading.

Chrissy "Editrix" Yates

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:25 p.m.

I'm trying to figure out that last part myself. I suppose it would help to know the median salary for teachers versus aides. Perhaps the cost of more teachers and their benefits is more than just giving out extra cash/paying an aide.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:08 p.m.

Make that "aides" being hired, not "aids."

Chrissy "Editrix" Yates

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:01 p.m.

Are the numbers right in this story? It's pretty incongruous for a teacher to get $300 per student at the elementary level 9 (and is it per student or per student over the 28 limit?) and only $60 per student on the highscool level. I understand a good educational foundation is important but 30 (elementary students) x $300= an extra 9K per semester which seems high.

Prometheus

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:06 p.m.

Chrissy, Yes, the teacher is being cheated a bit (exactly why administration has no problem filling classes up). It's way cheaper. Albeit, to be more exact, overage for secondary last year was $66 per student (over the class limit - varies, but 33 in most classes). Special Ed. students also count double, so as an e.g., in a class with 35 students, including 3 special ed. students (who require more attention / 504's don't matter) a teacher would get ($66 X 5 = $330 per semester - pretax). It doesn't come close to actually paying for the extra work (grading) required, but that's how the contract is written.

Chrissy "Editrix" Yates

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:35 p.m.

Hmm I suppose one difference is in elementary school an extra student stays in your class all day while on the high school level, an extra student is only there for one class. I just looked up the wording on AAEA's website . (http://www.a2ea.org/docs/2009-11%20AAEA%20Contract%20OFFICIAL.pdf) "7.134.3 When class sizes in any elementary classroom, including special area classrooms, exceeds these maxima by up to two (2) additional students, an overage payment of $300 per student per semester shall be made to the teacher. " Also not factored in is that the extra payment is only valid if the overages are recorded on "count days" which makes sense from a financial point of view but means that teachers get nothing if an over-the-limit class only occurs on the first few (and for some the most stressful) days of school such as above. Prometheus, your calculations make more sense but also seem a bit cheap when you take the average salary of a starting teacher (38K, http://www.a2ea.org/docs/13-14%20Salary%20Schedule%20EA.pdf ) and work out that they get a little over 1.3K per student in a class of 28. Then $300 per extra student seems like the teacher is being cheated unless there's a variable I'm missing.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:26 p.m.

Chrissy - The difference is that an elementary teacher has that extra student for the entire school day, except for their prep period. That's approximately the same as 5 of 6 "class periods" that a secondary school teacher would teach. So elementary teachers get $300 per extra student for ~5 student contact hours / school day, and secondary school teachers get $60 per extra student per class period or contact hour. If the high school teacher has 1 extra student in each of the 5 classes he or she teaches, that will be the same $300 / month in extra money.

Prometheus

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:12 p.m.

Overage is per student OVER the limit. Elementary classes with 30 kids will get the teacher $600 more per semester; high school teachers with 35 students in a class (max is 33 for most) get an extra $120 per semester.

C'est la vie

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:46 p.m.

While an overburdened teacher deserves some compensation for their efforts, this money does nothing to actually address the problem of young students not getting the attention they need. It acknowledges the extra stresses placed on the teacher, but (as far as I know) doesn't provide them a boost of physical energy and time to attend to all the students. My son is in kindergarten at Haisley Elem. and his class has a wonderful teacher and assistant, luckily. I'm not sure of his exact class size though.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:41 p.m.

Chrissy "Editrix" Yates, Wow, that is a lot of money! Thank you for taking the time to figure out the amount of extra money being made at the expense of the students and taxpayers. Isn't the AAPS supposed to be not for profit?

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:14 p.m.

The figures came from district officials and were read from the contract language.

Maggie Levenstein

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:57 p.m.

Students are also being encouraged to take classes on-line or during the summer because there aren't enough teachers and space in classes. Greenhills, where the governor's kid goes to school, does not accept credit for or permit students to take on-line classes. But with the cuts to education funding, our kids are being forced into them.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:22 p.m.

Catasetumkid - Why don't you ask him? He is accessible. Rather than making a statement based on your opinion. As to cuts, the one time cut, was two years ago, last year for many schools most of the cut was restored. The hold harmless districts (like AAPS - who have gotten temporary extra money for more than 20 years) only got a portion of the cuts restored. This was to help bring the funding in the lowest funded districts up closer to the top funded districts. Yes, AAPS only got an increase of $5 a student, but they started out more than $2000 per student higher than the bottom funded schools. You may not like the idea that all districts should have equal funding per student, but there is something in the Declaration of Independence about equality and that is what the US was founded on.

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:25 p.m.

@Don Bee, this was BEFORE his budget cuts. No way would he allow his daughter to be in a class with standing room only.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:22 p.m.

Ms. Levenstein - If you check the cost for Greenhills and then look at the more than $14,000 per year per student that AAPS has (total budget) what is the difference? I think you will be surprised at how little it is. As to Governor Snyder's daughter, her friends are going there so she asked. Her brother was at Huron and the Governor was very active in the school community when he was. His daughter was also in AAPS until SHE asked to go to Greenhills. The governor was perfectly happy to have his children in public schools.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.

It's not the funding cuts, it's the mismanagement of the money that is there by the district's administration. They are making conscious decisions on the allocation of funds that are not very defensible. A2 schools get as much or more money per kid as higher performing, better managed districts in other parts of this state and in other states. See DonBee's post above.

Haran Rashes

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:22 p.m.

My daughter took summer school this year and last. And she, along with many of the other students she knew who took summer school did so to fit electives into her schedule. For example, she could not fit various core classes into her schedule along with electives such as Band and her Design Technology & Environmental Planning magnet class. She had a choice to make and she chose to push herself to get ahead. It was not because of a lack of teachers.

walker101

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:55 p.m.

"I'm afraid my daughter won't get the quality education that she needs," Svensson said. Should be afraid because she will not get the quality education she deserves.

teacherfriend

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:55 p.m.

Ann Arbor is now facing what many districts have been coping with. It is hard to anticipate enrollment and yes adjustments will be made, but classes of 35 for the whole year is unconscionable. Funding problems for public education have caused districts to make many cuts. Wake up and smell the coffee, until the folks in Lansing get on board with adequately funding schools it is only going to get worse.

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:23 p.m.

Agreed. In Northville, for instance, they HAD a target of 26 students per classroom. That went out the window in 2011 when the cuts were made.

Nicholas Urfe

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:49 p.m.

If only A2 schools could afford to spend another MILLION DOLLARS on articficial turf for the sports teams! Oh wait - they just did that. If only the board felt the urgency to use every scheduled meeting slot to address these dire financial issues. BTW, has the board started bringing their own food, or are taxpayers still paying for catering?

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 8:47 p.m.

Nicholas, YOU are the one whining about money already spent. MOVE ON. Do you even have a kid in AAPS? I have no need to talk to Skylines principal because I DON'T CARE. It's done.

Nicholas Urfe

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 7:13 p.m.

