Ann Arbor school board saves high school busing, reading intervention in harried budget decision
Ann Arbor school board members crunch numbers to try to finalize the 2013-14 academic year budget at about 1:50 a.m. Thursday.
Danielle Arndt | AnnArbor.com
- Budget cuts: Ann Arbor schools to cut high school busing, charge kids for 7th hour
- List: 80 employees, high school busing, middle school pools among $8.67M in proposed cuts
- Ann Arbor schools proposed athletic cuts include pay-to-play increases, middle school sports cuts
Editor's note: The amount of money the district plans to use from its fund balance for 2013-14 has been corrected in this article.
Ann Arbor school board members Wednesday saved high school busing from elimination and seven of 10 reading intervention specialists for next year, but finalized cuts to about 70 other employees — including 30 teachers.
The budget approved by the board early Thursday calls for using $1.18 million from the district's dwindling fund equity, or primary savings account, to balance the $183.56 million in expenditures with projected revenues of $182.38 million.
The board had an approximately $8.7 million shortfall it was attempting to close through a combination of reductions and increasing revenue, such as by raising pay-to-participate fees for athletics.
The budget accounts for a net per-pupil foundation allowance increase from the state of about $60 per student, for about $1 million more in revenue than district officials originally thought. That was the compromised revenue projection the board could agree upon.
The district is projected to receive a $70 increase per pupil for meeting state performance metrics. However, school trustees were skeptical of this promise considering last year the Ann Arbor Public Schools also was supposed to receive that amount, but it only ended up receiving $40 per student after more districts than the state anticipated qualified for the performance incentive. So some trustees thought the district should budget a little more conservatively to prevent a second-quarter or third-quarter financial surprise as AAPS experienced this year.
It is not clear yet how many of the 233 teaching staff who received layoff notices last month will be let go and how many will be recalled.
More teacher retirements have trickled in since May, and building leaders still are developing staff reduction plans, district officials said. Total staff retirements are now at 37 employees, compared with 19 two weeks ago.
The Ann Arbor Board of Education pushed through its budget for the 2013-14 academic year at about a minute before 2 a.m. Thursday. The end of the meeting could only best be described as harried and ragged, as trustees worked to crunch numbers on the fly while they pulled off items from the budget that they previously had approved.
If the board had left everything on the chopping block that it previously targeted as amenable cuts, then the Ann Arbor schools would have had a small 2013-14 budget surplus of about $90,000, which it could have put back into its fund balance. This would have included moving forward with cuts to five reading intervention teachers and the elimination of high school transportation, however.
The board moved rapidly through each figure trying to agree upon how to look at the projected revenues and expenditures administrators presented, as well as the savings figures attached to each proposed cut. The majority of board members were determined to pass a balanced budget no matter what by the time the meeting was adjourned.
Trustees heard from 43 community members on budget-related issues during public commentary. The board's budget discussion began at about 10:15 p.m. Trustees voted to remove four first-briefing items on Wednesday's agenda and reschedule them for the next regular board meeting on June 26.
Ann Arbor board President Deb Mexicotte and Chief Financial Officer Nancy Hoover go over budget numbers Thursday morning at the Ann Arbor District Library.
Danielle Arndt | AnnArbor.com
About 1:40 a.m. Mexicotte polled the Board of Education on which cuts trustees wanted to add back into the budget. Trustees' opinions varied greatly, but the board went with whichever items at least four trustees could agree upon and then attempted to add up the budget on impromptu excel spreadsheets and using pencil and paper to find out if they had in fact balanced the budget for 2013-14.
Mexicotte spent about 10 minutes up at the lectern helping Chief Financial Officer Nancy Hoover sort through which of the proposals the board wanted to approve after the lengthy and intricate discussion.
After the board passed the budget in a 6-1 vote, Mexicotte adjourned the meeting. However, she then had to reconvene the meeting and call departing trustees back into the room so trustees could vote on the forgotten-about millage resolution for the 2013-14 budget.
"We forgot about the consent agenda. … This is kind of a ragged end. So sorry guys," Mexicotte said, apologizing.
School boards are required to approve a resolution annually authorizing the 18 mills of non-homestead property taxes that the Michigan Legislature expects districts to levy for operational expenses. The taxes are a component of what districts receive in their foundation allowances.
Vice President Christine Stead was the lone "no" vote on the budget. She could not accept dipping further into the district's fund balance, nor was she in favor of the board's decision not to save more teachers, she said.
Stead called the budget process that played out Wednesday "shenanigans," saying: "I think this whole thing is irresponsible."
"I recognize that people here believe we have endless amounts of fund equity ... but if we're using it up every time we have an overage, in the future we're actually going to have to pass a balanced budget without it. So while we're able to meet the technical level of the law, it's not a balanced budget if we're using equity. ... This is just — whatever," she said, recognizing she was outnumbered.
School officials project AAPS will end the 2012-13 academic year with $6.87 million in its fund balance. After using $1.18 million to balance the budget, the district's fund balance will be at $5.69 million, just more than 3 percent of the district's operating expenses.
Budget documents prepared by the district claim it is AAPS' long-term goal to have an amount equal to 15 percent of its annual operating budget in its fund balance, which would be about $28 million.
Hoover said she and other central administrators are hopeful they will be able to add some money back into the fund balance at the end of June after enacting a spending freeze for the past four months. The Ann Arbor Public Schools has been trying to eliminate a current-year budget deficit of about $3.8 million.
Mexicotte said she too has grave concerns about fund equity, but she believes the economy is improving.
"When the tide starts to turn like that in Michigan, you hope that one way or another the schools will start to see an increase in revenue," Mexicotte said.
An additional $80,000 expense was added to the budget Thursday at the request of Stead to conduct a performance audit of the district's financial, human resources and instruction departments. Superintendent Patricia Green has advocated for this type of external checks-and-balance audit to be done since coming to AAPS.
Green explained a performance audit would be able to compare financial practices across multiple departments in a way the district's annual Plante Moran audit does not. School officials said a performance audit is more of a systematic review and while the district may be compliant and legal, it may not be as efficient as it could be or using best practices in all areas.
Of the 30 teaching positions that the board approved cutting Thursday, 3 FTE would be from required from Skyline High School. Initially, it was expected these staff members would be cut by moving Skyline from a trimester schedule to a semester schedule. However, the board said Skyline could keep its trimesters as long as it reduced 3 FTE from somewhere.
The remaining 27 FTE are undesignated teachers (down from the 32 undesignated FTE that originally was proposed) that would be eliminated based on needs analyses. School officials say they are looking at whether the district can continue to offer some of its lower enrollment classes and may make reductions that way. It is expected a majority of the 27 FTE will be cut from the high schools.
The remaining new or amended pieces of the budget reduction plan that the board approved Thursday are:
- Eliminate 3 FTE of reading intervention specialists (instead of the initial proposal of 10 FTE, for a savings of $300,000)
- Charge students $100 per semester to take a seventh hour at Huron or Pioneer high schools (projected savings of $100,000)
- Cut 4 office personnel FTE (about $180,000)
- Eliminate 4 to 4.5 teacher consultants, 2 to 2.5 teacher assistants and 1 speech and language pathologist (half of what originally was proposed for $125,000 in savings)
- Keep the Pioneer theater technician position, but shift the cost responsibility to the theater guild to fund (still a savings to the general fund of $50,000)
- Eliminate the Board of Education's $5,000 discretionary food fund
- Keep middle school baseball, softball and boys and girls seventh-grade basketball and make up the projected savings by increasing pay-to-participate fees from $50 to $150 (an expected $150,000 in revenue)
Also in the budget that was approved, the board decided not to permit the three digital billboards that Adams Outdoor wanted to install at Pioneer High School, Huron High School and Wines Elementary School for additional revenue to the district of $100,000 per year. Trustees felt there was too much opposition in the community for these billboards right now.
The budget that was approved also includes an estimated $270,000 in concessions from the Ann Arbor Administrators Association as well as the curriculum coordinators and tech support staff collective bargaining groups. However, to date, no tentative agreements have been reached in the contract negotiations with these groups. So if concessions do not occur, the board will need to cut an additional $270,000 from the budget before fall.
Jill Zimmerman, an Ann Arbor Open School parent who stayed until the end of the meeting, said she was "pleasantly surprised" to see the board add high school transportation back into the budget and not eliminate it.
"I also was a little bit frustrated and concerned by a lot of the last-minute debate and adding up of the savings that was going on. ... I'm worried about how the numbers will pan out and if they (the board) will actually be able to realize the savings they think," Zimmerman said.
