Looks like K-12 schools will not be cut as deeply as first thought, but local school officials are still not happy.
However, others say the cuts are not deep enough.
The Carrollton School District says it would have been cut to $6,846 per pupil if it was cut $300 per pupil from fiscal year 2010 to 2011. It would have been down $470 per pupil since fiscal year 2009.
"If you put the other $200 in, we're only going to be a little less than 2007 level," says Dr. Craig Douglas, superintendent of Carrollton Public Schools.
The governor says he won't cut $100 per pupil in order to fund retirement accounts. He also says he won't cut $100 per pupil if the school district adopts "best financial practices."
That means a $300 cut would be reduced to a $100 dollar per pupil cut.
"That makes up about 1% of their per pupil funding on average for most districts," says Michael Van Beek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He says that's a good start, but that longterm structural changes still need to be made in public education to save Michigan financially.
Van Beek says that can be done, "By looking at mandating an employee contribute for health insurance, by freezing salaries and health insurance costs when union contracts are expired." Van Beek also says "last in, first out" policies with teachers is affecting the quality of education. "If they have to layoff staff based soled on how many years on the jobs for each teacher, they can't make those decisions that could leave the school with more effective teachers."
Dr. Douglas says his school will be fine and will be able to adjust, but he says the budget is going backwards, nor forward.
"I guarantee we're going to have a great school year next year, but I don't like these distractions. It's unnecessary and nothing but politics in my opinion," says Douglas.
Politics, he says, will force educators to adjust their budgets severely like teachers having to pay 20% of their health coverage.
Dr. Douglas says the cut is a broken promise of Proposal A to guarantee future funding to K-12 education.
He says forcing educators to fund their healthcare would force some families to pay $4,000 to $5,000 additional per year.
