Per-pupil funding could be reduced $470
Northern Michigan schools we spoke with are not happy about losing more funding.
Regardless of what size school you look at, the $470 per student funding reduction that is proposed adds up to a huge chunk of change.
Leaders we spoke with say it won't be easy, but they're prepared to make do with what they get.
Imagine putting your ear against the bell? Darrel Kent says hearing the Governor's budget proposal is just as piercing.
"At some point, it's like what else can you cut?" asks Derrel Kent, the Alba Superintendent.
Kent says he's getting used to it. Each year, the cuts keep coming. If the Governor's proposal holds, $470 would be cut from each of Alba's 180 students. This would mean $84,000 less to work with. Put increased costs and retirement pensions into the mix and Alba would lose $100,000 in their two-million dollar budget.
“We need to be really careful that we don't sacrifice our future to balance a budget now," said Kent.
Teachers have been cut, programs have been axed, and with the proposal, Kent says it's probably not over yet.
"It's killing the small communities, it's a shame, it's terrible," said Alba parent Nate Cherwinski.
Many parents worry about what will be the last straw? When will the money run out, forcing the small, rural school to consolidate and close for good?
"I really am a firm believer that a quality education is a better answer to a better economy, and a better state, and so forth, and that's the challenge, that's the frustrating part," said Petoskey Superintendent John Scholten.
With the Governor's proposal, the 29-hundred Petoskey student-base would lose about 1.4 million from their 26-million dollar budget. This is on top of the higher costs and pensions. Superintendent John Scholten says if this sticks, there are no tricks and cuts are inevitable.
"We're going to have to sharpen the pencil, look at the budget, and see what we can do with it," said Scholten.