Mexicotte said the primary reason for pushing the budget through early Thursday was a need to begin planing how to implement the cuts and to do so in a way where plans are thoroughly vetted, communicated and incidental costs are minimized as much as possible.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
Blazingly Busy
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 11:50 a.m.
So let me get this straight. Huron and Pioneer = GOOD Skyline and Community = BAD The reason there are 15 class periods a year at Skyline is because of the trimester system, and yet, when I suggest that maybe all three of the comprehensive high schools should utilize that system I get "vote down" So my kids are bad because they go to Skyline. Cool. I personally think my kids are super awesome young people. :)
ladybug
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 3:25 a.m.
Why is it that only the students at Huron and Pioneer will pay to take a 7th period? Every student at Community takes 7 classes. This costs money as a teacher is in charge of each forum which means they teach 4 instead of 5 classes. Why aren't the Community students being charged for 7th period?
TryingToBeObjective
Sun, Jun 16, 2013 : 5:31 p.m.
Every student at Community does not take 7 classes. They take 6 plus forum, which equals 0.25 credits per semester. This is at a cost within less than $10 per student similar to what happens at Pioneer or Huron. Any Community student who takes a full extra class will be charged as well. Facts. Try them all, instead of just the ones that suit your purpose.
zucker
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.
so basically, we'll be back at this again next year. Groundhogs Day?
Widow Wadman
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 12:33 a.m.
Do you care about the education of our young people? Are you able to run a meeting and keep a group focused on the business at hand? Do you know how to create a budget? Do you understand what makes a school board effective or ineffective? If so, please consider running for a position on the Ann Arbor board. Your skills and knowledge are desperately needed.
$5,000 is just pennies
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 9:05 p.m.
It is so sad the leaders of our school, the AAAA Administration group has lost their voice recently. It would appear they are waiting for the budget dust to clear before they act. At some point they might even offer some insignificant concession to look like they are part of the solution. Stop pointing your fingers at the School District and take a seat at the big table. Leaders are suppose to lead. What are you waiting for?
sweetdaddy1963
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:54 p.m.
I will say this HERE! HERE! I always question what's going on with AAPS', but I will say this the Board showed me, a born and raised that you still have the sprite that makes this city what it is,"KIDS FIRST", I also know we still have to make tough choices so lets get started now! Not June 2014..... Good job Board it's like Jose Valverde what's the alternative .
arborani
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.
I think you mean "HEAR, HEAR." But there, there, sweetdaddy.
JRW
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:22 p.m.
"Eliminate 4 to 4.5 teacher consultant, 2 to 2.5 teacher consultants and 1 speech and language pathologist (half of what was originally proposed for $125,000 in savings)" This makes no sense. Is it an elimination of 6 - 6.5 teacher consultants?
AMOC
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 11:15 a.m.
One of those numbers is supposed to be for teacher aides, not teacher consultants. I think it's appalling that we are cutting staff who support our most vulnerable students, the ones with special needs, and in particular when AAPS is re-imbursed by special education funding for 70-80% of the cost of these employees. So in this case, we cut 7-7.5 positions to save a total of $125,000 vs. a single general education teacher who costs the district $100,000 in total compensation.
JRW
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:16 p.m.
"About 1:40 a.m. Mexicotte polled the Board of Education on which cuts trustees wanted to add back into the budget. Trustees opinions varied greatly, but the board went with whichever items at least four trustees could agree upon and then attempted to add up the budget on excel spreadsheets and using pencil and paper to find out if they had in fact balanced the budget for 2013-14." Are you kidding me? So, at 1:00 in the morning, the BoE is using paper and pencil to add up the budget on an excel spreadsheet to see if they had in fact balanced the budget? That says it all. A clueless bunch of amateurs. FIRE the financial managers and hire professionals!
jns131
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 12:12 a.m.
I hate to say this, I really hate to say this, but I must. I really am glad to see them use pencil, paper and a calculator instead of a computer. This says a lot about using the old nogin instead of brain dead cell computers. Good one BOE. You got my vote on that one. Now, vote Balas out of existence.
SonnyDog09
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:18 p.m.
If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:08 p.m.
"using paper and pencil " As their lap tops sat in front of them, all of which have a calculator function. These people have no business making any decisions regarding education.
JRW
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:08 p.m.
"Vice President Christine Stead was the lone "no" vote on the budget. She could not accept dipping further into the district's fund balance, nor was she in favor of the board's decision not to save more teachers, she said." Stead called the budget process that played out Wednesday "shenanigans," saying: "I think this whole thing is irresponsible." Shenanigans is the most positive word to describe this process. Christine Stead was the lone voice of reason and sanity.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:07 p.m.
She is the only trustee I would feel comfortable re-electing. She sees the rest of the board for the joke that they are.
The Infinite Jester
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 5:03 p.m.
Without Paying- Pioneer/Huron: 6 possible hours, 2 semesters = 12 credits Community: 7 Possible hours, 2 semesters = 14 credits Skyline: 5 Possible hours, 3 trimesters = 15 credits How is this fair?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:16 p.m.
Apparently according to a comment by @acorn, Community is nearly equitable in cost to Pioneer and Huron, but without the "perks" of umpteen electives. Some people apparently have math deficiencies in the AAPS when it comes to budgetary issues. How am I not surprised? Perhaps if FACTUAL numbers are presented, people will BACK OFF the ragging on CHS. There were over 450 applicants this year for about 120 spots. It goes UP every year. No under enrollment at CHS. These aren't the kids leaving the district. Skyline could have been a different model, but that's not the fault of Community. If intends up costing less to attend CHS than Pioneer or Huron, will you be passing along some of those extra $$$$???
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:05 p.m.
If you're concerned about student teacher ratio and "crowding" , I believe that Skyline has the lowest ratio in the district, aside from Roberto Clemente.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:03 p.m.
@Blazingly, apparently trimesters cost $300,000 more. Skyline is supposed to find that $ if they want to keep them.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.
@Freshwater, there are many Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline students that split enroll at Community. Any kid can take a course at any high school. Staff at Community provide the online course program for the entire district, which has kids from ALL high schools taking online courses. Perhaps they will cut the program and everyone will be happy. Well except for the kids who want to take online courses.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:55 p.m.
Forum at Community is not a full credit - it is 0.25 credits per semester. Total credits earned per year are 12.5, compared to 12.0 at Pioneer and Huron, and 15.0 at Skyline. Other cuts will be made at Community based on the fallout from the BOE budget, and i wouldnt be surprised if the cuts affect all high schools. Community runs the online and community resource program for the ENTIRE district. I'm not sure if the cost of running the program for the entire district is distributed and shared with the other high schools. If it is not, that would be one reason that the per pupil cost at CHS is slightly higher. Community also does not have the plethora of electives offered at Pioneer, Huron, or Skyline. Each trimester at Skyline is 0.5 credit hours. As to whether math is a year long, it is still 1.5 credit hours if that is the case, not 1.0 credit hours at Pioneer, Huron, and Community. Students are expected to register for 6 credits per semester at Community, plus 0.25 credits of forum. Personally, I have paid $250 for my kid to take a course in summer school that he didn't need, but wanted to take so that he could take the next consecutive course in the fall. I do not know of anyone personally who takes a seventh course at Community. I was under the impression that a seventh course cost extra. There is not enough room in the schedule for 480 plus kids at CHS to take 7 classes plus forum. It just couldn't happen. Classes are very full due to the limited number of options, and they fill up quickly at registration. Community also has one dean (principal) for less than 500 students, whereas Pioneer and Huron each have four, andSkyline has three. A lot of these facts are from the AAPS website. Some are from personal experience. Perhaps before rushing to judgement, people could seek factual information. I also am not aware of any "cuts" to Roberto Clemente.
freshwaterkayak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:27 p.m.
Apologies, that should read "Community reads about $1,000 more per student than Pioneer and Huron."
freshwaterkayak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
It's not equitable. Additionally, Community has Forum. Essentially, Community teachers teach four classes while the comprehensive high schools teach five. Why does my family need to be faced with a financial burden while Community parents continue to receive Forum at no cost? Frankly, if Community wishes to keep forum, then there needs to exist a similar fee. Though Community is a nice resource to have in Ann Arbor, it cannot continue to come at the cost of other kids. My thought is that the inequities will be addressed when members of the community finally explore legal action. I also invite posters to visit the Board Docs so they can also examine how much per pupil allocation goes to each school. Notably, Community receives about $1,000 per student (Board Docs), and has forum, and gets to take AP classes and electives at the comprehensive high schools, further exacerbating the overcrowding that already exists.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
oh aliveandwell I am so glad you know everything there is to know about every high school in the district.
aliveandwell
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
Skyline does indeed get 15 hours though due to trimesters with 5 classes per semester. They also count one trimester as .5 credit, which equates to one semester at the other schools. Their math classes are in fact, 2 trimesters a year which means that they go with one tri w/o math or another academic at a time.
aliveandwell
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:11 p.m.
