How many Michigan school districts are like L'Anse Creuse in Macomb County and dying on the financial vine?
June 15, 2011
Michigan's public schools are dependent on the state for their financial lifeblood. It was purposefully designed that way back in the 1990's during the time of Gov. John Engler and a Republican-controlled legislature. As our state tax collections inch back up, the present Gov. Rick Snyder and another Republican-controlled legislature has denied school district funds they need to maintain.
Take this example of the L'Anse Creuse School District in Macomb County just north of Detroit. According to Capitol Confidential by the Mackinac Center, the school district's administrators are projecting severe financial deficits for the next few years. If they can't eliminate these, the district risks being taken over by the state.
The story recounts how the district's board of education approved a three-year contract with its teachers and how one board member, a teacher in another district, voted against the new agreements because of its length. With the dire projections she felt the length of the contract was too long and too risky.
Great point and it's illustrative of the condition of our state's school districts. Many seem to be tottering on the edge.
It seems like our school districts are on the edge of financial chaos at a period of time when they have never been more important.
Is that an overstatement? How do you track their situation with the paucity of local news? Should legislators and the governor be held accountable for whatever happens?