School Official Predicts Kalkaska II
If any single event triggered the creation of the school-funding ballot measure Proposal A in the mid-1990s, it was the boarding up of the tiny Kalkaska school system in Northern Michigan.
In 1993, unable to pass a local operating mileage, the district continued to operate until it ran out of money and then it produced nationwide headlines by closing.
Is there a Kalkaska II sitting out there today?
If you ask the lobbyist for the Middle Cities School Association (MCSA) the answer is a resounding yes. With the Senate Republicans passing a Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget that cuts districts by $100 per pupil, school officials are becoming increasingly concerned about their futures.
"That conversation is going on," said MCSA lobbyist Ray TELLMAN. Many of his members are working on their budgets based on the cuts outlined in the Senate version of the K-12 budget.
"When you look at the cuts that are being proposed, I think that some boards can't do that . . . so they look at this other option," Tellman said. "They go with what they've got and see what happens down the road. If they can't go any further, then they stop rather than decimate their program."
The association represents 33 districts that service about 20 percent of the school population in the state. About a third of these mostly urban schools are facing a deficit as lawmakers try to resolve the K-12 School Aid Fund budget.
According to the Department of Education, 27 school districts reported being in deficit at the end of the '08 budget year. Numbers for the school districts for the year ending June 30 are not yet available. The Detroit Public School system's $140 million hole was by far the largest. Other districts with significant holes include Benton Harbor ($7.016 million), Inkster ($6.5 million), Clintondale ($4.715 million), Willow Run ($2.296 million), Garden City ($1.476 million) and Avondale ($1.393 million).
No district has made a decision about using the bankruptcy option, although it has been mentioned as an option for the Detroit schools.
As to how many may eventually select the "Kalkaska" alternative, Tellman said, "You're probably going to find one or more that are going to say, "Yeah, that's they way we're going to go."
(Contributed by Senior Capital Correspondent Tim SKUBICK.)
