Schools, Municipalities Face More Reductions Under Snyder Proposal

Statewide funding for municipalities and schools face hits that run into the hundreds of millions of dollars under Gov. Rick Snyder proposed budget that he unveiled Thursday in Lansing.

K-12 schools face a $470 per pupil reduction that would save the state $452.5 million. He also proposed reducing statutory state shared revenue by $92.1 million and tying the remaining  remaining $200 to an incentive plan in which municipalities would need to adopt "best practices" and "meet specific standards." Counties also face a $51.8 million reduction in revenue sharing.

superintendent Wayne Wright said the proposed budget could be “devastating” to schools.

The Lake Fenton district, which has 1,850 students, could potentially lose $869,500 in funding. Wright said add in the proposed retirement rate increase at Lake Fenton from 20.66 percent to 24.46 percent, raising expenses $323,000, and that’s nearly a $1.2 million swing.

“It would affect the classroom. It would affect a lot of areas,” Wright said. “I can’t tell at this point what we would do with the loss of revenue.”

Wright said he would begin to have discussions with administration and the Lake Fenton Board of Education, but will wait and see what is approved before making any changes.

“We can’t overreact at this point,” Wright said. “Its difficult to say the sky is falling until the sky is falling. We’ll look at the dark side and plan for it, but I don’t want to have everyone on edge until we know exactly what we are going to do.”

Fenton Area Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Jalkanen did not immediately return phone messages.

Snyder, who said he'd refund his pay except for $1 this year, spoke in broad terms emphasizing his priorities over specifics, calling the proposal an opportunity to reshape Michigan's future and set an example for the nation. He presented the proposal before the joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations, finance and tax policy committees.

"This day should have happened a long time ago," said Snyder during the address that was televised live on Michigan Government Television. "We shouldn't waste an opportunity. Not doing this would be kicking the can down the road. That's not why I got elected and it's not why you got elected. A lot of us are going to have to make sacrifices.

"The reason to do this isn't to avoid the negative. It's to jump to the positive."

After the governor and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley spoke, state Budget Director John Harris focused on education, saying a system that focuses on early childhood through higher education needs to be adopted. Specifically focusing on K-12, he said districts could avoid instructional cuts if they adopt an 80-20 employer-employee split on their health care contributions. He said that would generate $300 million in savings. In addition, if districts cut 10 percent non-instructional costs by following "best practices," it would generate another $300 million in savings.

"We feel this a very defensive plan that doesn't have to impact the classroom," he told lawmakers. "We know that's the critical area that needs to be maintained in school funding."

On its surface, Snyder’s proposed cuts represents a potential loss of an estimated 10,000 jobs statewide said Don Noble, lobbyist for the Michigan Education Association, which advocates for 157,000 teachers, faculty and education support staff throughout the state. Noble said he’d be immersed in the 140-page bill over the next few days.

“From the kindergarten through 12th grade standpoint, it’s going to mean very drastic cuts,” he said. “I believe that a lot of hardship for students.”

He said a $470 per-pupil reduction could destroy school districts struggling to survive, put marginal school districts “over the brink,” and put otherwise stable school districts at risk.

“I would expect fairly significant layoffs as a result of this and that translates not only to increased class size but a total elimination of the kinds of things that would be extracurricular programs or elective classes like band and physical education or anything not mandated by the state.”

Noble, who has lobbied for the MEA for eight years and worked for the association for 31 years, said the state’s total school funding, including federal subsidies, is about $13.5 billion.

Communities would not be able to increase funding through a millage, he said, because state law limits mileages to capital projects.

As for the lottery money payouts being changed to increase school funding, he said suggested the lottery commissioner would say reducing prize payouts to stabilize school funding would hurt lottery ticket sales.