Call a doctor. I’m sick.
I wake up in the morning these days writing and re-writing school district budget stories in my head. I told School Boardmember Jim Weidman this and he said he’s worried about me.
I promised myself ? in the way of a cure ? that I wasn’t going to write a school budget story this week unless something spectacular happened.
Well, have you seen the front page? I had to do it, I just had to! Something spectacular did happen.
The school board essentially threw the administration’s budget recommendations in the garbage. The board’s finance committee will start over from scratch, with instructions to not cut any programming and to be more realistic in predicting next year’s finances instead of the usual (over)conservatism.
I tried to look cool and calm at the board meeting while they talked about it, but during the entire discussion, I was doing a happy dance in my head in celebration.
I think, school board, you have restored some of the faith and trust that community members said was missing.
A job well done.
I’d even go so far as to say I’m looking forward to another lengthy and discussion-heavy meeting to see what innovative money-saving strategies the finance committee came up with.
Oh, dear, I’m getting feverish.
***
I think it was School Boardmember Mary Jo Burchart, who was encouraging parents to contact state legislators with their concerns about school funding, when she said something like ‘it means more coming from you than school boards.?
I’d like to echo her sentiments here. Get out and talk to ’em! School funding is a state-wide issue, not just a Lake Orion issue, which means the solutions need to come from our state government. Funding through property taxes didn’t work so well, and neither did funding through sales tax.
Educating yourself is something Jim Weidman says everyone should do, ‘so you have better means of asking the right questions about specific districts and specific programs.?
Weidman says he spoke with a local elected official from Macomb County who said ‘with property taxes going down, being a school board member is really a difficult thing right now.? Weidman had to explain to him that the primary source of funding doesn’t come from property taxes. Yikes.
‘It’s still very confusing for many people and it’s important to have that baseline understanding of how schools are funded,? he said.
Boardmember Bob Gritzinger says resolving the issue is critical to the state’s well-being.
‘Holding kids hostage, holding us hostage, holding funding hostage so you make sure you get reelected in November ought to be a red flag to all of us,? he said. ‘I would recommend calling our legislators and asking them, ‘What did you do today to solve school funding? If you didn’t do anything today, what are you going to do tomorrow?? And keep asking and remind them that judgment day will come in November. Democrat, Republican, Independent, I don’t care who they are ? they need to be out if they do not work on solving this problem now.?
Jim Marleau, third-term Republican, represents Lake Orion in the state’s House of Representatives. Call him up at 248-724-2442 or 517-373-1798, or shoot him an email at jimmarleau@house.mi.gov.
Mike Bishop, second-term Republican, represents Lake Orion in the Senate. His number is 877-9-bishop or 517-373-2417. His email address is senmbishop@senate.michigan.gov.
And this little site, www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/publications/citizensguide.pdf, is super helpful and easy to follow.