Schools, Municipalities Face More Reductions Under Snyder Proposal

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

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

Janet Roberts, director of community relations for Huron Valley Schools, said the per-pupil cut could be devastating to the district but said she couldn't elaborate on specifics just yet.

White Lake resident Sandra Schaffer called the announcement of the school funding cuts tragic.

"The schools in Michigan are struggling as it is," she said. "They are making staff cuts, closing buildings, and increasing student to teacher ratios. Now they want to cut more money from the budget? The effects of all this is going to be more far reaching than most suspect, because the children that get cheated of a good education now will be leading this country soon."

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

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

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

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

Noble, who has lobbied for the MEA for eight years and worked for the association for 31 years, said the state’s total school funding, including federal subsidies, is about $13.5 billion. About one-third of that is sent to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties’ schools, he said.

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

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

Snyder, who said he'd refund his pay except for $1 this year, spoke in broad terms emphasizing his priorities over specifics, calling the proposal an opportunity to reshape Michigan's future and set an example for the nation. He spoke for about 35 minutes before the joint session of the House and Senate Appropriations, finance and tax policy committees.

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

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

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

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

Peg McNichol contributed to this report.