Community students were actually not allowed to register for a 7th hour/class for next semester due to impending budget cuts. So far, we're on the same level as Huron and Pioneer.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 6:57 p.m.
Skyline High School students receive .5 credits for each course they take in a trimester fora total of 7.5 credits a year or 30 credits over 4 years. Pioneer/Huron High School = 6 credits. Community: 7 credits All AAPS high schoolers must earn 22 credits in order to graduate. For the record, I don't agree with making people pay for a 7th hour. I do like the trimester system. Instead of taking the trimesters away from Skyline why not implement the trimester system into the other schools? How much more would that cost? Each class is 72 minutes long and there are 5 classes a day in a trimester. I doubt that teachers would have more time in a day's schedule.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 6:46 p.m.
How many credits does it take to graduate for each school? Are you sure that Skyline gets 15 credits? I think that each trimester is worth less than a credit. Also, math for Pioneer/Huon is 2 semesters correct? Math for Skyline is 3. Seems to me a year is a year. I am sure other classes are like that.
Aah
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 5:08 p.m.
Is this correct? Really?
aliveandwell
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
Did they end up cutting the extra .5 PE graduation requirement?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:51 p.m.
Yeppers.
libertyordeath
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:36 p.m.
Maybe it was in a previous article, so I apologize if I missed this, but what about the school counselors that were to be let go? I believe the number mentioned was three. Is that confirmed? Thanks in advance!
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:22 p.m.
Yes, that was confirmed in the budget passed last night.
ET Crowe
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:15 p.m.
so, why not earn money with billboards? It's better to charge students to take a class and play a sport? THAT I do not understand at all.
A2Girl63
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:21 p.m.
Did I miss the increase of pay to participate fee for High School?
Charles Curtis
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:57 p.m.
I have asked in the past and I hope after the initial stories on the budget are completed, that AA.com could look into how much money AAPS spends on students per credit hour at each of the major HS's, Pioneer, Huron, Skyline and Community. It looks to me that the Huron and Pioneer students are getting dumped on again. They have to pay for 7th hour, but Skyline and Community still get to have there special schedules. If there is an equal amount of dollars spent at each HS, I have no issue, but I seriously doubt that is going to be the case.
DonBee
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 10:03 a.m.
In looking at the numbers on board docs, I can not make them work with the numbers that are in the last audit or the more detailed numbers released on the building by building costs from a couple of years ago. Some of the high schools would have had to have hired a number of staff members to come up to these costs and some would have had to have dropped a number to get down to them, and I can't find the hiring numbers to get there. I consider all of the summary numbers in the BOE on cost of the high schools to be suspect. But the district is so non-transparent, I can't prove it. They are just way off of what was made public previously.
TryingToBeObjective
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:32 a.m.
@freshwater, it is my understanding that the Community teacher didn't " just recalculate the numbers." The teacher found an error in the arithmetic of the budget. maybe there are more errors. Community may have a forum, but Pioneer and Huron have immediate access to far more electives. It's the trade off of attending CHS. You may get forum, but you'll have to go elsewhere to find the electives. If the numbers are equitable, then i would assume that Pioneer and Huron would have to find the $$, possibly foregoing electives and other conveniences, in order to have forum or something similar. Until CHS has everything offered at the bigger schools, there's no way to make both the same across the board. I'll admit I'm very frustrated, this is getting really old. My older ones attended Pioneer with the extreme overcrowding. I think one of the best things to come out of last nights meeting was the audit. Mathematical errors can cost everyone big $$. I'm just really tired of so many pinning the blame on CHS, when the kids that attend there are just trying to figure it out like everyone else. When my kid decided on CHS, we knew the drawbacks about limited electives. But it was the best fit. Yes, forum is nice, but it's the people at CHS that make the school what it is. From what I understand, there was talk of having something similar but on a bigger scale at Skyline early on. I'm not sure how that all transpired, but I can tell you we made the best choice for this kid. I'm concerned about my youngest. What will high school evolve into in a few years? It would honestly be great to see parents SHARE info on this forum, instead of going on the defensive a lot of the time (myself included). It's really sad that some parents get so upset, and others think they know the quick fix, when they really are uninformed. Some people get on here just to stir the pot. It's like watching a tennis match half the time.
freshwaterkayak
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 1:14 a.m.
@TryingToBeObjective - yes, I am very familiar with forum and how it functions on a day to day basis and otherwise. Teachers provide students with scheduling/counseling advice, forums take trips etc. Forums consist of grades 9-12 allowing for mentoring and role modeling from the older students. The question is; would you be willing to assume the forum cost so that Pioneer and Huron students could have access to this same fantastic opportunity? In forum, community service happens, depending on what each forum elects to do, though community service does not occur every hour of every forum. Pioneer and Huron students "actually HELP" the community as well; however their community service needs to be confined to clubs and class projects. And...I have to wonder; is it truly "community service" if it occurs under the auspices of a teacher salary compliments of our collective taxpayer dollars? Skytime is a good point. And Pioneer is over enrolled. If one reads all the comments carefully, most people are engaging in an interpretation of the numbers that fits their own self interests. That goes for everyone; not just a select few. Keep in mind that if a Community teacher recalculated the numbers based on what he or she experiences on a daily basis, I'm sure that Pioneer, Skyline, Roberto, and A2.tech teachers could do the same. We all need this district to keep more effectively calculated hard numbers and better data. Most parents and teachers at the comprehensive high schools are willing to shoulder their fair share of cuts; the voices are merely asking for the cuts to reflect equitable sacrifice.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:27 p.m.
Interesting. Apparently the cost per student at CHS is LESS THAN $10 per kid more than PiHi or Huron. Wow. And it's due to a mathematical error on the part of the BOE. Go figure. In case you need some help with that, that's 480 kids times less than $10. You do the math.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:09 p.m.
@freshwaterkayak, how much does the weekly hour of "Skytime" cost at Skyline? One could argue the same as forum, except forums go out into the community to assist with voluntary community services, fundraising for Foodgatherers, etc. it's not the "luxury" you make it out to be. These kids HELP the community.
acorn
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
Freshwaterkayak, interesting you should mention the supposed $1000 extra to educate students at Community. One of the speakers in public commentary was a Community teacher who showed that this figure is actually not correct, and that Community's cost per student is actually quite similar to the larger high schools. I hope Danielle will publish this information soon to correct this commonly held but mistaken belief.
freshwaterkayak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 9:22 p.m.
Charles, go to the Ann Arbor Public Schools website and search the Board Docs. The per pupil allocation is listed there. Community is roughly $1,000 per pupil more than Pioneer and Huron. Compare also class sizes. Pioneer has the largest class size on average, Huron tends to run second (also cited in board docs and a previous A2.com article). Interesting to compare how many FTE could be saved as well if Community eliminated Forum. You might be interested in looking at Community's schedule to see how many sections of Forum there are and how many teachers have a Forum class. Though Forum is a "nice" option to have, it would be far more equitable if families were asked to subsidize it with a fee similar to 7th hour. Especially given the already higher per pupil allocation.
aliveandwell
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
Community schedules cost the same as Huron and Pioneer (maybe a less than $10 difference).
A Voice of Reason
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:31 p.m.
Skyline kids take 5 classes vs. up to 7. Pioneer and Huron can change to block scheduling and trimesters.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:33 p.m.
What "Special Schedules" are you talking about at Skyline? Seriously...am I missing something? My daughter will be a Senior in the fall and I have not heard of "special schedules" or is that code for "trimesters"?
anothera2mom
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:34 p.m.
Will you please clarify the cuts made to Special Education? It sounds as if 6 to 7 Teacher Consultant positions will be eliminated in addition to 1 Speech-Lang Pathologist. Is this correct?
birdwatcher
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:11 p.m.
The state is requiring AAPS to place more of their special needs children in general education classrooms. Hurray! This is good. But I wonder how AAPS will do this if they are cutting 6-7 TCs???
Katherine Griswold
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:28 p.m.
I appreciated the opportunity to speak during public commentary and recommended that the board form a citizens advisory committee. These are difficult times and the board needs the support and management expertise of community leaders, as well as greater collaboration with the City of Ann Arbor. Records indicate that the last City Schools meeting was in 2005, and while the Transportation Safety Committee has continued to meet quarterly, the City has delayed many sidewalk and crosswalk improvements in school walk zones due to a lack of funds. I'm hopeful a citizens advisory committee can help the board with its budget process and elevate some of the infrastructure improvements on the City's backlog. For example, the City installed pedestrian activated flashers on Plymouth Road, primarily for UM students, but does not have funding for similar flashers on Stadium and Huron Parkway for AAPS student crossing mid-block, before dawn in the winter months.
