Washtenaw County’s 10 traditional school districts received an average of $10,090 per student in 2007-08 from local, state and federal sources, data compiled by the state of Michigan shows.
That’s about $700 higher than the state average, records show.
But cuts to state aid are lowering that funding. In total, Washtenaw County school districts have lost more than $17.5 million in state aid in the last two weeks - translating into almost $300 per student from every county school district and more than $500 per student in Ann Arbor.
Those losses - coupled with several years of belt tightening - are behind the push by local districts to convince voters to pass a 2-mill tax that would raise $30 million annually countywide.
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“We know it’s just going to get worse,” said Washtenaw Intermediate School District Superintendent Bill Miller. “We need a certain level of investment to keep the quality education we have, and that’s what we have now.”
But a growing group of millage opponents say the extra money isn’t as critical as districts claim. They say the districts have overspent on salaries and benefits for teachers, as well as pet programs.
About the only thing the two sides agree on is that school funding is suddenly a hot topic in Washtenaw County. And it will only get hotter in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.
“We were saying the other night that nobody can claim to not have been informed about the millage and the issues around school funding,” Miller said. “Whether that a good thing or a bad thing for getting the millage passed, I’m not sure.”
How much money is enough?
No real measures exist showing how much money is needed to provide a quality education for students, local administrators say.
How much money they currently get varies from district-to-district based on the state's per-pupil foundation grants.
Washtenaw County superintendents expressed anger last week at cuts made by Gov. Jennifer Granholm that have the potential to cripple their finances.
One is a line item called 20j that was eliminated early last week; it provided extra money to several districts across the state, including Ann Arbor.
On the heels of that, Granholm took $127 per student away from districts on Thursday night - on top of a $165 per pupil cut passed earlier this month.
District officials say the cuts are coming with little warning and often in the middle of the school year, making it nearly impossible for district to cover the losses.
Take Chelsea, a district already scheduled to end the year nearly $1.3 million in the red. The $292 in combined cuts will add another $800,000 in budget shortfalls to the district’s $25 million annual budget, Superintendent Dave Killips said.
Killips said the state per-pupil losses can't be made up with fund equity or the savings account fund, which has about $5 million in it. The district must have 18 percent of its budget in savings to help with cash flow during the months when state checks don't come.
Washtenaw County school officials argue they can’t keep cutting money out of their budgets. They say they're facing a structural deficit, and the only way to solve it is to cut and increase revenues at the same time.
Already got enough money?
Parent Karie McMillan doesn’t think the schools need more money, especially Ann Arbor, where her children attend.
She thinks teachers, who have an average salary of more than $70,000 a year, make too much money. She doesn’t believe the district does a good job of spending the money it has in the right places, especially in the classroom.
According to the state, Washtenaw County’s 10 traditional school districts spent, on average, just over $5,000 of the nearly $11,000 they got for each student on instruction.
That’s less than half of a district’s money - but Miller called it a misleading figure.
He points out the state doesn’t count several people in that figure, including the principal, secretary and some additional support teachers.
Add those numbers in, and spending on instruction climbs to just over $7,000 per student on instruction.
The remaining money goes toward administration, operations, transportation and capital needs.
“You can’t tell me there’s not waste in those budgets,” said McMillan, who will vote no on the millage request. “They need to really look at everything they are spending money on, determine if it helps kids learn, and if not, cut it out.”
A murky future
If the millage request passes Nov. 3, school district officials across Washtenaw County will breathe a huge sigh of relief.
The districts would start to get money from the tax in late winter or early spring, and the current revenue shortfalls would be covered in all districts.
But even if it passes, district officials say their finances could remain rocky.
That’s because some are forecasting another $400 to $600 per pupil cut in state funding next school year. Local school districts like Ypsilanti and Willow Run, already running budget deficits, could find themselves unable to absorb that blow.
And if the millage fails, there's no doubt cuts will need to be made.
Killips said Chelsea could close an elementary school, cut high school athletics, lay off 15 teachers and several administrators, and still not likely cover the entire $2.1 million shortfall.
“It’s not going to be a superintendent decision, or even a school board decision,” he said. “We’re going to have to go to the community and have some tough discussions about what exactly they want to keep. We just added all-day kindergarten, but kindergarten is the only grade not mandated by the state. Do we keep kindergarten? Everything would have to be on the table.”
• Complete coverage of the countywide enhancement millage.
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.
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