Shores school board members have worked hard to achieve a balanced budget for years and years; however, this year, they are facing a major dilemma that is too big to handle alone: a $1.5 million budget deficit.

    State lawmakers in Lansing control each district’s overall revenue. They also allot a specific amount of money per pupil in each school district that calculates how much the district can spend toward education.

    This year, the state made an unexpected $165 per pupil mid-year funding cut, which led to a $650,000 loss in revenue at Shores alone. Because of this, the district will have to draw from dwindling rainy-day reserve funds and make many cuts in order to balance the budget once again.

    "Cuts are never a good thing when it comes to educating students," Teachers’ Education Association President Keith Sauter said. "People will lose their jobs, and services will be reduced. Bussing may be reduced or cut, class sizes will most likely go up as staff is reduced, and programs may be cut. In order to cut this amount from the budget, everyone will feel the cuts in some way."

    On March 10, Shores’ custodial staff was the first to feel the effects. The school board voted to contract with Reliant Professional Cleaning Contractors through April 2013 as one step toward balancing the budget. By privatizing a custodial staff, schools will save money from not having to provide benefit packages or pay part of employee’s wages into the state retirement system. With 18 custodial jobs eliminated at Shores, the district will save $2,159,451 over a three-year period.

    "When you loose employees that you have built relationships with, it’s always very hard," principal Jennifer Bustard said. "The transition will be as smooth as we make it, but we will form new relationships in time."

    Another possible change the school board may have to resort to would be the reduction of five FTEs, or the equivalent to five full time teacher positions, at the high school level and four teachers at the middle school level. The school board has set the fund equity, what the district owns minus what it owes, at $2.3 million.

    "While some think that attacking public school employees will solve the problem in Lansing, the fact is that school employees around the state have been saving districts millions of dollars over the past few years by reducing benefits and taking pay freezes. Yet, the problem keeps getting worse," Mr. Sauter said. "It is sad that currently our legislators are more concerned with their own re-elections in November than funding education now."

    Governor Granholm has numerous proposals to help districts save money, including the adoption of a "pay-as-you-go" budgeting system. However, these proposals are mere possibilities that will take time to be processed through the legislature. In the mean time, some believe Lansing is not doing enough to help schools alleviate their deficit.

    "The other side (to the problem) is simply that we are in this crisis because funding education is obviously not a priority of the legislature in Lansing. Schools are being held hostage while Lansing refuses to address the issue," Sauter said. "Until Lansing establishes a system where education is properly funded every year, we will be in this crisis."

    Without immediate action from the legislature in Lansing, state revenue cuts will continue to be made until another form of relief has set into action.

    "Current Lansing projections are calling for a much larger $255 per pupil cut next year," Superintendent Terry Babbitt said. "If enacted, this $255 per pupil budget reduction will lead to deep program and service cuts next year, cuts unlike anything Mona Shores’ parents, students, and staff members have seen since the early 1990s."

    Next year’s projected cut could amount the district’s budget deficit to a whopping $4.6 million. This projection is forcing the Board of Education to spend $1.6 million of the rainy-day reserve fund and make nearly $3 million in deep instructional program and service cuts.

    "Students just need to be prepared that elective choices will be different with not as many to choose from," Mrs. Bustard said. "Priority has been given to the graduation requirements."

    Things may look a little different these next few years, but students should not worry. However, students can help themselves and their district by coming together to support legislation for better funding.

    "It’s crystal clear this situation will not improve until parents, staff, students, and other school district supporters step up to demand corrective action in Lansing," Mr. Babbitt said. "Until then, local school district leaders will be forced to continue cutting essential programs and services that their students desperately need and deserve."

    Obviously, school board members cannot prevent this possible legislation alone; anyone and everyone can do their part to help by supporting Senator VanWoerkom, Representative Valentine, and all other Lansing lawmakers and encouraging them to support properly funding Michigan’s public schools.

    "Every student’s future is at risk right now," Mr. Babbitt said, "and we all need to speak up to defend the educational needs of Michigan’s K-12 public school students."