Jrileyhoff
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:04 p.m.
Cutting teachers at the high schools. Great. Just last week my child learned that about 45 students registered for AP Spanish & AP Physics for next year. Skyline told them they could only afford one section of each class. Can you imagine 45 students taking an oral exam or conducting a lab? I don't think discouraging students from taking AP classes benefits our society as a whole.
Gretchen Ridenour
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 4:16 a.m.
Lola: I believe that Spanish is the most common language spoken in the US after English. We need Americans fluent in a second language if we are to compete in the global economy.
kuriooo
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:29 a.m.
As a reply to Lola, taking advanced Spanish in high school was one of the more "practically useful" classes from that period of time in my life. I currently use Spanish every day, and it's always a benefit to state on a resume or in a conversation that I speak another language. This is in addition to the academic, cultural and social benefits a second language provides. It's one of the more widely spoken languages in the world, along with Mandarin Chinese and English.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:19 p.m.
Is it physically possible to put 45 kids in one class? Is it safe? Are all of these kids seniors? Otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised to see " changes made."
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:16 p.m.
It will mean that the teacher will have to make due with 45 children or get an aide to help her. But I don't see the teacher doing that because she gets an extra stipend if she keeps extra help out of her classroom. More money in the pockets of teachers going it alone. I wish her luck. I remember helping a K teacher at WR once. That was not fun 40 K in one classroom.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:53 p.m.
I will grant you that having much better scientists because of AP Physics benefits society, but AP Spanish? How does having people who speak Spanish a lot better benefit society as opposed to individuals who can speak only Spanish somewhat better?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:47 p.m.
Does that mean they will run one very large class, or drop 15 kids from the class? Just curious.
Aah
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:27 p.m.
That Spanish teacher did a wonderful job building a program where students do really well on the AP test and her reward is to overload her classes. YIkes.
Katherine Griswold
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:01 p.m.
Thanks for putting students first with regard to retaining high school bussing and not approving the electronic bulletin boards. Both would compromise student safety. The district area is 127 square miles, much larger than the AATA service area and many families cannot afford to purchase an extra vehicle, not to mention the added congestion near and on our high school campuses. The electronic bulletin boards would be unsightly, but more importantly, would be a dangerous distraction for our young student drivers. Thank you.
Ricardo Queso
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:05 p.m.
Lola, they ride with siblings or parents drop them off. Look at the parking lots and the drop off lanes in the morning. Perhaps a better term would be to rationalize busing. If only 24% (as stated in a prior post) use transportation there is room to make adjustments while retaining services for those who require them. Perhaps it is time for the district as well as WISD to get out of the transportation business and contract services to a private firm. The savings in legacy costs alone would have to be substantial.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:49 p.m.
Ricardo, I don't know where you get your 'information' but most students do not drive themselves to school. Unlike you I will offer proof. At least half of the students attending high school are only 14 or 15 years old which is not old enough to hold a license that allows them to drive alone to school.
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:30 p.m.
Every source of potential revenue should be considered. $100K annually from billboard rental would be a painlessly method preserving FTE's and AP offerings. A billboard near Pioneer may even help to relieve congestion by directing traffic on football Saturdays. And sorry to break the news to you, most students already drive themselves to school.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:58 p.m.
An additional note to readers: this story is now in its final form. I just wanted to take a minute to explain a little about our process in publishing this story before it was complete. Whenever a story on our site says "developing" in blue in the headline, it means the story still is being updated. One of the reasons we do this is so that after a significant event, such as a major decision at a meeting, we can get the news out to the community as quickly as possible. So we publish what we can, as soon as we can, informing people of the action that was taken, and then we go back in and add additional details. When the story is done being updated, we take the "developing" tag out of the headline. I hope this provides some insight into our thought process! Thanks for reading and for being patient. I know this this budget decision was an important issue for many.
arborani
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 4 p.m.
Excellent job, Danielle. Thank you for responding with consistent clarity, objectivity, and amazing quickness. Not to mention patience.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
Nice job, Danielle. I'm sure it was a long night, and many parents were anxious to see the end result as soon as possible this morning. Your efforts are appreciated!
A2centsworth
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:49 p.m.
I would like to know how many "undocumented" or "illegal" immigrants are attending Ann Arbor schools, and have the numbers increased from last year. Will the $80,000 internal audit be addressing this?
Chester Drawers
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.
I'm sure the district doesn't care at all about a student's immigration status. They get $9,000+ for each kid, no matter where they were born.
Goober
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:39 p.m.
Public education is not free.
kuriooo
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 6:45 p.m.
I think it's in our best interests as a society to give everyone access to education. The more someone wants to study and work hard academically, the better for us all.
Responsible Citizen
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 5:22 p.m.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "free public education" applied to all, no matter what their immigration status, so it's a moot point. Any money spent to determine the number would be money wasted. If we don't educate these children, when they grow up, they will have no way to support themselves. Thankfully, with immigration reform, they will have legal status soon and will be able to earn a living and pay taxes, as will their parents.
A2centsworth
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:57 p.m.
basic bob: we are the ones paying the taxes, so it is our problem. Danielle Arndt: Any info on how many undocumented immigrant students in Ann Arbor school system?
Basic Bob
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:52 p.m.
the state is writing the check. that is the state's problem.
A2centsworth
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:37 p.m.
"$80,000 for internal audit (what they are calling "to conduct a performance audit of the district's financial, human resources and instruction departments") " Isn't it the Boards job to do that?
A2centsworth
Sat, Jun 15, 2013 : 5:56 a.m.
Thank you AMOC for your reply
AMOC
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 9:54 p.m.
In a word, no. In several words, the current BoE trustees don't have the correct expertize to perform audits of internal financial and policy controls, nor is it a task Michigan law assigns to school boards. It is the Boards' responsibility to set policy and oversee finances, not to actually execute in either capacity for their school district.
Floyd
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:35 p.m.
So they are going to make (middle class) students pay for an academic class in order to scrape up a hundred thousand dollars? This is not Jeffersonian public education. How about eliminating Dave Comsa's position, as the principals formally suggested? He will not be doing that job this summer and fall, and it amounts to about two hundred thousand dollars a year.
TryingToBeObjective
Sun, Jun 16, 2013 : 5:39 p.m.
We are talking about electives, not academic requirements. Ya gotta pay for those "extras". 80% of the (middle class) manages to get by without the extras. Why should they pay for the 20% who want everything?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:21 p.m.
$100 is a bargain compared to $250 in summer school.
Roger Kuhlman
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:35 p.m.
I have a simple question: will AAPS total spending for this year be less than last year? Talk about Budgets and budget cutting can be a very good way to obscure fiscally what is really going on. Maybe Teacher pensions and post-retirement benefits are too high. Most employees in the private sector which is the vast majority of the Public do not get the lavish benefits that Teachers and other Public employees get. Is that fair? Is that financially sustainable?
David Paris
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 10:13 p.m.
"Most employees in the private sector which is the vast majority of the Public do not get the lavish benefits that Teachers and other Public employees get. Is that fair?" Roger, the only thing I can say to that is; That is the wrong question, ask another question. Think about it; If your employer does not provide health care and some form of retirement plan, then your employer sucks and you need to find another one.
DonBee
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 9:57 a.m.
Mr. Kuhlman - The simple answer is NO, the budget does not decrease, if you look at total dollars AAPS has to spend from all sources, the numbers are up every year since Proposition A, except one. The budget design was to include a 5 percent increase annually in revenue, this is what the teacher's contract was negotiated around when it was first done (the two "new" contract extensions have done nothing to fix this problem in the basic contract) as well as assumptions on what the district could spend on many other items. Today in total dollars the district spends over $14,000 per student (closer to $15,000), so the teacher is the classroom at $104,000 in total average cost, needs 9 students full time to cover their full cost. The average classroom is closer to 30 students than 9, so you tell me where the rest of the money is going.
grye
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 9:46 p.m.
