In the weeks after the failure of the county-wide Regional Enhancement Millage, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, its students, staff, and administrators wondered what would happen next. Speculation was inevitable, but the conversation clearly united fact and fiction to the point where it was impossible to separate valid concerns from unsupported rumors.
The series of budget forums scheduled from January 7th to 19th seemed to attempt the impossible: set the record straight on the budget issue without alienating the district’s members. “This is an opportunity for the public to let the school district know what they value in education. They were able to get information about what it costs to educate students in the Ann Arbor Public schools,” said Jen Hein, Dean of Community.
Dr. Roberts discusses the proposed budget cuts at a budget forum meeting on January 14th.
With possible cuts reaching upwards of 600 dollars per student by the end of the 2011 school year (165 dollars in approved cuts, 230 likely by the end of 2010 and another 300 proposed for the end of next school year), changes are sure to come quickly.
Although these cuts are certainly unwelcome, the
alternative, a projected 19.1 million dollar budget deficit by the end of 2011, is equally, if not more distressing. “I think that the recommendations that were developed by the cabinet are the same recommendations in the same areas that I would take a look at,” said Hein.
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