@TTBO: "YOU don't have any information. YOU just ASSUME the field is not used for PE classes. If YOU really care SO much, why don't YOU either ask the principal, or spend some of YOUr obviously ample free time up at Skyline and see or YOUrself?" Newsflash: it isn't about me, it is about "standing room only" classrooms and the school blowing a million bucks on a new lawn that they did not need. Spin it all you want, but they spent a million bucks on a new lawn. And that is outrageous from any perspective.

aaparent

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:19 a.m.

Wasn't the turf on the Skyline field damaged originally from student vandalism, not senior pranks, but Skyline students who spray painted something obscene on the field that could not be removed. I recall there was some controversy about this and that the students were not required to pay anything towards repairing it. The entrance sign at Skyline was vandalized sometime over the summer and is getting repaired. It looked like the sign was vandalized since the letters that were removed left words that could be pranks.

TryingToBeObjective

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:58 p.m.

You don't have any information. You just ASSUME the field is not used for PE classes. If you really care SO much, why don't you either ask the principal, or spend some of your obviously ample free time up at Skyline and see or yourself?

Nicholas Urfe

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:47 p.m.

"I have personally seen gym classes on the field numerous times I was at Skyline last year," Last year? That was before the Million Dollar turf was installed. Your information is out of date. Your seeing some students, in some past year, does not excuse or change the outrageous million dollar "lawn" the school installed. How can the school install a million dollar lawn when students are forced to stand in classrooms? The people who made that decision need to be replaced. They can fire some of the excess athletic directors while they are at it.

TryingToBeObjective

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:06 p.m.

So it has not been established that the gym classes use the field. You don't even know, so you assume. I have personally seen gym classes on the field numerous times I was at Skyline last year, to check something at the office entrance, which is adjacent to the field. So yes, they do use that field. Which means that every student, not just the athletes, have access to the turf field. Every student. It's done with, so can we move on to money not already spent? If anyone had a beef, they should have spoken up last spring, before the turf project started. Broken records, move on!

Nicholas Urfe

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:58 p.m.

@RC: Show me where I said the sinking fund should be used for "teacher salaries". Time and again the board refused to give up their catered meals. That it took so much public outcry, for so long, is very telling. "Would you object if classrooms needed to be retiled? Same thing." It may be the same thing to you. But it is like saying a million dollar lawn is just as important as a million dollar roof on the school building. To most people, they are not even close to comparable. Kids don't need a million dollar articial turf field to run around. Grass is just fine. And it has not been established that the gym classes even get to use that field, or how often.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:52 p.m.

Gee Nicholas Urfe, what part of "the sinking fund cannot be used for teacher salaries do you NOT understand. She explained it, and if you had been reading A2.com, you'd have known long ago that the board cut the catering budget (which they needed to do). And I believe the question was asked regarding if the PE classes use the field with the artificial turf? Would you object if classrooms needed to be retiled? Same thing.

TryingToBeObjective

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:47 p.m.

Nicholas, where do the PE classes meet at Skyline?

Nicholas Urfe

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:03 p.m.

@Amy, thanks for the update on the catering budget cut. I realize that the after school sports field came out of the sinking fund, but that does not excuse it or matter. Those funds should be used for education, not after school prima-donna facilities. That is just one of the many ways in which after school sports spending is hidden. It is money that is not available for the core educational mission.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:23 p.m.

Funding for the $900K artificial turf field at Skyline High School came from the sinking fund millage, which cannot be used for teacher salaries. Teachers are paid from the general fund. The existence of the sinking fund means that general fund dollars aren't diverted from paying for things like teachers to property maintenance and upgrades. Though the Board of Education initially said they would preserve their $5,000 food budget for meetings, it was cut during the final budget deliberations. (See the full list of cuts: http://annarbor.com/news/education/by-the-numbers-ann-arbor-public-schools-final-2013-14-budget/)

Bulldog

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:48 p.m.

We wouldn't want 29 students in a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade class! Each grade has significant material to cover and teach to mastery.

CLX

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.

Commoncents: Some Catholic schools may have those numbers, but certainly not all. My nieces and nephews never had numbers nearing those (usually 18-20). Private schools around here are even lower -- 2 teachers for 20 kids at times. I do think schools with parents devoted to education is great, and makes a difference, but I don't think your numbers are fair.

CLX

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:55 p.m.

We already have that in those grades, and have for a few years.

Commoncents

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:58 p.m.

Catholic and private schools in 1-5th consistently have 30+ students in a classroom. How could that be ? They have parents who care. Disruptive students with "no" parents is the main reason why class size matters in public school.

YouAreNotAlwaysRight

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.

We need to stop spending $1 billion EVERY DAY on a stupid war that means nothing to us and start putting that money to the things that really matter to our nation! This is absolutely outrageous, there is no chance that you can get a proper education when you have to stand for the entire class period.

justcurious

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:33 p.m.

I agree about the spending on war...but that money is borrowed money...not real money.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:19 p.m.

Totally agree.

Dog Guy

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:38 p.m.

What we've got here is failure to administrate.

fanny

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 7:04 p.m.

Dog Guy, Cool Hand Luke was always one of my favorite movies. That line is precious.

The Infinite Jester

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:34 a.m.

some BOE members, you just can't reach...

JPLewis

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:28 p.m.

Send your kids to private schools. Don't tell me it's not affordable. Adjust your family budget priorities and it's affordable.

MichU

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:59 p.m.

We need to support the Public Schools; they are the foundation of democracy in our republic. Wake up!!

spaghettimonsters

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:48 a.m.

Yeah, because EVERYONE can magically "readjust" their budgets. Because, you know, you don't really* need all of that heat, and I'm sure that your landlord will be happy to accept less in rent. Right? Because that's how it works.

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:20 p.m.

Without good public schools, we will be heading down a slippery slide to medieval Europe. Instead of your idea, I suggest that we eliminate all private schools. If everyone had a vested interest in great public education we would have great public education. Such is the way in Finland, where schools went from near the bottom to the top in recent years.

DetroitMetro

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:22 p.m.

I find some of AA's problems laughable. They make almost twice per student in foundation money than many other school districts in the area, and yet have to resort to throwing too many kids in one classroom. The state needs to change Proposal A, any district with declining enrollment cannot make up for the loss of students. With all of Michigan losing enrollment, (where are those jobs Mr. Snyder), all public schools will be having problems with budgets. Then Ann Arbor schools has to figure out what it is doing wrong with the money. Start with looking at the overhead costs of administration: superintendent, assistant superintendent, human resources, ect. Cuts should always be done to put as little negative impact on learning as possible. What about the sports budget, is that even comparable to other districts that size? Perhaps cutting/reducing some sports, or having a sport boosters type of club to help fund raise to offset those costs would be more beneficial. I have to say that I can't feel sorry for a district that receives almost twice that of my own kids' district. If Ann Arbor can't make a go of it, how do you expect other districts to provide a good, quality public education with almost half of what Ann Arbor receives?

Get over it

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:42 p.m.

If you want to see enrollment drop cut sports and parents will find schools with everything to offer your kids

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:47 p.m.

