Forum discusses funding, superintendents, privatization

About 80 residents filled the middle school LGI Room March 25 to voice their concerns and ask questions about the projected $4.8 million budget deficit facing the school district.
Superintendent Dr. William Skilling informed people that the state was forcing school districts to fix a state problem (i.e. the tax revenue shortages) locally.
‘Right now, our legislature would like to blame the schools, would like to say that teachers make too much and administrators make too much or that we are mismanaging our money,? he said. ‘But we have a huge flaw in the way we structure our government.?
Skilling said that right now Michigan is still based on a manufacturing economy, and ‘until we shift our funding structure in the state of Michigan, it is only going to get worse.?
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Timothy Loock backed up what Skilling said by explaining how the school receives its funding from the state.
‘A majority of our funding is controlled by the legislature, which means that it is out of our control, and that money comes to school on a per pupil basis called the Foundation Allowance,? Loock said.
According to Loock, when Proposal A was passed by voters in 1994, it put a 6-mill tax on all property in the state, and that money is sent to Lansing. Loock said that the proposal shifted education from primarily a property tax funded system to a mixture of other taxes.
‘The scenario is that when things are good, the economy is growing as well as the income tax, people are working and paying the income tax. Once the economy starts to decline, it has a severe impact on the funding of schools,? Loock said.
He added that districts also collect part of their Foundation Allowance from local non-homestead properties, against which the state of Michigan assumes at least 18 mills is being levied and collected.
Oxford collects 17.9946 mills due to Headlee rollbacks.
Loock said that 81 percent of the district’s revenue is based upon the Foundation Allowance.
Overall, the district gets $7,392 per pupil from the foundation allowance, which totals $33.6 million. Loock said that the local portion, the 17.9946 mills, is deducted by the state before they supply the remaining balance.
Loock said the split was about 14 percent local and 86 percent state for the Foundation Allowance. He added that over the years it has not been able to keep up with inflation.
Loock shared the same information as the previous meeting on March 11. However, the only number that changed was the district did receive proposals back on custodial privatization, which would save them nearly $800,000 annually, which was up from the nearly $590,000 that was previously stated.
Altogether, privatization could save the school district more than $1 million a year.
Even with the potential savings, privatization was not received well by the members of the audience.
‘What makes you think that if you take our jobs ? custodial, transportation ? that we won’t move out of this community,? said Lecia Hauxwell. ‘We are here, we are proud of our community, we do well and we do it with pride. We serve our people every day, and they depend on us to take our kids safely to school.?
Skilling said that the state was putting them in a position where they had no choice but to make cuts.
‘What cuts are you taking? What percentage of your salary are you willing to give up if you are willing to get rid of ours completely,? Hauxwell added.
Skilling said that he was going to take a pay cut. ‘I already have told employees that when it comes time to make cuts, there will be nobody that makes more cuts in their personal salary than I do.?
Questions were also raised about the number of assistant and deputy superintendents the district has for the amount of students that are enrolled. The district has a superintendent, deputy superintendent, two assistant superintendents and an associate superintendent.
‘One of my major concerns is the cost of superintendents and assistant superintendents,? Eva Jankowiak asked. ‘It seems like all of us are making cuts at work, teachers are making cuts, and if you have someone at the top making $130,000 plus benefits and I don’t hear those cuts and that could be hundreds of thousands of dollars right there.?
Skilling responded by saying that the size of the district administration varies from district to district based on the number of students and that Oxford wasn’t overstaffed. ‘You can’t go by the title, you have to go by what are the actual costs,? said Skilling. ‘Our costs are very low as far as administration fees and we are not out of line at all.?
He noted that some of the assistant principals in other districts are making more than some assistant superintendents in Oxford.
Mary Ann Baxter suggested that the school district should look at the organizational structure of the district before deciding what to do.
‘The first thing you should do is look at the organizational structure, that would take care of the superintendents, assistant superintendents and how the schools are managed and maybe there is a way to flatten administration that would make sense,? she said.
Skilling constantly stated throughout the meeting that cuts to educational programs were not going to happen.
‘There is nothing that adversely affects our students’we are going to invest in innovation and improving the education of our young people, even into next year. We are not going back, that is not our priority. That is why we exist,? he said.
He added that the things the district has done has allowed them to not make cuts to their programs and be one of the healthier districts in the state.
But some in the audience didn’t agree.
‘You are running the district like it is a Cadillac, when quite frankly a Chevy would get us by right now,? said Frankie Thomas. ‘I understand that you want to get your resume really good’I don’t think you are going to be here in 10 years because you want to fatten your resume and make it look good.?
Skilling responded by saying that ‘This is not Cadillac; this is essential to their success and livelihood in the future, so they do not have to sit in meetings like this, so we can be competitive globally.?
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 31 at Clear Lake Elementary beginning at 7 p.m.

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