A $300 million shortfall in the Michigan School Aid fund may reduce expected revenue from the state by as much as $170 per student, although it won’t be determined until February if this will occur, reported Mike Springsteen, superintendent of St. Ignace Area Schools, at a school board meeting Monday, December 11. The potential loss could amount to $132,000 for the district, ultimately leading St. Ignace schools to curtail nonessential supply orders and maintenance projects. The district wants to avoid any staff cuts, Mr. Springsteen said.

In August, the state reported a $300 million increase in its foundation allowance for students in public schools, and informed school districts that Michigan would increase its per-student allotment by $210 per student, with an additional $23 per student for an equity payment for the state’s lowest funded schools, such as St. Ignace Area Schools. With the promised increase in mind, the district planned to have $7,108 per student this year, up from $6,875 last year.

“Often, you get the most pessimistic viewpoint from the state,” Mr. Springsteen said regarding the prospective loss of school aid rev- enue.

State education planners will hold a conference Wednesday, January 10, after which the legislature will have 30 days to decide how the school aid shortfall will be dealt with. In the meantime, state planners are encouraging school administrators to make plans for best and worst case scenarios, he said.

Mr. Springsteen declined to comment on what the district would do in a worst-case scenario. The district “would have to examine cutting services,” but again, would “try to maintain all basic programs,” he said. To be more specific at this point would be speculative, he told the board.

The information Mr. Springsteen reported in a memo to the board came from Tom White, executive director of the Michigan School Business Association at a meeting of the Michigan Association of School Administrators in Marquette December 6.

The meeting also covered inconsistencies in state spending, Mr. Springsteen said. Despite declining revenue, the state has increased spending by 7.9 percent over the past four years, including a 3.1 percent increase for primary and secondary schools. Inflation, however, has increase 7.9 percent over the same period.

Funding for the State Department of Corrections increased by 16.4 percent and for the Michigan Department of Community Health increased by 47 percent.

“It is the legislature and the governor’s job to sort our priorities and fund them adequately, according to the money available,” Mr. Springsteen wrote in his memo. “We need to make sure that our legislators are educated about the need for adequate funding of public schools.”

He also asked the board to promote equality in school aid.

“There is no adequate argument for why one district is funded at $7,108 per student, while another is funded at $8,000 per student, and yet another at $12,000 per student. Yet that is exactly what has been happening for many years,” he told the board.

In better news, he told the board that parents are making use of a new online data delivery system called Power School, which enables parents and students to obtain detailed information, such as their children’s grades, homework, attendance, and hot lunch activity.

In other business, the board voted to reinstate the school’s ninthgrade volleyball program, which was eliminated in 2005 in a budget cut. Coach Nikki Martin has obtained grants for the program and informed Mr. Springsteen that there are enough students to rebuild the team for the 2006/2007 school year.

The board held a “first reading” on a proposal to amend its policy to ban foods of “minimal nutritional value.” When the policy was made, it did not take into account bake sales that would include food no longer allowed. The board agreed with Mr. Springsteen that each building be allowed to hold a maximum of two bake sales per month, with permission from a principal, provided the sales create proceeds for a worthy cause. Avote is expected at the January meeting.