Your stories regarding my personal life and family decisions, and the resulting commentaries you published, many of which were anonymous, have, I fear, temporarily distracted your viewers from the extremely serious challenges our school district now faces.
As the result of decisions made by State, not local, leaders which bear upon the financial future of Michigan and the role of education in that future, we face here in Ann Arbor Public Schools (“AAPS”), a potential annual operating deficit which could approach $20,000,000 starting this coming year. This number is unprecedented and shocking. This number threatens so much of what so many people in this community hold dear.
It was in anticipation of this potential operating deficit, that the AAPS leadership in conjunction with other county school districts presented the county wide enhancement millage. While it was passed in Ann Arbor, it was not supported elsewhere and fell to defeat. As it stands today, the laws of Michigan require state funding for our local schools and require any effort to raise funding on a local basis to be county wide, while at the same time imposing unfunded mandates upon us like retirement expense. If only we as a local community could fund our schools, so much would be better.
In the campaign battles surrounding this millage, the opponents of the millage, argued that this was not the time to raise taxes and further that better financial management of AAPS could sustain its current level of programs with less money per student. The opposition’s first argument was a legitimate one. In difficult times, raising taxes is tough on people. Those of us who favored the millage argued back that a deteriorating education system was worse than higher property taxes.
The opposition’s second argument that AAPS was mismanaged and that there was plenty of money available through better administration, was false, but I am sure made people who didn’t want their taxes to go up feel better for a moment.
That party is now over. We really have a giant financial challenge ahead of us. How will we tackle it and how will we beat it? The simple answer is together. In difficult moments like this, it is unfortunately too common that people will divide and attack each other. Such an atmosphere will blunt efforts to develop solutions, and distract school leaders from doing their job.
Our school leaders are up to the challenge. As an executive officer of a business for many years, I have experience in judging management expertise and addressing budgetary challenges. I believe that in Ann Arbor we have the right management to develop a plan which will address our financial shortfall with intelligence and sensitivity. Such a plan will demand transparency, community participation, shared sacrifices and thoughtfulness. I am confident that we can and will build a plan upon these pillars.
The school Administration, following a period of explanation, community input and evaluation, will present its plan in February 2010. It is my hope that between now and then many voices will come forward, many ideas will be shared, and the real truth of our situation will be clearly confronted.
Randy Friedman Ann Arbor school board member
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