AMOC.....the booster clubs are private. They're not part of the school system. Unless you're a member of one, I don't see that it's any of your business how they use the money. They raise it, and they use it. I have had four kids go through the A2 Public Schools, and all four of them played sports, and all four had booster clubs. They are there to augment what the schools cannot provide, not be the main source of funding.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:59 p.m.

Detroit Metro - There is a very active collection of Sports Boosters Clubs in AAPS. They raise and spend a very substantial (but unpublished) sum in addition to the $3M in general fund money that AAPS acknowledges spending on athletics. Plus the $900k artificial turf practice field installed at Skyline this past summer and other field house / locker room / weight room facilities paid for with sinking fund dollars, but used only for athletes. I, for one, don't want to give AAPS any more money until the Booster Club accounts are audited and the results made public. Your calls on overhead and excess administration are right on.

Sarah Heidt

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:12 p.m.

One of my daughter's classes was so large that they divided the class into two rooms and the teacher goes back and forth from one classroom to the other throughout the hour. So for roughly 50% of the time there is no teacher in the room.

fanny

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 7:06 p.m.

Sarah, I can't believe that a Principal would allow a classroom to be unattended for even a minute. Teachers are responsible for the welfare of their students and this would, indeed, be a safety issue, among others. What school does your daughter go to??

TryingToBeObjective

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:19 a.m.

Sarah, are you in Saline?

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:24 p.m.

Sarah, what school and grade level is your student in?

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:02 p.m.

Some of you are going to hate this post. The BOE made choices, sports before teachers, administrators before teachers. Those choices are reflected in this article. Now they have the community good and stirred up, that will result in the move to get an enhancement millage on the ballot and the BOE hopes it will pass. They have a problem, it needs to pass WISD wide - Saline, Dexter, Ypsi, etc. all have to agree too. If the sports funding had been cut, 20-25 teachers would have been retained. If the administrative cuts had been made, a similar number of teachers would have been retained. But those kind of cuts would not have generated the fury that cutting teachers will have and the "get out the vote" that the BOE wants. IF the children's education truly comes first, than a number of the choices the BOE made, make zero sense, when it comes to the budget. Now the other shoe will drop on the budget: 1) The student numbers will probably not match the budget 2) More teaching assistants than are in the budget will be needed for larger classes 3) More teaching assistants will be needed because of the removal of the resource rooms for K-2 4) More teachers will qualify for extra money because of the higher number of students in their room. The board will not have numbers probably before October, and then there will be a scramble to make more budget cuts. And with that another article on how short funded the district is. AAPS is in the top 15 districts per student for state funding, not including Durant money (reimbursement for Special Education costs). They spend (total budget) more than $14,000 per student per year. That is (for a 30 student classroom) $420,000 in revenue. The teacher costs $104,000 of that (salary and benefits). Something is wrong with HOW the money is spent.

kris

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 4:36 p.m.

Thanks for your thoughtful response DonBee. I agree that the dropout rate is highly disturbing and should concern us all. However, in the reports I read about the skunk works project is that it involves replacing teacher-led classroom learning with cheaper, online courses....a scheme that I hardly think would benefit troubled students in danger of dropping out. I would think they would need MORE hands-on learning with caring teachers, not LESS of it. And of course I agree that we need to seriously examine how education is delivered..there are jobs that didn't exist 5 years ago... our culture and technology is changing rapidly and our education system needs to adapt. However, it disturbs me to hear that there are those in Snyder's staff who are involved in secret meetings about educational reform. Why the secrecy? This needs to be a public discussion. If this is being used as an anti-Snyder push as you say, then why isn't he being more forthcoming about what his true thoughts/plans are for public eduction in MI? I voted for Snyder the first time around and have been generally supportive of him, but his vagueness on this issue really disturbs me.

DonBee

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:06 p.m.

Kris - I have no doubt that at least one member of the Governor's staff was working with a group on ideas for lower costs in schools. I have no details on it. I do not know and will not make assumptions on whether the Governor knew or not, or if he was pushing for it. As to the idea, I would suggest that anyone really interested in schools should be thinking about how to deliver education more effectively. We have a 16 percent drop out rate, in any industry a 16% reject rate would be completely unacceptable. Before you get upset that people are not parts, you are right - absolutely right - people are not parts. But the loss of 16% of the children from the school system is absolutely unacceptable. We need to figure out how to do a much better job at getting ALL students to graduate. When we look at SAT and ACT scores, we have too many people with scores that are not where they should be. How do we fix this, it is not just a school problem but a society problem. Do we need to teach parents? Hold parents accountable? License parents? I don't have an answer. People learn differently, some learn by hearing, some by seeing, some by doing, some by trial and error. Right now our school model was built to turn out factory workers - it is an industrial model (look it up if you don't believe me). Do we need to re-think the model the schools run under? Is the German model better for our society? Do we need PhD's driving Taxis? There are dozens of questions that need to be answered, and if the "skunkworks" was working on finding answers to getting the 16% to graduate, I am in favor of it, if they were looking at cutting the teachers off at the knees, I am against it. The details on what was happening are missing, right now it being used as an "anti-Snyder" push. We need to drop the red vs. blue and work on how to best serve the students, not the administrations, the unions, the board of education - but the students.

kris

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:08 p.m.

DonBee: what do you make of recent reports in the Free Press and other media that Snyder and his staff are involved in "skunk works" plans to develop a cheaper, alternative education model in the state? True or false?

MichU

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.

Amy, I have to agree that you should reach out to Steve Norton and get a different viewpoint.

DonBee

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:15 a.m.

To update things, now that I have the 2013-14 budget document and have crawled thru it. The total revenue expected by AAPS for 2013-14 is 240,288,466. That works out to $14,389 per student. Again numbers come from AAPS's own budget document on their website.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:25 p.m.

Where do I get $14,000? From the 2012-13 budget document that AAPS passed. I have not done the same analysis yet on the 2013-14 budget document. Blended Count (number of students) 16,420 Proposal A income $126,992,280 Discretionary (hold harmless) - 21,116,120 Delinquent taxes - 700,000 UofM married housing - 0 tuition - 60,000 income from investment - 300,000 (would be less in 2013-14) rental of school facilities - 500,000 universal service project - 0 parking project (UofM home games) - 1,180,000 bilingual education - 50,000 Special education - 9,800,000 adult education - 100,000 vo-ed - 100,000 golden apple - 0 driver's ed - 0 medicare fees for service - 1,000,000 prior year adjustment - 670,000 medicaid outreach - 500,000 country special education -17,500,000 (WISD millage) tuition others - 250,000 reimbursement - 500,000 athletic admissions - 300,000 misc (e.g. PTO thrift shop) - 500,000 sinking fund - 17,210,000 bond fund - 18,247,500 food service - 3,824,262 Rec&Ed - 7,798,449 Grants - 9,005,056 Total budget - 238,203,717 dollars or $14,362.60 per student. Now from that you get all the things - not just teachers that the school does. Of this 180,248,400 is unrestricted and can be used to pay for teacher's salaries, etc. This is all in the AAPS budget document, it took a bit of time going back and forth between pages to find all the numbers.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:43 p.m.

