Politicians Claim Victory in School Funding Battle (MI)

July 6, 2010

Not so fast — that was the reaction of South Redford interim Supt. Brian Galdes to the recent adoption of the school aid bill.

“I give them credit for letting us know what the money situation is going to be,” Galdes said. “But let’s be clear, we aren’t getting an increase. Funding is still being cut $154 per student.”

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Reaction was mixed to the school aid bill that was approved July 1, with politicians claiming credit for preserving education funding and educators crying foul over some $240 million in school funding that didn’t end up going to schools.

“We can’t work to diversify our economy if we’re not properly educating our kids to prepare them for the new jobs in growing industries like renewable energy and technology,” said Sen. Glenn Anderson, who represents Redford Township. “It’s high time that the Legislature make schools a priority and pass this budget on time, and not diminish our students’ chances for success.”

He said the passage was significant because it increased funding for schools as districts across the state begin the new fiscal year. With the state budget stalemate usually going into the fall, schools normally have had to make financial decisions without knowing the amount of their funding from the state, Anderson said. This is the first time in several years that the School Aid Budget has been passed and finalized in line with school districts’ fiscal year.

Sen. Gilda Jacobs agreed.

“Today we met our promise to schools and approved a School Aid Budget so that districts will know how much money they have to work with this year and the coming year,” Jacobs said. “With no cuts to the budget, our schools will have a little breathing room as they plan for the new school year.”

Galdes said he was thankful for the timing, but he wanted to remind everyone that school funding was cut by $165 per pupil last year and all but $11 of that cut was continued this year.

“We’ll be in better shape than anticipated, but without further budget cuts, we’ll still run an operating deficit,” he said.

South Redford has roughly 3,000 students so, according to the politicians, the $11 per pupil increase will mean an additional $33,000 for the district. Of course, Galdes doesn’t see it that way. He figures the district is losing $462,000 because the previous cut wasn’t entirely eliminated.

The district made drastic cuts earlier this year in light of gloomy budget predictions that forecast South Redford schools would run out of money in less than three years. The picture has brightened considerably since then, but Galdes and other educators don’t believe everything is set in stone.

In Plymouth-Canton, James Larson-Shidler, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services, said no immediate adjustment will be made to the budget.

“What happens between now and November may not hold true for the entire year,” Larson-Shidler said. “We’re going with the information we have now. We have been conservative but realistic on what our budget is. I think you have to approach this with some skepticism.”