FeedsNorthville seeks input on school budget crisis
Since the first round of cuts to school districts was announced, officials in the Northville Public School District have turned to their legislators for help.
Several weeks and three rounds later, the district is appealing to another group: residents of the district. This time, they’re not looking for help in restoring revenue, but in ideas on where to place the budget ax.
The district is hosting a series of meetings called ‘Managing Our Future Forums,’ to inform residents of budgeting issues and seek feedback on ways to help reduce costs.
“Our goal in hosting these forums is to engage all of the district’s stakeholders in a dynamic discussion about how best to manage the district’s resources and future,” said Ken Roth, president of the Northville School Board. “(We want to) do the best we can to ensure all our students continue to succeed and that our programs continue to reflect what our community values most about the education of our children.”
The first scheduled session is from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 at Meads Mill Middle School.
School Superintendent Leonard Rezmierski said the forums were a necessary response to trying times.
If the current school funding cuts issued in October stand, Northville Public Schools will experience the highest per pupil funding cut in the state at $613 per student, or $4.3 million, he said. This includes $292 in statewide per pupil funding cuts for this school year issued by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state legislature, along with the line-item veto by the governor of the ‘20j’ allocation paid to 39 of the state’s public school districts (including Northville) as part of Proposal A. The loss of 20j funding means an additional revenue loss for 2009-10 of $321 per pupil for Northville Public Schools, Rezmierski said.
“These are unprecedented financial times for our state and our schools,” said Rezmierski, who likened the news to a economic tsunami. “This dire economic situation is causing heavy revenue shortfalls in the state budget including the School Aid Fund, which Michigan schools rely on for 90 percent of their annual funding.
This is putting extreme pressure on our school district and school districts statewide,” he added, “as we struggle to reduce costs in a budget that has already been trimmed to the bare-bones.”
The community forums will offer participants the opportunity to review the data and analysis related to the various options in a small group setting with district officials and school board members on hand to provide additional information and answer questions.
The forums will have an open-house format that will allow participants to come and go at any time during each two-hour session. There will be an orientation/overview station, which will repeat every 15-20 minutes, that participants are asked to attend upon arrival, before moving freely among the various stations.
Roth said there may be no single answer.
“It will take reductions in a number of areas to achieve the necessary cost savings,” Roth said. “The input from school families, staff and the community will be integral to the final plan the board puts in place.”
Subsequent hearings will take place from 6:30-8:30 on Dec. 3 at Hillside Middle School and from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 and Dec. 14 at Northville High School. The district will also put a presentation and link online on Dec. 1, too.
“Now more than ever, it is crucial that all of the district’s stakeholders work together, with the best interest of our students in mind, to continue to support Northville’s outstanding educational programs,” said Roth.