Responsible Citizen, and anyone else who is interested, the first link is to a state data base that breaks out revenues and expenditures per pupil, average teacher salaries, and a great deal of other financial data by district, then follows it with more details and rankings per district. You can see which districts collect more and which collect less, how much they pay in overhead, etc. Then you can go to the second link and compare the academic performance of particular districts. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/b1014_12_422158_7.pdf https://www.mischooldata.org/DistrictSchoolProfiles/ReportCard/TopToBottomRanking/TopToBottomRankingList.aspx

Rob Pollard

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:26 p.m.

Donbee, where do you get $14,000 per student (and thus $420,000 in revenue)? I've only been able to find figures that show $11,449 per student (see this June 2013 doc from MI, http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/b1014_12_422158_7.pdf). Where's the extra $2,500 coming from?

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 7:21 p.m.

Yep. You're right and I stand corrected, Donbee. I will, from here forward, cede to your anonymous blog postings on a site filled with right-wing A2 haters, over the very public and transparent fact-gathering performed by a group of people that have been working their tails off for the kids of our state. And your attempt to disparage and discredit them here is absurd. But never mind. I cannot stomach this, I'm off.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:48 p.m.

a2anon - Talk about cherry picking data. MIPFS has a number of supporters who will benefit directly from more school funding (I am NOT talking about Mr. Norton). They choose the "facts" and numbers they want to use carefully, ignoring a large number of sources of funding and other "facts". I work from total budget numbers, because frankly every dollar is valuable, and comes from the taxpayer's wallet. We taxpayers do not have one wallet for state taxes and another for federal and a third for local, all the money is taken from our same paycheck. While some money is restricted in how it is used, other money is not. The reimbursements for special education (Federally mandated, has to be done education) never counts in a MIPFS discussion, even though 100% of the WISD and the State reimbursement can be used for salaries and benefits. This money adds greatly to the what is available for teachers and staff, but MIPFS wants to focus not on the impact of the Durant settlement and how that has moved money that would have been in the foundation grants, to a reimbursement fund instead. More then $900 million dollars in state funds went into Durant reimbursement in 2010-11 according to the CRC report "Financing Special Education:" report 378 which was published last May, that is a 60% increase in less than a decade. It was probably close to $1 billion last year, but the numbers are not out yet. Move the money over into the foundation grants, and you would see a significant increase on an annual basis, but MIPFS does not want to count this money. Nor the sinking funds, the bond funds, the technology funds, the WISD millage for special education or any of the other funds that now make up much of the $29 billion that state and local governments spend on education in the state. As to slashing - I believe the 1 time cut was 6 percent - half of which was restored this year, but most of that half went to lower revenue schools.

kris

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:50 p.m.

aaparent: why do you think I am angry at DonBee? To the contrary, I agree with a lot of what he has to say. I am, however, amused by his ability/opportunity to have detailed, fact-finding discussions with anyone and everyone connected to AAPS. Can't decide if I'm impressed or skeptical.

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:23 p.m.

Yep. Donbee relies quite heavily on the fact that nobody will research and fact-check and figure out his cherry-picking data. Did you even look at this links I provided? The articles are not long, and really important.

Commoncents

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:55 p.m.

If the staff at AnnArbor.com had even half of the investigative mindset that DonBee has we'd actually be getting somewhere. The board of education is playing Ann Arbor like we're a bunch of rich idiots that will get emotional ("it's about the kids, lets just pay money") What makes me most angry is that it appears to be working! DonBee for school board or AnnArbor.com reporter!

aaparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:54 p.m.

@Kris - I think all the commenters here have a right to anonymity and some have reasons for it that are connected to jobs, families and the perceived repercussion of posting a personal viewpoint when they also hold a professional position. I don't understand your anger at Donbee though. I don't have the time to look up and fact check everything he says, but I have checked on a few things and find him to be very accurate on the numbers and facts he presents. Donbee has helped keep the BOE and Balas accountable by being able to post and repost facts that are brought up at board meetings over time, then not referred to when a new issue comes up. I don't want to spend time guessing who Donbee is, but want to put all my energy towards helping this school district move forward effectively, not incompetently, on a number of really tough issues. The current article about oversized classes and lack of chairs and desks is way more important to me, since it impacts kids' learning, than trying to pin down who Donbee is.

kris

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.

DonBee frequently posts about gaining exclusive, behind-the-scenes information from conversations with Rec and Ed staff, booster club people, coaches, Balas administrators, teachers and principals from numerous schools, sports officials etc. Seriously...who are you? Unless you work for AAPS, I find your constant claims strain credibility.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:44 p.m.

Solitude.......to which school districts are you referring? When a statement such as this is made, I'd like to see it backed up with facts.

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:42 p.m.

And another very nice rebuttal to DonBee's so-called "facts:" http://mipfs.org/node/204

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:39 p.m.

And if you still don't think that the financial problems in the Michigan public school systems can be traced directly to manufactured crises coming from our state government, here's a great summary: http://mipfs.org/node/164.

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:28 p.m.

DonBee, That's easy. I want to STOP slashing school funding, go back to where it was before Snyder took his axe to it, and then KEEP UP with INFLATION. That's it. It's a no-brainer, really. OH, I also want SNYDER and Lansing to fix the unsustainable pension funding issue. They refuse to do this, and it is NOT in local control, we can do nothing about it. Why do they refuse to fix it??? Hmmmmm..... what a great way to force the public schools into failure so your corporate for-profit buddies can sweep up.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:18 p.m.

a2anon - How much more money do you want? at the rate the budget is put together in AAPS they want an additional $700 per student per year. That is an increase of $11.5 million per year in revenue. If you did that statewide, it would mean an additional $1,107,517,600 per year in additional funding or about $112 per person (from babies on up) per year in taxes. Given the average per capita income in the state of just less than $28,000 (down from just under $30,000 in 2000) and is slowly rebounding, finding an additional $112 per person - $448 per household of 4 people each year would exceed any reasonable expectation of annual income growth. By year 5 the total would be an additional $2240 per household. In year 10 it would be $4480 per household. We cannot just throw money at the problem, we need to stop and rethink how we do things. The state (total state and local funding) is putting $29 billion dollars into education this year. What are we really getting statewide for that kind of spending? AAPS has more money per student than almost any district in the state. It is a good district. But, the cuts have been centered on the classroom for the last 4 years and not on the overhead.

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:43 p.m.

Yes I can. Ann Arbor has a reputation for great schools. I don't want adequate schools, or barely passing schools, or middle-of-the-pack schools. I chose to raise my family here because the values of this community reflect mine. When AAPS is compared to districts like Chelsea and Dexter and Saline, I have to laugh. How can you compare these homogeneous, primarily white, middle-to-upper class school districts, with AAPS? Answer -- you can't. Oh, but if you'd like to see our funding dive to, say, Inkster levels.... well, then we will have Inkster level schools. Oh wait, wasn't that a district that was just un-funded into non-existance?