Gee Lola, guess you woudl rather have our teachers receive only minimum wages. Just think of the quality teachers we would have and how well prepared our children would be for college and other careers. Careers. The teaching profession is a career. I find is hard to believe that scientists at the U of M are barely making minimum wages when administrative personnel are making more than the starting salary for a teacher. AAPS teachers start at $38k per year and if they obtain no other degree, top out at $65k. Most professional jobs in the auto industry pay more. Teacher salaries are not out of line. Considering the responsibility a teacher has managing the classroom, getting the students engaged and wanting to learn, and dealing with grumpy parents because Johnny never does anything wrong, I would think they have a much greater responsibility and should be paid accordingly compared to a beginning scientist at the U of M.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.
grye, please. Have you seen the starting salaries of scientists at UofM? It's well below the starting salaries of teachers and scientists have a much more difficult educational requirements while being required to work 12 months a year. I have seen positions posted at UofM for laboratory scientists that require skills that would make your head spin and salaries just barely above minimum wage.
grye
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:10 p.m.
Roger: Teacher salaries start out extremely low given the eductional requirements needed to obtain the position. Salaries increase slowly and the benefits are good (although they are much less than in previous years) however a teacher doesn't stop the education process when they obtain a job. They are required to continue with their education program throughout their teaching career. This is a State requirement and the cost is born by the teacher. Pensions are now funded more by the employee. Teachers provide an extremely valuable service in preparing our youth for their future. Would you rather pay less for less qualified personnel ensuring children will be less qualified workers in the future?
SonnyDog09
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
As I read this story, I can't get the song "Yackity Sax" out of my head.
Barb's Mom
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:24 p.m.
"School officials say they are looking at whether the district can continue to offer some of its lower enrollment classes and may make reductions that way. It is expected a majority of the 27 FTE will be cut from the high schools."--Does this include cutting classes at Community High School which has low enrollment? How do they define low enrollment?
DonBee
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 9:52 a.m.
aliveandwell - The last public numbers that AAPS put out a couple of years ago, were not that close. While community was not as high as Skyline per students and certainly not at the level of Roberto Clemente and AATech, it was not within a $100 per student of Pioneer, which was the lowest cost school per student to operate. I don't have my numbers with me here, but I can if this discussion is still live on Monday, provide the last public figures on a per student basis. They are now several years old.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:23 p.m.
Thanks, @aliveandwell. Perhaps people will quit their whining about CHS and find bigger fish to fry.
aliveandwell
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.
Also, as pointed out last night, Community High School costs the same amount (with a less than $10 difference) as Huron and Pioneer High School per student. The previous estimation that CHS students cost $1000 more was due to a simple mathematical error by the BOE.
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:40 p.m.
@Barbs Mom, are you referring to Roberto Clemente or A2Tech? They have low enrollment. Community never has low enrollment. I believe they are referring to specific courses that have low enrollment. For example, perhaps underwater basket weaving class only has 10 kids signed up to take it. The possibility exists that the underwater basket weaving class could be cancelled. No offense to underwater basket weavers out there. It's just an example.
Dan Rubenstein
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:38 p.m.
What is the evidence of "low enrollment" at CHS?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:22 p.m.
@Danielle Arndt: You wrote "The majority of board members were determined to pass a balanced budget no matter what by the time the meeting was adjourned." Yet when the dust settled the budget all the members of the board approved (except for Trustee Christine Stead who voted no - thanks for that vote Christine), ended up with a $1.18 million deficit. Can you please explain that to us?
Jay Thomas
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:19 p.m.
In a town obsessed with bike lanes and whatnot many of these teenagers could be riding their bike to school.
DonBee
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 9:49 a.m.
Mr. Thomas - The longest routes for the travel to school start at places like Gotfredsen and Plymoth-Ann Arbor Road, or Textile and Carpenter. Google says that from the corners of the school district, where many of the new starter homes are going up, that the routes are between 10 and 11 miles long. The district covers 127 square miles. I would suggest you look at the school district maps on the WISD website. Most of these long routes force students to cross US-23, M-14, or I-94, in some case multiple times because of the way the roads are laid out. I have a suggestion for you. Park at Briarwood and Walk to Costco. See how safe you feel, now think about a 13 year old doing this but pushing a bike on a dark winter morning in rush hour, with ice on the streets. Let me know when you have actually looked at the map and tried one of the longer routes.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:11 p.m.
Uh huh, round abouts and bikes. Yes, there are lanes for that but there are cars that don't even stop at the round abouts to let others in. Have you seen a car air borne after hitting a circle? Cool but dangerous.
Jay Thomas
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:52 p.m.
@DonBee: That sounds like its from another school district!
Jay Thomas
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:45 p.m.
So much pathos! I rode my bike as did other teens I knew. Ann Arbor was even less bike friendly then. Car pools were also used and the AAPS saved money as a result.
DonBee
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:18 p.m.
Mr. Thomas - Think about and 13 or 14 year old student riding on a winter morning on Plymouth-Ann Arbor on a morning with black ice. It is a 10+ mile ride. Are you willing to trust that with no sidewalks, very narrow shoulders and trucks moving at 65 mph plus in the dark?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:34 p.m.
Every day I see a little girl on her bike (by little I mean elementary school age) heading thru the traffic circles by Skyline towards school, presumably Steiner all the way down on Newport. I always wonder, what are her parents thinking? Steiner costs some $$, yet the priority placed on this girls safety is pathetic. Many drivers fly through those circles. The yield sign is apparently "optional", and the crosswalks are completely ignored. I'm sure drivers could see her, if they chose to. Bike with streamers, helmet, etc., and sometimes there are other little ones as well. I also wonder if Steiner thinks this is a good idea, if they are even aware of it.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:14 p.m.
@RudeDog I agree. Last school year a student was hit while walking through the traffic circles. That's one child too many being hit at the traffic circle. I do not want to have my daughter walking or riding a bike the 2 miles down Jackson and the additional 2+ miles down Maple, through the traffic circles, to get to school. And in the winter? What do they do in the winter?
Rudedog
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:10 p.m.
Sorry @Jay Thomas, but I will not allow my kids to ride their bikes through the traffic circles to get to Skyline!!! I witness on a daily basis the number of near misses of people not paying attention or following the rules! I WILL NOT risk my children's lives!
Basic Bob
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
8 miles up carpenter during rush hour doesn't work.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:13 p.m.
The amount of money the district plans to use from its fund balance for 2013-14 has been corrected in this article. I typed $1.81 million instead of $1.18 million -- sorry for the error!
Usual Suspect
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:08 p.m.
"Trustees felt there was too much opposition in the community for these billboards right now." Right now, it say. That is, once the rest of us reach their level of genius and enlightenment, our opposition will wane, and then they can do it.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:07 p.m.
"An additional $80,000 expense was added to the budget Thursday at the request of Stead to conduct a performance audit of the district's financial, human resources and instruction departments. Superintendent Patricia Green has advocated for this type of external checks-and-balance audit to be done since coming to AAPS." I want to publicly thank Trustee Christine Stead for requesting that funds be allocated for internal audit and to the other members of the board who agreed to this proposal. While it is less than the $100,000 figure I suggested in my public comment at the meeting, in my comments on AnnArbor.com and to her and other trustees privately, it is a good start and if done properly, will give the board and administration a good idea as to whether or not more money ought to be spent on additional internal audits of high and moderate risk areas or not. Hopefully, this $80,000 will recover more than that in unauthorized spending for a net zero or negative cost to the budget at the end of the day. (Please note that the sentences I quote above from the article were added to the article in the first re-edit by the reporter.)
A Voice of Reason
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
It is very important to make sure that the audit is done by a reputable firm vs. the usual, in-bred, retired school officials/ consultants. No more checking your own report card AAPS!
PhillyCheeseSteak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:38 p.m.
Thank you for your financial perspective and recommendationsson the AAPS budget Mr. Ranzini.
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:03 p.m.
An analysis should be conducted on how many high school students actually ride the bus, and if they do, where are they located. A potential for savings may exist.
InterestedReader
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
Conduct your own study. Come to one of the high schools at the end of the day and count the students streaming out of the building and getting on the busses. Oh, sorry you'd have to be quick or bring some friends to help count; there are many, many, many.
Blazingly Busy
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 11:55 a.m.
@jns - some families still cannot figure out a place to make the cuts for a car/car insurance. I wish we could be we are on the edge.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:09 p.m.
This is our last year with AATA. We saved for a car for ours and well, as for insurance? Going to make some cuts somewhere. O wait, did BOE hear that one? O I hope not. I don't want them to think parents are making cuts somewhere. Can't wait to get ours off the bus system. Then I don't have to rush around. Still worried about that 7th hour though.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:19 p.m.
Ricardo, I don't know much about how the ridership analysis was done, but school officials told me for a previous story about high school transportation that about 1,270 students or 24 percent of all eligible riders at the high schools actually use the bus service available to them.
DonBee
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:15 p.m.
