Guest Column - Randy Friedman
Looming deficit poses daunting challenge for Ann Arbor school officials
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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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Mr. Friedman, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you were the target of a slander campaign by the right-wing anonymous commentators on this Web site. I'm sorry that the annarbor.com business model depends on page views generated by Laurel Champion and Tony Dearing's decision to let falsehoods, rash conjecture and whispering campaigns be attached to the journalism presented here.
I'm also sorry that there was no one on this site's management team with a stronger sense of what makes a real newspaper story the day that the "hot tip" that you own another house and that your kids attend private school reached annarbor.com's reporter. You might not have been victim of a political hatchet job intended to intimidate you and your colleagues on board, as well as AAPS managment.
Thanks for your efforts in a thankless job, and for insisting that the truth be told about AAPS finances.
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Posted Nov 23 2009
Why are you sorry he doesn't live in the Ann Arbor school district and that his children don't attend Ann Arbor schools while he purports to understand what is best for the Ann Arbor schools? Are you sorry people found out? Do you believe people don't have a right to their opinions? Public figures are public figures.
I read lots of ideas from lots of people about how the school system could spend less money. Are these people going to be ignored by the AAPS board because they commented on a news story?
If the "school leaders" were up to the challenge, they would have had a plan ready in case the millage was defeated. What they are doing now is part of an orchestrated plan to scare people into finding a way to give them more tax money.
"If only we as a local community could fund our schools, so much would be better."
Well, if only we as a local community had jobs that paid enough money to cover our living expenses, we could turn our attention to a possible seventh millage to support local education and all the other projects that we would like to have.
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Posted Nov 24 2009
I would like to know from Mr. Friedman how involved you are on the Ann Arbor Public School Board of Education and how many of the Board of Education meetings you have attended since you bought another residence? If you are not able to attend the great majority of weekly meetings and participate fully on behalf of the Ann Arbor citizens for whatever reason, then it is time for you to step aside. I have children in the Ann Arbor Public Schools and yes, we do need all hands on deck. Why were you not there for the two BOE meetings that my son attended for school purposes last school semester between Feb - May, 2009???
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Posted Nov 24 2009
I find it most interesting that posters here now feel it is a mandate that all elected school officials must have children in the district. Given that, for the past several election cycles, hardly any AA School district resident has filed to run for election to any of these seats, it would seem logical that many school board seats would be vacant but for those that presently serve in this capacity. Personally, an obligation to pay school taxes in the district is enough to "certify" someone to run for school board. It shouldn't be limited to only those who have children in the district. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if some would advocate for seats reserved for only teachers on the school board, and we all know what conflicts that could lead to.
Enough of this. If folks are so concerned with school board seats, then why aren't they tearing the election clerk's doors down to run for the seats? The answer is simple: it is a thankless job that requires countless hours with essentially no pay. Nobody wants it - they just want to complain.
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Posted Nov 24 2009
LET US HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT AAPS FINANCE :
Not too long ago, AAPS had surplus funds from past millage vote and was worried about spending all that extra cash. After spending all that money on building renovations and equipment, how could the educational system suddenly deteriorate? Public need to know the full details of its operational costs to understand that the past investments are of no value and would not stop the impending deterioration. If you have not invested the finance wisely in the past, would it be rational to trust you in the present? Let us hear the Truth.
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Posted Nov 26 2009