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:37 p.m.

It's much easier to blame the governor than it is to explain why A2 schools do less with more than many other districts. Facts are facts, AAPS IS in the top tier in per student funding. Other districts, both in MI and in other states, DO offer more and better with less. I don't agree at all with many ideas coming from Lansing about online high school, etc., but you can't blame mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility on Lansing.

A2anon

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:27 p.m.

No, Amy. What's reflective of the situation at this moment, is the fact that Snyder and his legislators decided to take money OUT of the school aid fund when there was actually enough there to INCREASE per-pupil funding, and give it to businesses as tax cuts. It's simply a reflection of priorities. Families are hurt left and right, nobody is unaffected, whether your kids are in sports and you are now paying a ton of money for it, or your class sizes are huge, or your kid is falling through the cracks. If we want awesome schools, we need to pay for them. And DonBee ALWAYS has a very skewed presentation of the numbers, though his ardent presentation of them makes it seem "true." I would ask you to do your own homework, do NOT rely on this frequent poster. If you are going to be the K12 reporter, I would encourage you to seek out and talk with Steve Norton, of Michigan Parents for Schools, as he knows more about this subject than just about anyone. The website is http://mipfs.org/.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:40 p.m.

Thanks for this analysis. It's really reflective of the situation that the district is in at this moment.

sherry

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:59 p.m.

I said this before but what about putting some Balas staff back in the classroom if they are so great?

Andy Price

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:15 p.m.

I know of one instance where this happened this year, where a Balas staffer moved back to a school. So keep on spouting off about stuff you know nothing about.

SemperFi

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:59 p.m.

They were shifted to Balas because they were lousy teachers.

Carolyn

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:56 p.m.

My kids rode the wave out of Ann Arbor Public schools just before the worst of this nightmare. Quality education? How many of those kids have special needs that won't be met? How many of those kids are off-the-charts brilliant that willed be bored out of their minds? This is not about education. This is about insanity.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:38 p.m.

Just wondering if ANY of you go to the school board meetings or send emails to the board members to voice your concerns?

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.

@AMOC - Just wondering, since I have no kids in this district...how much do the parents pay towards athletics? I know in some districts, it's $300 a year. In our district, money from season pass ticket sales goes into a pot and is allocated to each sport depending on need and the vote of an athletic board represented by parents of kids in all sports. $300 a year for every kid taking even one sport goes a long way toward supporting that sport. That is probably why they don't cut the sports as you feel they should? I'm just wondering out loud here.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:53 p.m.

You're right Carolyn. This is about a deliberate effort by the BOE and AAPS administrators to rile up the community in order to get out the vote for the Sinking Fund Renewal in November and the Enhancement Millage that's been proposed for February 2014. There won't be any "points money" for club supervision this school year, and therefore there will be many fewer clubs at our schools. (And thanks in advance to the teachers who buck their union and organize clubs on a volunteer basis.) But heaven forbid we cut athletics by more than a token amount, even while fielding teams in more sports than UM. Having seen how many millions of dollars from the Sinking Fund has been spent in the past 5 years on athletes-only facilities such as field houses, stadium and practice field astroturf, locker rooms, weight training facilities, etc. I am reluctant to throw more money at this problem.

Solitude

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:33 p.m.

When a district drives out everyone with a choice, it's the beginning of the end for that district. As it stands now, why would anyone pick these schools unless they absolutely had to?

Simon Green

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:53 a.m.

Ah yes, but look at the glorious new $1M practice field at Skyline! It is unconscionable that we cannot divert sinking fund money to operations in critical times like these...

OHHIO

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 10:27 p.m.

Amy, You are right. $900k is a lot different than $1M...about the cost of 1 principal on paid administrative leave. Or what, 1.2 teachers...give or take. OIGH!!! AAPS...another poor decision that my kids are paying for.

AMOC

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.

Simon - The sinking fund money replaces operations money that would otherwise be needed for maintenance and renovations. So every sinking fund dollar spent on needed improvements, energy efficiency and upgrades to building wiring, lighting, air handling, windows, etc. frees up a dollar for teachers, textbooks, and yes, chairs.

Get over it

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:21 p.m.

Might yield ,is that like Obama care might cut insurance coast, but we won't know until we pass it how is that working out

M.Haney

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:04 p.m.

The true amount of energy savings in the replacement of $1,000,000 (the cost of a artificial field) of windows might yield a 10% reduction in annual energy costs. That amounts to a $100,000 savings annually. Unfortunately, that only pays for a .6 of a additional teacher.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:23 p.m.

Sinking fund dollars were used to make upgrades at AAPS properties across the district this summer, and the new turf practice field cost about $900K. As DonBee alluded to, per state law, sinking fund dollars collected from a 1 mill property tax can only be used for such property improvement and acquisition purposes. The money can't be used for teacher salaries.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.

The sinking fund money could have been used to replace energy inefficient windows and insulate buildings, yielding lower energy costs. That savings would have been in the general fund that could have paid for more teachers.

Billy

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:53 a.m.

Um.....why did we build another MASSIVE high school then? Why would we have "standing room only" classes after doing such a thing? Why would we not have enough teachers to cover the student body? OH BECAUSE YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT!?!???? WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BOONDOGGLED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! Sorry...can't be nice about this...

Basic Bob

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:50 a.m.

@Catasetumkid, State money also pays for heat, lights, insurance, routine building maintenance, supplies, unemployable administrators, and varsity sports. For most districts it also pays for technology purchases. The BOE would rather pay all these expenses instead of teachers and cry about it the whole time. Closing a few underused buildings would result in more money for teachers. No need to cry.

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:03 p.m.

Millage + state money = teachers Bond money = capital expenditures such as schools. You vote on these, and on millage. If the bond vote passed, you have your school, but not necessarily your teachers. Allocating limited funds = School board. State money was cut in 2011 by over $700 a pupil unless the district observed some "best practices" which meant outsourcing busing, cafeteria work, and janitorial services. If all best practices were instituted, the district received about $300 back her pupil, with a $400 cut still in effect. Also in 2011, a 2 billion tax break was given to businesses. Do the math on where that money came from yourself.

Billy

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:10 p.m.

Um....last I checked Skyline is part of the same budget the REST of the public high schools in Ann Arbor are...

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:25 p.m.

Three teaching positions were eliminated at Skyline High School, which I believe you are referring to, in order for the school to be able to keep its block scheduling system. I haven't heard of significant class size issues at Skyline; just Pioneer and Community especially.

Martha Cojelona Gratis

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:43 a.m.

These are schools, not baseball games.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:30 p.m.

Responsible Citizen, The students should not be expected to stand for even one day. Ann Arbor has extremely high taxes and one would think a student would be provided with a desk and chair. Let's raise our standards, not lower them.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:35 p.m.