Mr. Queso - The bussing study from several years ago recommended 1 bus run to pick up students from all grades. The farther from the high schools, the higher number of students seem to ride. The lower the income area is the higher the number of students who ride seems to be, based on getting a quick read of the, still unreleased, study.
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
Ricardo, what do you propose for students who do not even live on the bus lines? You do realize that there are students who live in rural areas who attend AAPS, right? How would you get your kid/s to school if your work schedule didn't allow you to drive them to school or an AATA bus stop?
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:51 p.m.
Then a bus should remain for your neighborhood. One "AATA" running empty buses is enough for this community. I believe a study from a few years ago showed high school buses to be woefully underutilized.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:53 p.m.
Ricardo, I think your neighborhood may be one of the more "well to do" neighborhoods. My neighborhood is firmly middle class. I know about 10 high schoolers in our tiny neighborhood and NONE of them drive. I know that my daughter won't be driving until she is 18. We can't afford a vehicle for her and insurance. She has not even had driver's ed and she is almost 17. A lot of parents are in that boat since the recession.
Ricardo Queso
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:34 p.m.
Bob, in my neighborhood the highschool bus stops, maybe two hop on. The other 25 drive to school.
Basic Bob
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:43 p.m.
there is an effective way to measure this. when the students arrive at the bus stop and there are twice as many students as they could cram on a bus three to a seat, they send another bus. it happens every year in my neighborhood.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:09 p.m.
The problem with analysis and AAPS is that AAPS generally hires consultants for this type of analysis, thus eliminating or decreasing any actual savings. I believe there was a consultant hired a few years ago to study the impact of busing the high schoolers.
Steve Bean
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:49 a.m.
"However, President Deb Mexicotte moved four different times throughout the discussion to extend the meeting…" Is it within the boards bylaws for the chair to make a motion? Or did she actually just request one and another member made it in those cases?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.
@Steve Bean: I'm not sure what by laws the board of AAPS is operating under. Roberts Rules of Order actually do allow a board chair to make or second motions. Many organizations operate under Roberts Rules and if AAPS does, her motions would be perfectly in order. Having said that, the problem of the meeting time having to be extended by over an hour was caused by the board president in the first place by loading up the beginning of the budget meeting with over 60 minutes of award presentations.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:49 a.m.
As public speaker #44 (did one person not show up to talk after signing up?), I have to say that the one minute for public comment we were all limited to is not enough. I wasn't even able to completely finish two short thoughts from my very short written speech, which I had timed out at about 90 seconds when I wrote it, having taken into consideration that the published rules for public comment stated there are four minutes per speaker. Why did they have to have 60 minutes of award ceremonies at the beginning of THIS meeting, which was devoted to finalizing the budget? The board president who runs the meetings ought to resign or be replaced by the board with a new board president who actually knows how to run meetings and prioritize when setting agendas. Lastly, under the Open Meetings Act, is it allowed to adjourn a meeting and then reconvene it without public notice? Did the entire school millage just get legally thrown under the bus?
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:12 p.m.
@Danielle Arndt: I was told verbally I was #44 by the person in charge of that (FYI she was gracious to add me to the list after the meeting started, as I was delayed at another public meeting) but as you note everything about the meeting was chaotic (there was a huge crowd) and I'd agree you should go with the official board document which lists the names that you've linked to.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:54 p.m.
Stephen, on BoardDocs (http://www.boarddocs.com/mi/aaps/Board.nsf/Public) there are 43 names listed and you were listed as No. 42. Not sure if someone didn't show up. I'll look into the Open Meetings Act aspect of your comment. I don't know the answer to that offhand without doing some research.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
AAPS's BOE does not seem to understand the urgency of the financial crisis that our schools are in and so they structure this (very important) meeting just like any other one.
barb
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:45 a.m.
Personally, I am very glad to see that high school busing was not cut, but I find it very troubling that based on this article and comments, this BOE does not seem to be able to work well with each other. They seem very fragmented in their goals and objectives. On another note, Pioneer (and Huron) should consider spearheading some kind of community outreach where citizens could sponsor a needy seventh hour student. Even if my kids did not take a seventh hour i would be willing to sponsor another child rather than donate the money to some arbitrary AAPS fund, especially with the way AAPS uses their discretionary funds and when I disagree with how they handle Balas and some of their hiring practices. That's just me though...
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:42 p.m.
Is there a cost for the seventh class, or just to have a class seventh hour? Couldn't Pioneer move the class to a different time slot? First hour, 2, 3,4,5,6? Or is there a different issue? Please clarify. Thank you.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:06 p.m.
Pioneer High School does do this with the music dept. I am not sure what is going to happen in September but I do know there is a 7th hour music class. I am not needy but that $100 sure is going to cut into the budget. But ours wants it? She will get it.
thisisnutzz
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:11 p.m.
Excellent suggestion. I agree, there should be some system set up for sponsorship to help students who would like to participate but cannot afford it. This could be implemented for many pay-to-participate academic and athletic opportunities. A personal experience that stuck with me my entire life was when an anonymous parent paid for me to attend a three day camp with my friends. It was one of the warmest moments of my high school life and really impacted me dramatically. I would love to participate and give another kid a shot at participating with his or her peers are at no cost of their own.
Steve Bean
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:51 a.m.
Maybe a fund could be set up in the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation to that effect.
thinker
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:32 a.m.
Were middle school pools closed or not?
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:48 p.m.
Thinker, yes they were. That was something the board agreed to at a study session in May. Here's the story: http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/budget-cuts-ann-arbor-school-board-tweaks-proposals-looks-for-ways-to-keep-teachers/. Thanks for your question.
acorn
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:37 a.m.
Yes.
northside
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:23 a.m.
There are dozens of school districts throughout the state that face budget deficits, many of them serious. Perhaps some of the wrath towards the Ann Arbor school board should be directed towards the state legislature and our governor? Frankly, many GOP legislators and Snyder don't care if the public schools are crushed by deficits. They're eager to see schools privatized.
DonBee
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 9:43 a.m.
Northside - When Proposition A was passed, there were 3 kinds of revenue for the schools, Foundation grants and holdharmless (which a small number of districts including AAPS got), bond funds and a skimpy reimbursement from the state for special education. Today schools have ISD wide millages for special education, sinking funds, and the Durant settlement that added significantly to the reimbursemnt for special ed (AAPS recieves about $0.86 on the dollar for each dollar they spend on special education in reimbursement). This year AAPS in total revenue has over $14,000 per student to spend. The teacher in a classroom of 30 students costs $104,000 of that money or less than the total revenue of 10 of those students (less than 9 actually). If you look at the average cost of special education with current reimbursement of costs (average special education cost is $40,000) the district recieves $34,400 in reimbursement from the state and WISD - meaning that attracting special education students would actually add $3,420 in excess foundation grant to the budget after reimbursements. A net increase in general fund money beyond the cost of special education. At one time Governor Granholm promised $2,000 in scholarship money to every high performing student and then took it back, leaving many stranded in a college program they could not afford. Then you remember the year they cut the state funding mid-school year and the year Governor Granholm decided to use up 2 years worth of Federal stimulus funds in one year for education and let her replacement deal with the shortfall the next year. Right? Kind of like the 2 AM raises for administrators. Neither party has been good to education the last few years, paying back the Federal government for unemployment insurance, covering billions in unfunded Medicaid/Medicare, environmental regulation enforcement and other unfunded mandates that Washington dumps on the state eats into state money.
David Paris
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:26 p.m.
"Perhaps some of the wrath towards the Ann Arbor school board should be directed towards the state legislature and our governor? " Excellent post, Northside! Finally, someone wants to question the Revenue side, instead of pointing fingers and bickerinf over anyone and everyone in the AAPS system that's just trying to feed their families! Thank you!
northside
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.
@ Blazing: I'm not gonna post a bunch of links for you. The Detroit News, a conservative paper, broke the story. Look it up on their site and do a Google search. @ Basic: It's not my "skunk works research." Skunk works is the nickname given to the group, initially secret, trying to privatize the schools.
Charles Curtis
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
There are more than just GOP rep's running things in Lansing. I seem to remember mid year reductions from the previous governor and a promise to high scoring students (who were to get a scholarship) on the state tests who were told at last min sorry we cant give you the award you were promised. The issue with funding goes back to prop A and the unthought out possible consequences. Prop A was supported by just about everyone up in Lansing, but thats what you get when lawyers run everything.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:57 p.m.
@northside I will wait for you to post more than one source....I would like the exact sources you are using to base your claims on.
Basic Bob
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:39 p.m.
please post a link to your skunk works research. we will wait.
northside
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:31 p.m.
