Will it add up? Is it union busting?
A lot of schools are on spring break right now, but there's no escaping the harsh budget realities they are all facing. Governor Synder is proposing a massive $960 million dollars in cuts to K-12 funding. But some lawmakers say they have a plan to help the districts save money. House Bill 4306 would require schools to do competitive bidding for food, custodial and transportation services. Would it add up to big savings? We take a closer look in tonight's Fact Finder Report.
The Traverse City Area Public School District has been dealing with declining funding for nearly a decade.
TCAPS Chief Financial Officer Paul Soma says, "we've done a lot of cutting we've done a lot of trimming. there's not fat left to be trimmed. there's no low hanging fruit left."
He says the district was surprised by the magnitude of budget cuts affecting schools. According to Soma, when you combine per pupil funding cuts with increases in the amount districts pay the state for retirements, TCAPS is looking at a $7-10 million budget shortfall.
Kalkaska Schools Superintendent Lee Sandy says it's a challenge some districts won't be able to overcome.
He says, "The bottom line is school districts are in deep trouble and a lot of them could possibly go bankrupt in a year or two because of Snyder's plan to cut our state aid."
While Districts are considering options to save money, lawmakers have crafted a plan to require districts to take competitive bids for food, transportation and custodial services.
Sandy says, "Bottom line is they're taking our money away and this is a way to help us but it's not even going to come close to the amount we're losing."
And Sandy should know, a little more than 5 years ago Kalkaska bid out its custodial services. He says it saved the district about $250,000.
But Soma says cuts like that just won't make a big enough dent. "We need 7 figure ideas and those are few and far between. I know it wouldn't save TCAPS money in food service, I don't think it would save TCAPS money in transportation, and I know our custodial costs, as I've reviewed them are some of the lowest in the state. I don't think there's a huge bang for the buck there. I do understand the concept of unless you bid, you don't know."
TCAPS hasn't privatized those services, but Kalkaska has, and yet they agree this bill won't fix the funding problem.
What do you think about this? Do you think schools should be required to bid on these services? Is it good business, or do you think, like some people do, that it's just another attempt at union busting
Something else to consider, Soma and Sandy agree that this legislation is taking focus off of the real issues.
For Soma, he believes the key is to have all schools at a level playing field for per pupil funding. Right now there are districts that significantly more money than others, like TCAPS which get the lowest level in the state.
Representative Ray Franz from northern Michigan is a co-sponsor of this bill. Click here for the latest analysis of the bill.
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