They won't be standing the entire semester. As the article stated, many class sizes will be reduced and desks and chairs have been moved in. Let's all just relax and let the administrators and teachers do their jobs. I graduated from high school in 1970 (from an overcrowded school) and we had to go on split shifts while a second high school was being built, and I didn't feel I suffered at all. Even though we're all doing some readjusting, it's still better than in many parts of this country (poor rural areas and inner cities) and MOST parts of the world.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:20 p.m.

Martha Cojelona Gratis, Good point. Can you imagine being asked to stand for a baseball game due to there not being enough seats? Would you be able to enjoy the game as much as the patrons being offered a seat? Would you ask for some kind of concession for your inconvenience? The schools role is to provide an environment conducive to learning. Do you think this is happening? If not what could be changed? What have other counties and states done to offer this to their students? The adults have an advocate via their union. Who is advocating for the students?

a2cents

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:13 p.m.

not for many

Eduard Copely

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:27 a.m.

Thanks for the insightful article. I cannot believe this is actually starting to happen in Ann Arbor. A town where we always took pride ion our excellent public education system. I hope for her sake, the superintendent can repair the damage asap. I am horrified by these developments.

Catasetumkid

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:56 p.m.

The damage is, by and large, due to the severe cuts from the state. You will see some "for profit" charters pop up in AA soon, I'm sure. You will see their billboard and ads. I am sure Mr. Snyder's daughter has a desk and chair in her classrooms, for which he pays $20k a year and has to fund raise another 2k. I'm also sure he doesn't care that your AA children are standing room only because in his mind, the free market will eventually take care of this problem. Please vote in November 2014.

Barb

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:21 p.m.

I couldn't agree more. As single mom, I've scraped and struggled to keep my kids in AAPS because I thought it was the best for them. I'm now regeretting doing that.

kuriooo

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:26 a.m.

Another concern I have is that as this kind of mess gets sorted out it is lost academic instruction time.

Laura

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:24 a.m.

If AA is struggling, and gets $2,ooo more per pupil/ per year than many of the other Washtenaw County schools, what is to become of the whole area? Yikes! I hope you all can figure it out and we as a larger community can work together to make things better for our kids.

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:30 p.m.

they have more money and bigger problems. sounds like a local issue that can't be solved by the larger community. who is running this outfit?

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:20 a.m.

I find it odd that the teachers are receiving extra money for having more students per classroom per contract. Where is the public service here? If you are overbooked and not able to provide the service in which you are being paid for than the money should be returned to the taxpayer. Maybe it is time to think about having 1 superintendent per county and cutting out all the middle management fluff along with the union entitlement and give the students the education they deserve by the money provided by the public. Or better yet provide vouchers.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:26 p.m.

me, Yes, I have given thought about all the work a teacher has to do and I appreciate all the work you are being paid to do. You should be paid fairly for your work and I believe you are being paid very well. In the old days employees were paid for every minute of work, but this no longer occurs. Employees in the private sector are working many hours in which they are not being paid and making much less than they were in the past. This is reality. But, once again the topic turns to the adults and their needs. Do you believe the students are having their needs met? After all, it is all about the students, right?

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:59 p.m.

thankfulmom132, you've never thought about what a teacher has to do when students aren't present, have you? Each extra student requires extra time for planning, grading, feedback, contact with parents, etc. Being a public servant shouldn't mean that the public gets to abuse you by not paying fairly for the services you're providing.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:26 p.m.

grye, Please provide more info and maybe we can learn something from each other.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:24 p.m.

Thanks for the information, DonBee.

thankfulmom132

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:23 p.m.

Responsible Citizen, You would not be paying for a student's 'private school' if we had vouchers. Everyone would receive the same amount of money and be able to make the choice of where to have their child attend school. If the cost was more than provided then the parents pick up the remainder. I also agree that the students are the ones to suffer. Once again it is the students who lose. It just makes no sense to me. The teachers and administrators have their unions to protect their interests, yet the students have no one to advocate for their best interests. Same old story, different day.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:30 p.m.

Agree with Gyre. In the South and parts of the West, schools are by county, one superindentent, etc., but providing vouchers isn't the answer. I'm not paying for someone's private school. If they want that, let them pay for it. And who said the teachers aren't able to provide the service for which they're being paid? It's the students who will suffer with much less one-on-one time, but that doesn't mean they're not able to teach. Just less intimately.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:03 p.m.

There was a long article this weekend in the Detroit paper on county-wide school districts. It was well written and thoughtful. I would recommend reading it if you are interested in the topic. It was part of a 4 policy article for the state to think about including a second education issue on the Common Core.

grye

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:08 p.m.

The part of your suggestion about consolidating management makes sense. Other parts don't.

A A Resident

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:20 a.m.

Sure. Throwing more money at a problem is the American way. And when that fails, it's just because they need even more money. And more and more......

grye

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:06 p.m.

Figuring out how not to waste money is also an integral part of the equation.

macjont

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:18 p.m.

And sometimes more money is the answer, or at least part of it.

Goober

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:19 a.m.

And the AA voters still love the BOE, eh?! When are we going to wake up that they are ruining our school system and demand that they change? When are we going to wake up, find a way to fire all of them and replace them with people who will actually make good decisions and lead? Our AA BOE is inept, clueless, lost and arrogant. Go figure!

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:48 p.m.

Laura, I'm not sure what you're referring to. Could you clarify what budget you're speaking about?

Laura

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:27 a.m.

Is it true that AA needs to cut 24 million from the budget? That is the number I heard. I don't pretend to know your board, but I think that would be pretty daunting for any group of people to have to do. I surely wouldn't want to do it!

Jeff Gaynor

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:10 a.m.

No More Taxes! No More Taxes!! No More Taxes!!! As ye sow, so shall ye reap.

aamom

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 1:58 a.m.

Snoop, your lot in life is not the fault of anyone else, private or public workers. My section of the private sector is doing just fine, thank you, so please speak only for yourself and not for "those of us in the private sector."

snoopdog

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:41 a.m.

No Jeff, we pay more than enough in taxes. Time for public education to start living within their budget. None of us in the private sector have the grand benefit packages that you do. We already go without so you can have 3 months off, a nice lifelong pension and healthcare till you die. Not to mention 12 sick days a year, step raises, professional days off etc etc etc. Good Day

Hemenway

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.

This is not a revenue problem.

Get over it

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:06 p.m.

Have the teachers take a 10% pay cut that's what I did along with everyone not being payed by tax money, that's right they have 10 yr so they can just cut more new teachers

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:28 p.m.

no more waste! no more waste!

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:27 p.m.

That makes a lot of sense Towncryer (extreme sarcasm). There's a budget deficit and classes are larger, but take even more money away from education. Everyone wants a quality program, but it takes money.....which will create a better society, even if you don't have kids in school.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:38 p.m.

What will be before voters in the AAPS district on the November ballot is to continue a 1 mill property tax for the district's sinking fund. It's the same tax rate that the district has been levying for the past 5 years. The sinking fund can only be used for a specific purpose, per state law: for property improvements. It cannot be used for teacher salaries. However, without the sinking fund millage, the district would have to rely on its general fund to pay out for expensive building repairs—meaning less funding for teachers.

towncryer

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:35 a.m.

