School Board Wary as State Considers Education Policies

The mood was tense and expectant Tuesday night as the discussed educational issues facing the state and nation leading into new Gov. Rick Snyder’s first State of the State address Wednesday night.

State House Rep. Chuck Moss, R-Birmingham, was on hand to speak to the board’s concerns and stress Snyder’s goals. Moss said Birmingham is known as an expert financial steward and is already following one of Snyder’s directives going into the New Year: “providing services cheaper, leaner and better.”

Synder and the Michigan Legislature will face new education-related bills this year, including House Bill 4019, which would eliminate a cap on the number of charter schools authorized by state public universities, and House Bill 4005, which would require school elections to be in November of even numbered years.

Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Debbie Piesz said Michigan’s finances aren’t as bad as she thought, noting that the state deficit now hovers around $1.3 billion, instead of $1.8 million. In addition, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday that the state’s School Aid Fund is expected to have a half-million-dollar surplus by Sept. 30, the result of strong sales tax revenue and fewer students.

“We’re doing a little bit better as a state, but that’s a relative term,” Piesz said.

State lawmakers will also have to face the growing number of teachers pulling from the state retirement pool and rising health care costs. In Birmingham, a little more than 20 percent of the district's retirement pool is paid by the district itself, Trustee Robert Lawrence said. The rest is paid by teachers and staff, the rate of which is dependent on their specific retirement plan.

However, what's troubling, Lawrence said, is that the number of people paying into the system is dwindling while the number of retirees are growing. How school districts handle this issue is key to their financial health, he said, because this process is “taking money out of the classroom.”

At the moment, Birmingham schools are doing better than expected financially, school officials said. Piesz reported Tuesday night that the district ended up with $3.7 million more than originally budgeted due to steady tax rates and an increase in enrollment adding more tuition dollars. “We are actually in great financial health,” Piesz said.

It is news such as this that should leave Birmingham relatively unscathed by what happens in Lansing, Moss said. For example, he said the charter school bill shouldn't impact Birmingham and other districts who attract students at the same rate as charter schools.

School Board President Lori Soifer asked whether some the excess money in the state School Aid Fund will be placed into the general fund, where it may be used to fund Michigan's community colleges, to which Moss only said Synder is dedicated to thinking outside the box. “There are a lot of ideas floating around the office right now,” he said.

Trustee Geri Rinschler was still worried, asking that Birmingham not be punished for its sound financial health. “I ask that districts like Birmingham aren’t sacrificial,” said Rinschler, who plans to attend the National School Board Association’s annual Federal Relations Network Conference in Washington, DC, next month, advocating for Birmingham schools on a federal level.

Moss agreed. “It’s our policy not to tear down the top but bring the bottom up,” he said. “If we swim in mediocrity, it won’t help anybody.”

Whatever the outcome, Superintendent David Larson said educators on a local level have a responsibility to be aware of educational policy. “We have to remind our leaders of the sound quality of an education,” Larson said. “Our main investment is people.”

Correction: There is no cap on the number of charter schools in Michigan, but there is a limit on the number of charter schools that can be issued by public Michigan universities. That number is 150.