@ BB: One other thing. I don't think the 'Skunk Works' project has ever been mentioned in an article on this site, which is rather amazing given the amount of scrutiny it gives to the public schools. Interviews for a new principal get an article, but not a huge, behind-the-scenes attempt to gut public education.
northside
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:24 p.m.
@ BB: Do a search for skunk works and Snyder. Even the conservative Detroit News has reported on Snyder's behind-the-scenes maneuvering to essentially end public schools. In fact, I think the News is the paper that broke the story.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:13 p.m.
"Can you substantiate this claim?" No, they can't, but they'll continue to copy-paste that text directly from the emails from their DNC handlers anyway.
Blazingly Busy
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:06 p.m.
northside said "Frankly, many GOP legislators and Snyder don't care if the public schools are crushed by deficits. They're eager to see schools privatized." I've seen this comment several times in the comments section here at AA.com. Can you substantiate this claim? Preferably with more than one source? I am not a Snyder fan, but I would like to see facts to back up this claim before I get my knickers in a twist over it.
Floyd
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:21 a.m.
Dave Comsa, our new superintendent, has never taught a day in his life. He is a lawyer, who was brought on board by Todd (the old super) to be an aggressive presence at contract negotiations, and that he was. He is not beloved, or even trusted, by the regular staff of AAPS. The fact that two very respected in-house educators were passed up to give the superintendency to a Balas crony speaks to the board's lack of esteem for teachers and principals and their myopic view of the way forward.
Chester Drawers
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:10 p.m.
I'm with you, towncryer. I've been waiting and waiting for a report on the revenue Comsa has generated by being 'farmed out' to other districts. After all, this was part of the rationale for his middle-of-the-night sneaky pay increase!
SonnyDog09
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:32 p.m.
The interim guy is just there to make his successor look better. Well, that and to pad his retirement.
aaparent
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:05 p.m.
@Floyd- I have heard the same about Comsa, that he is not well regarded in and outside of Balas. This is more poor leadership by the board to create more divisiveness in the district rather than appointment a temporary leader who would be better received. With all the criticism about discretionary funds and credit card statements used by administrators, maybe the board wants a lawyer at the helm because they are expecting lawsuits. Or maybe this is why Mexicotte emphasized in her long, long announcement on this that the position should only be for 6 to 8 weeks, assuming the superintendent search process finds a winning candidate.
DJBudSonic
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:59 a.m.
They have plenty of esteem for principals, they didn't ask for or receive one budget concession from AAAA.
towncryer
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:30 a.m.
Is this the guy that got a salary increase because he supposedly is/was going to be bringing more income to AAPS with his "legal expertise" in other capacities, or is that a different legal employee?
sh1
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:20 a.m.
I watched the board meeting up until 11:00 and appreciated Stead trying to keep track of numbers not included in Hoover's version of updated budget. There seemed to be a willingness from other board members to go with best-case-scenario budget numbers, rather than trying to be conservative.
acorn
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:12 a.m.
Danielle, if I'm not mistaken, the final budget will draw $1.18 million from fund equity, not $1.81 million.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
Yes, you are correct and the error has been fixed. Thanks acorn!
Floyd
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:11 a.m.
Will there be a seventh period? Will the "elite students" have to pay for it, as Andy Thomas argued they should?
TryingToBeObjective
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:34 p.m.
@jns131, would you please clarify? Students at Pioneer cannot just skip first hour, or have an open hour to do homework, in order to take a class during the seventh hour? I know of kids at Skyline who leave early their senior year if they choose to, due to not needing credits.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
But if those who are in the music program the 7 is something they need to balance out the other music depts. So if your childs class lands in 7 and only has 5 classes then you do need to pay. I hope this is the case. $100 is going to be extremely steep.
Basic Bob
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:34 p.m.
why not? students in sports programs pay extra. they can enroll in a class at the community college and they would have to pay. online summer classes also charge a fee.
Wake Up A2
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:08 a.m.
It is truly a breath of fresh air to see the AAAA take cuts as the teachers did. It is also nice to see Balas getting rid of the district chairs which were added on when we couldn't afford them. Oh wait, it was just a dream. Teachers took cuts and layoffs.... Higher class sizes and more bad morale.... can't wait to see what my daughter tells me this fall.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:43 p.m.
PhillyCheeseSteak, no Quad-A has not finalized an agreement with the district yet. The negotiations are still ongoing.
fanny
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:09 p.m.
PhillyCheesseSteak - I think Wake Up A2 was making a joke. It was just a dream that he had that AAAA took a pay cut.
Wake Up A2
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:03 p.m.
I don't know....I was being sarcastic.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:54 a.m.
Wake Up A2 and/or Danielle Arndt - did the AAAA take a pay cut? I didn't see that in the above article. Thank you.
Alan Goldsmith
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:01 a.m.
So, the $5K for Board snacks--was that protected?
Alan Goldsmith
Fri, Jun 14, 2013 : 2:53 p.m.
Thanks Danielle for the info.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:02 p.m.
No, from the looks of it, it looks like it got eliminated. Sorry Zingermans, you got zinged this time.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 8:04 p.m.
Alan, no, that was cut.
aaparent
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:47 a.m.
Hats off to Ms. Barbara Malcolm for coming to so many board meetings and trying to publicly hold school officials accountable. Trustee Thomas made a statement that he had received 400 emails recently and has answered each one. Is that on behalf of the whole board or just his personal diligence to respond to voters? If it is just him, what are the other board members email response rates?
Lola
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 3:43 p.m.
I recently sent an email to all of the board members regarding the elimination of 7th hour at high schools. Mr. Thomas responded on behalf of the entire BOE. I also got personal responses from Ms. Mexicotte and Ms. Stead.
AKinA2
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:05 a.m.
Trustee Thomas answered my email and stated it was from the board, since he was secretary. But I know from personal experience that he answered emails in years when he was not Secretary as well. He is a extremely dedicated and I thank him for that.
AMOC
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:59 a.m.
Trustee Thomas serves as the Board Secretary this school year. He answers e-mail (and snail mail!) for the entire board as well as items sent only to him. And yes, he is an un usually diligent public official, even if I often wish he would make his points more briefly during meetings.
Andrew Thomas
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:58 a.m.
As BOE secretary, it is my job to respond to e-mails, letters, etc. on behalf of the entire Board. Individual trustees may respond individually if they so desire.
AKinA2
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:44 a.m.
Thank you Danielle for getting a summary up quickly after a late meeting. Is there a full list of revised cuts and what passed. The budget on the board's page is from April. It doesn't include possible changes that were discussed such as having 7th hour paid for rather than cut and eliminating the non-state mandated PE class. I would like to know what happened to these (and other) items.
jns131
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.
If your child from what we learned in at the beginning of ours 9th grade year, PE can be done on line if a program can be developed for that child and the child does enough of it to warrant the credit. You need 90 credits and ours topped that before coming down with the flu for 3 weeks. Yeah, between the two of us, it took a long time to shake. Might want to look into it.
Amy Dittmar
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:26 p.m.
Thank you for clarifying Danielle. There have been so many things added in the last few weeks it wasn't clear that the PE elective was being proposed to be cut. It sounds like it was and it was cut. Given the impact on the academic classes, I think this makes sense (particularly for those kids that do sports and don't need a PE elective requirement). I appreciate you following up on this.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
AKinA2, in the updated version, you will find information about some of these items. On the non-state mandated PE class, the board did have a mini debate about it. Christine Stead and, I believe, Simone Lightfoot were the only two trustees who seemed interested in adding it back into the budget. But because a minimum of four trustees were not inclined, the PE class was cut for an estimated $400,000 savings. Stead's concern with cutting this is she was not satisfied that the students who took the extra PE credits could easily be added back into other classes without possibly causing issues with class size overages and cost the district more money to provide more teachers with cash payments or teacher assistants, per the AAEA contract agreement.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:44 a.m.
A quick note to readers: I'm adding more details to this story as I type this. You're questions will all be answered asap! Thanks for your patience!
Maria Huffman
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:42 a.m.
Danielle, Could you add something about the new interim Superintendent? Thanks, Maria Huffman
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:32 p.m.
Hi Maria, a story about that actually went up a little later this morning. Here is the link: http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/ann-arbor-school-board-names-top-central-administrator-as-interim-superintendent/
aaparent
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:35 a.m.
Kudos to Danielle and A2.com for capturing the chaos of the BOE. Our elected officials in a scattered and harried way decided on budget cuts that impact the lives of students and teachers. I guess I should not be surprised given the history. A quick "my bad" from our board president is enough for her. Mexicotte led like a student cramming in a year's worth of homework into the 11th hour before a final exam. I saw the first several hours of the meeting on television. It seemed Mexicotte cut off Thomas quite a bit and she was trying to briefer, but just can't pull it off. At the very least, for meeting management, why didn't the board cut the excellence awards and committee reports from the meeting which would have saved 90 minutes at least. It took Mexicotte quite awhile after public comments to announce the interim superintendent and re-announce that the deadline for the superintendent job is this Friday.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:35 a.m.