This mentality as a response to this particular story makes it easy for me to decide how to vote in the upcoming millage. HINT: no Scheduling was a debacle this year and the way AAPS is run I am skeptical that it wasn't purposely a man-made one to push voting.

local

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:09 a.m.

My kids elementary building has all 1st-5th grade classes at 27 and higher (highest 29) with 3 splits/combination classes. This building lost 1 teacher due to cuts, thus creating this situation. AnnArbor.com needs to start going building to building to find out class sizes and numbers. If Balas won't give them the information, they need to find other ways to do it. This is important for our community to get actual figures so that we can hold the BOE accountable for the choices they have made. Cutting FTE's is never a good thing in class sizes, and the money they saved will be lost when they have to start paying overage and TA's to support these huge classrooms.

Basic Bob

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:27 p.m.

sorry, unescorted reporters are not allowed to wander through the schools.

maizemama

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:06 a.m.

Why do kids at Skyline have to wait for their schedule on the first day? Don't they figure this out beforehand?

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:25 p.m.

I graduated from high school in 1970 (not in Ann Arbor) and never got my schedule until the first day. I would be surprised if that wasn't the norm for all schools. Some people move over the summer and unenroll their childen, and others move in. The fall numbers are much more accurate than the spring ones, and what difference does it make anyway?

Haran Rashes

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:17 p.m.

As my Skyline Daughter took Summer School (to get ahead) I was in regular communication with her counselor. She has had the same counselor each year at Skyline and I cannot say enough good things about Ms. Schimmel and the attention she pays to her students. As for class schedules, there are always changes until the last minute. While I would hope that final schedules could be given out at registration, I am not surprised that they are given out on the first day of class. In addition, many students have problems or scheduling issues that require changes. For example, if a hypothetical student doesn't complete the summer AP pre-assignments and drops out of an AP class (which the counselor would not know about until registration), changes to that student's schedule could cause a domino effect on many other schedules, especially as they try to balance classroom sizes.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:51 p.m.

kris - Most of the staff that was laid off 233 total teaching staff (including counselors) were called back in their old jobs. Many of them sat the whole summer waiting to hear whether they would have a job or not. Your children may have the same counselor, and they are probably excellent, but that counselor may have spent the summer wondering if they had a job or not.

kris

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:16 p.m.

Not exactly true AMOC about "all the counselors." My kids has had the same (excellent) counselor for 4 years now at Skyline.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:02 p.m.

All the counselors at Skyline either retired or were laid off. With the departure of Salura Jackson and the appointment of someone new to the district, Skyline didn't have counselors in place to do the 1-week-before "registration" that the other 2 large high schools typically do. So students got their schedules on 3 September, and the school is still playing catch up with changes.

kris

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:53 a.m.

The students get a preliminary schedule with their classes for the year on them before school starts. However, they get they get another schedule on the day school starts that has the teachers and room numbers on them. This is so the school is not inundated before school starts with requests for changes because of teacher assignment.

A A Resident

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:05 a.m.

"Standing room only?" That sounds a little fishy. There were staffing cuts, not desk and chair cuts.

Wondering

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.

A A Resident- There is no space in the room to move them.

A A Resident

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:06 p.m.

Uh, what happened to the chairs in the rooms which are now unstaffed? Are they bolted to the floor or something? We're not even creative and solution oriented enough to be able to move chairs around?

Ignatz

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:53 p.m.

Staffing cuts would affect how many classrooms could be staffed.

Richard

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:26 a.m.

More kids in one room, same number of chairs, standing room only.

Gorc

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:45 a.m.

I don't understand why the board of education has not reduced or eliminated extra curricular activities as a way to balance the budget. The lack of teachers and large class sizes will erode the quality of our kids' education. If I had to choose between my son participating with orchestra or the quality of his core education...his class experience is far more important towards his education. I know a majority of people reading my post will state that music and sports are an important part of their education and development. And I agree with that sentiment, but we need to prioritize our goals.

Gorc

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:15 p.m.

I'm not saying that music and sports are not a valuable part of our kid's education. Actually, I beleive the performing arts and sports enrich the development of our kids. Hell...I have a kids that is in orchestra. But having 30 to 40 kids in one classroom is completely unacceptable. And this will have serious ramifications with decreasing the quality of their educations. And if I have to choose between our children's core education and extra curricular activities...I choose reading, math, and science.

M.Haney

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 9:04 p.m.

@Dan Patterson More stats on AAPS teacher / administration salary levels. In 2012 there were over 90 AAPS staff earning over 100K in wages. My latest teacher salary figures showed over 630 earning 75K or more in wages. Does anyone know how many full time teachers are employed within AAPS?

M.Haney

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 8:48 p.m.

@Dan Patterson I did not say the average teacher wage was $100,000. I was just using an example of a teacher who makes 100K gets 42% more in benefits added to the 100k cost. However, there are many AAPS employees making 100K within the school district and a whole bunch more at Balas.

Dan Patterson

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 6:34 p.m.

@ M.Haney, it is totally inaccurate to say that an average high school teacher in Ann Arbor makes $100k. A quick search on salary.com revealed that the annual median pay for a high school teacher in A2 is $57k. Those in the 90th percentile for pay make $78k. So Donbee's numbers may have actually been very conservative.

M.Haney

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 5:51 p.m.

@DonBee Your figures are a little off. An average teacher making $100,000 annually gets 42% additional in benefits added to that salary. A total elimination of athletics cover only approx 20 teachers. Plus this would leave 2400 athletes (all 3 high schools) without any after school activities. Athletic programs have taken over a 30% reduction in the last several years. Please name any other extracurricular activity that has taken this type of reduction in funding. Again- funding of athletics is only 1.7% of the total budget. The actual problem is the legacy costs of an average AAPS teacher/administrator. Bring those expenses down and the money will be available.

Responsible Citizen

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:22 p.m.

Gorc----If i hadn't been for the wonderful program in the A2 Public Schools, my son (who struggled in other subjects) probably wouldn't have gone on to college, graduated, and become a public school music teacher. He probably would be working some minimum-wage job right now. Though expensive, music and art are just as important as the other things. Sometimes that's all a kid has......

DJ Earl

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:13 p.m.

Music *is* math. And physics.

grye

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:04 p.m.

Make sure you let professional muscians and artists know that they would have been better off learning math and science. Who needs all that music and art anyway.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:29 p.m.

Reporter Kyle Austin just examined the sports funding issue in Ann Arbor Public Schools and districts across Washtenaw County: "Now more than ever, students and families are paying to participate in high school sports": http://www.annarbor.com/sports/high-school/pay-to-participate-story/ "Ann Arbor Public Schools 2012-13 athletic spending at a glance": http://www.annarbor.com/sports/high-school/ann-arbor-public-schools-2012-13-athletic-spending-at-a-glance/

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:48 p.m.

