Lyndon Furst's
A Different Perspective
"Hard Times for Michigan Public Schools"
POSTED 7/6/09
Hard Times for Michigan Public Schools
The Michigan economy is in the pits, and in fact it has been for some time now. When I first took up residence in this wonderful part of the USA over a half century ago, the economy was booming. Automobile manufacturing was going full blast. Wages were good, even for unskilled labor. People had discretionary income and were buying the goods produced in America at an unprecedented rate. State government was also doing quite well since tax collections were providing mountains of revenue for the treasury.
Popular governor "Soapy" Williams responded to this positive economic environment by spending every dollar he could get his hands on. It was all good spending. Williams built up the state infrastructure, improving the roads, bridges and public buildings. Michigan’s two peninsulas were tied together when "The Bridge" was constructed. (In the interest of full disclosure I must report that I personally benefitted from Governor William’s spending spree when I was employed by a road construction firm. Very hard work but good pay.)
How times have changed! Today unemployment is over 12 per cent of the workforce. People are not purchasing much beyond the bare necessities. Auto sales are down all across the country which has hurt Michigan which is heavily dependent on the auto industry for jobs. With people spending less, many small businesses in the state as well as suppliers to the big auto companies have closed their doors. That means less tax revenue all around.
The state government is constitutionally required to live within its means; it cannot borrow money to finance basic operations. That means services provided by the state are in jeopardy of being cut during the coming year. That includes the public schools, since the state provides the major source of revenue for local school districts. The School Aid Fund accumulates funds from a variety of sources including tax on real property, lottery profits, a portion of the sales tax, and a portion of the income tax. These are disbursed to public school districts mostly on a per pupil basis.
During good times, state funding per pupil has increased each year. However, because of the severe decline in the economy resulting in a similar decline in revenue to the School Aid Fund, I expect that per pupil funding to public schools will decrease by at least $100 for the coming school year. That means that for a district of 1500 students, there will be a decrease in funding of $150,000. That is a lot of money for a small school district.
Public schools in our part of the state have responded to the potential decrease in funding for the coming year in a number of ways. Most have cut spending, although some districts will dip into their cash reserves if they have been wise enough to build up such a fund. Cuts in spending mean cuts in programs for students which is hard for educators to do. School people have an inherent service mentality and find it difficult to give less service to the young people under their care. At the same time parents in Michigan are used to getting lots of service from their public schools and are not happy when this service is decreased. For example, one high school announced plans to decrease the number of periods wood shop class is offered from six to five. The public response was not very positive.
From my perspective, the public in Michigan, including parents of school age children, had better get used to a decrease in service from their public schools. In economic hard times, schools have only two options: either increase revenue or cut spending. Cuts in spending inevitably result in cuts in service. There are very few ways a public school can increase its income other than increased enrollment. With many families moving out of state looking for work, many districts are facing an enrollment decline, so opportunities for increased revenue are somewhat slim.
Public school administrators have hard choices to make as they plan for the coming school year. Of all the services that benefit the children under their care, what cuts will do the least amount of damage? Sometimes the decision has to be what will make the public the least angry. It is hard times ahead for Michigan public schools. The public might as well get used to it until the state economy improves and I do not expect that will be soon.