So if I interpret it right, the only substantial action the AAPS Trustees took to reduce the deficit was to cut it by $6.9 million by eliminating 70 employee positions including 30 teachers. They left the $4.5 million discretionary operations budget account in place untouched and allocated no money for internal audit? The members of the AAAA principals union offered no cuts in salaries or numbers? The $5,000 food budget for board meetings was left untouched? The trustees agreed at the meeting they wanted to achieve a balanced budget yet ended up calculating the budget they approved was $1.81 million in deficit? How many signatures does it take on a petition to recall the board?
Goober
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 7:36 p.m.
We do not have a revenue issue. We have a cost problem, which has yet to be either controlled or rendered to its lowest level. Sound zero based budgeting and only creating budget lines for items directly related to the education of our kids would aid immensely. But, the AA BOE has proven that they are clueless, inept and lost when it comes to providing leadership and using sound financial princles.
Dan Rubenstein
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 4:25 p.m.
Stephen - Most of your ideas are fine, but it would be more productive if you would quantify them. My point about the discretionary fund remains. Money is fungible. Where is your evidence that administrators are "overpaid"? My experience in the private sector belies that. Neither they nor teachers are overpaid, IMO. Where is the evidence of specific principals "driving" students out? I don't doubt it could happen, but where did you get that number from? So, I'm still left wondering how you would close a $9 mil. deficit. Look, I don't endorse all the board's decisions, and I'm sure some savings are achieveable. It is the scope of the shortfall that is the problem. We have a revenue issue. The board is not the root cause of the problem.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:06 p.m.
@Dan Rubenstein: I think you misunderstand what the discretionary fund is. This is a line item in the building operations part of the budget and part of the annual $183.56 million in expenditures. I agree with you that the fund balance is too low and should not be depleted further. An organization that has to borrow $10 million to meet payroll is operating too close to the edge. That is why the budget needs to be balanced each year. My main criticisms with the board recent decisions at this point are: 1) They put $4.5 million into the budget for discretionary expenses instead of funding teachers & teaching assistants, which were cut. 2) They extended the AAAA union contract by ten years without extracting meaningful concessions from the union members who are principals and similar level top executives all of whom enjoy far above average benefits when compared to the private sector. 3) They have not fired principals who have driven students out of their schools, costing the AAPS over 300 students at $9,020 each, or over $2.7 million in revenue, and yes, it costs $500,000 and many years to fire them, but sometimes it takes money to make money. 4) The budgeting process is broken, and rather than move quickly to line by line and zero based budgeting they are waiting a year until a new administrative software system is installed. Each of the 31 schools are like "business units" and each "business unit" needs a revenue and expense budget and the principals that run those schools need to be held accountable to that budget. Currently the budget doesn't even break out what each school's line items are. 5) The board raised up the salaries of top AAPS administrators under the premise that they would get revenue for AAPS by providing back office services to other areas school systems, yet they have no hope of doing that until the new administrative software which is being installed and implemented now is up and running.
Dipstick
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1:01 p.m.
How many signatures does it take on a petition to recall the board? 18,667?
grye
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 1 p.m.
@ Dan Rubenstein : Others and I have offered the suggestion of combining support services with other school districts in the county as a way to cut costs for several school systems. There is no reason Human Resources, Purchasing, Finance, Payroll, and even Maintenance could not be combined to benefit from an economies of scale. Even curriculum could be shared by utilizing the same text books, instructional programs, and teaching methods. I am at a loss as to why the State has not provided any help for school systems that have been running at a deficit. It appears that our government made a conscience decision to cut school funding with the thought there was waste, just as there has been waste in other areas of government operations. However there was no support system to help school systems change. Shame on our government.
Dipstick
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:55 p.m.
Hint : Start here: http://tinyurl.com/kp48kh2 - Nov 2010 GOVERNOR Extract data for AAPS districts ... 25% of this is the numer of signatures required.
Dan Rubenstein
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:30 p.m.
Stephen - You are a frequent vocal critic. So what is your specific plan? How would it differ from what the board did? As for the discretionary fund, with the small fund balance remaining it's prudent to retain that. The root problem is lack of resources, wanting to educate our children on the cheap. If you envision a district that can function so much more economically, please share.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:22 p.m.
Stephen, thanks for catching my $1.18 million error. I appreciate it. It's been fixed.
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:59 a.m.
@PhillyCheeseSteak: Yes, the fact that they eliminated the $5,000 food budget and added $80,000 for internal audit (what they are calling "to conduct a performance audit of the district's financial, human resources and instruction departments") was added to the article in the second version edited by the reporter and posted after I made my comment. One more error in what my initial comment says, the deficit appears to be $1.18 million, not $1.81 million as the article currently states (and I assume that will be fixed by future editing, too.) Being responsible for two young children under 5, after I made my public comment at the meeting we had to go home and get them to bed, so I really appreciate the reporter's efforts to let those of us who couldn't stay know what happened and appreciate informative articles such as this!
PhillyCheeseSteak
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:46 a.m.
Mr. Ranzini - I agree with the points you make, however, I did read in the article that the board voted to eliminate their $5,000 food budget. Looks like AAPS is "kicking the can" down the road again - but not very far this time!
Stephen Lange Ranzini
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:36 a.m.
Since the article has been edited with additional information, my comment is no longer accurate in two points. (Where is that edit button AnnArbor.com?) I am glad to see that $80,000 was added to begin an internal audit program. I am glad to see that the $5,000 food budget was cut. My other questions remain. Yes, @aaparent, it requires "25% of the votes cast in the officer's district for all candidates for the office of Governor at the last November general election" but how many actual signatures does that work out to be? The AAPS district is much larger than just the city of Ann Arbor.
local
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:51 a.m.
Correct, they did nothing substantial to deal with the problem. The BOE has no ability to make tough decisions and they continue to kick the can down the road. At some point it will catch up to them and AAPS district in a way that everyone will feel the consequences.
aaparent
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:42 a.m.
Steps to Recall an Official http://www.ewashtenaw.org/government/clerk_register/elections/el_recalli.html Number of Signatures Needed "The number of signatures needed to call a recall election for an officer is 25% of the votes cast in the officer's district for all candidates for the office of Governor at the last November general election. The County Clerk can provide this number." Signatures on a recall petition dated more than 60 days before the filing of the petition are invalid (168.961). It is too bad that the rules to not allow an online format, such as a change.org petition, for collecting signatures because we could likely have the needed numbers pretty fast, given this latest display of irresponsible leadership on top of too many other examples.
Topher
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:14 a.m.
Danielle - Do you know if the 30 teacher cuts are on top of the 37 retirements (67 position cuts to teaching total)?
Topher
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
Thanks Danielle!
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 12:08 p.m.
AMOC is correct. Because the district is still looking at staffing needs at each building and at low-enrollment classes to see where teachers could be reduced, it's still unclear how many layoffs will be necessary beyond the retirements to appropriately staff the schools and courses that students have registered for. The district administrators also did not have an updated breakdown of how many of those 37 retirements are actually teachers. Some of them are principals, so I'll be seeing if I can find out shortly how many teachers actually are retiring compared to other staff.
Topher
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 11:23 a.m.
Thanks AMOC - it's been unclear to me whether the BOE was taking retirements into consideration as the numbers kept fluctuating.
AMOC
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:54 a.m.
The previous documents and what I understand of the BoE intent was a cut of 30 teachers in total, most or all by retirement if at all possible. Because of the need for specific teacher qualifications, there may have to be 1 or 2 layoffs, but if official teacher retirements are up to 37 now, and they don't lose too many students due to some of the cuts, AAPS may even have to hire some teachers before next school year. However, since those Reading Intervention teachers were almost all half-time appointments, those teachers will be among the first to "fill in" by converting to regular classroom teachers in whatever grade levels they are qualified for.
A2comments
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 10:07 a.m.
"Under new board policy, AAPS trustees must keep their meetings to five hours total, requiring them to finish before to midnight. However, President Deb Mexicotte moved four different times throughout the discussion to extend the meeting — twice by a half-hour and twice by 15 minutes." Broken...
Mark V
Thu, Jun 13, 2013 : 2:24 p.m.
If my job was at stake I would want the Board to take all the time in the world to make sure they are making the right decisions vs. following silly proceedures. Good job Deb!