Sports got a small reduction on their transfer from the General Fund (the one that can pay teachers) down from just over $3 million (30 teachers) to just under $3 million. If they had cut the sports budget, then there would be 25 or so more teachers and the layoffs would not have had to happen.

AMOC

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : noon

Gorc - Extracurriculars have been reduced or eliminated. Most clubs are no longer receiving funding from the school district. Orchestra is a for-credit class, and an orchestra class will normally have 20-40 students in each section. There has been some reduction in the sports budget, and an increase in the pay-to-participate fees, but the district is still spending $3M in direct transfer and another several million in sinking fund projects, maintenance and groundskeeping for athlete-only facilities. Between that, and the top-heavy adminiastration in AAPS is where I would look first for budget cuts.

Nick Danger

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:41 a.m.

Thank you Rick Snyder.Your plan to destroy public education is working

MWH

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 2:31 a.m.

Yeah. Public schools are for Socialists!

snoopdog

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 12:29 a.m.

Ridiculous post, it is the greedy rotten taxpayers not Snyder they simply don't want to pay higher taxes to support teachers since they are so underpaid and their benefits are just terrible. Good Day

JoeNuke

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.

Don't miss an opportunity make this partisan.

DJ Earl

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:12 p.m.

"Thank you Rick Snyder.Your plan to destroy public education is working" I knew the koolaid crowd would jump in here before we got too far down the comment page.

grye

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 2:02 p.m.

There are additional cost saving measures available to put more money into the classroom but the school board and administration will not implement nor consider these. Can't blame Snyder for everything. There isn't a money tree in Lansing to harvest and send to the schools. and if you think you can do a better job as governor, then run for office and show us your stuff.

John

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 12:43 p.m.

Yep! Hooray for the Plutocratic Oligarchy! Snyder and his buddies ARE ruining public education in this state. Read about the secret plan that's not so secret anymore http://www.progressmichigan.org/2013/05/ skunk-works-is-dead-long-live-value-schools/ http://www.mlive.com/education/ index.ssf/2013/05/post_13.html

thorj97

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:37 a.m.

Maybe less money spent on "Exceptiona+l" marketing campaigns and more money spent on actually delivering an exceptional educational environment?

Carole

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:35 a.m.

This is totally disgusting -- all children should be provided an excellent education. There continues to be waste in AAPS such as a sidewalk that goes no where at one of the schools when there is already a sidewalk just 15 feet away from it. Get with the program and get back to providing what is needed to give the students what is needed.

aaparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:33 a.m.

I have heard that some high school classes in all buildings besides Skyline have high numbers, 40 kids or so, in core academic subjects. There seems to have been some master plan that did not work where power school registrations for courses were intended to match staffing needs more precisely. Who are the administrators in Balas who oversee and manage the link between student course registration (demand) and teacher assignment? Is there any other school district in Michigan of a comparable size that has this much difficulty year after year managing the balance between course registration and staffing? Over the past couple of years, I heard about Skyline students having missing classes on the schedules and a slow response to fix those changes. The explanation about staffing cuts and budgets are not sufficient. The pink slips and budget problems were known at the end of the school year. Planning for problems or having contingencies seems like a skill set that an executive in Balas or at the building level ought to have to be interviewed for a job. Why is there so much problem in the area of planning and organization that directly impacts students in the AAPS district? The failure to plan is not just a problem of state funding cuts from Lansing.

aaparent

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:26 a.m.

Given this information, why is the Board of Education not meeting? Our board president says there is a "lack of agenda items." This is not responsible. Did the BOE president speak without thinking and explain why the board isn't meeting in a way that again makes the district look even more disorganized than it appears to be? http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-schools-board-of-education-cancels-wednesday-meeting/ The explanation given by Liz Margolis is that the administrators in the Balas building who overesee this planning are keeping an eye on things. Given that things are this disorganized, that is hardly reassuring to have the poor planners monitoring the poor planning. Have the principals in all the high schools confirmed that in the oversized classes, there are enough desks and chairs? If the principals did their jobs, who in Balas receives that information? I have heard from a neighbor that in one of her kid's high school classes, there are not enough chairs for the students . There must be someone in Balas is paid a 5 or 6-figure salary to make sure kids have desks and chairs. The parents are already used to there being no books for some classes and the better teachers seem to be working around that well for quite a while now. My impression so far of the superintendent is very positive. This mess for the starts of school is unfortunate but it will be a nice opportunity for her to show leadership.

OHHIO

Wed, Sep 11, 2013 : 10:14 p.m.

AAParent...you could have stopped after your first sentence..."why are they not meeting!!?." AAPS - one more example of your poor management of my child's education. And don't even try to blame this on the search for a Superintendent...the two things should be totally separate because if the same person is making all of the decisions then why aren't't they the super? And if they were the superintendent, they should be fired for being a poor manager and for making bad decisions.

thehawk

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:26 p.m.

If students are packed in a room as tightly as eastsider2 indicates, that would clearly be a safety hazard. In case of fire, those kids could not get out of the room quickly.

kuriooo

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 4:16 p.m.

So a "37 likes" just a few hours after posting seems to me like a great place for us to hear from someone on the school board or one of the higher ups at Balas. I'd like them to weigh in on this issue. Certainly they also must want to reduce class size, and I'd like to know more about what are the real issues and trade-offs that are happening. Knowing more about the process by which decisions are made seems to help.

DonBee

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 3:59 p.m.

aaparent - At this point all they could do is take complaints, there is no way that the administration will have solid numbers by tomorrow night. It is not the way the administration at AAPS works, it will take a month before they have solid numbers.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:34 p.m.

The Board of Education approved the budget for the 2013-14 school year in June—a part of which was approving teacher and other staff cuts. At the time, we did an analysis: 79 percent of the $8.7M in reductions in the budget were from staff. (http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/by-the-numbers-ann-arbor-public-schools-final-2013-14-budget/) At this point, it's up to the administrators in the buildings and at the district level to adjust class sizes and the number of sections offered. Building staff are continuing to drop students from rosters that haven't shown up for school—a practice officials estimate will be done by Wednesday.

eastsider2

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 11:20 a.m.

After capsule night at Pioneer last night, at least 4 of my kids classes have over 35 kids, and one teacher announced they finally got the extra four desks so everyone could have a place to sit. One class is reasonably sized and the others did not have class size information. Besides the issue of teachers being unable to give their best to so many, there is the physical space issue. You can barely walk between the desks in these rooms. To accommodate so many students the desks are less than one foot apart. They are up against the side walls, against the teacher's desk, barely room for the back row to push back their chairs. Some of these rooms cannot hold that many students.

mgoscottie

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 10:18 a.m.

I want my kids to have a reasonable class size. Obviously high school should be more kids than elementary but 40 is absurd. 30 seems fine with 34 pushing it.

grye

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:58 p.m.

Some middle school classes are 35+ pushing the limits when there aren't even enough desks or space for desks in the classroom.

Amy Biolchini

Tue, Sep 10, 2013 : 1:34 p.m.

District officials told me that they would not leave a class at 40 students for the entire school year.