This article is a call to attention and a call to action in regard to what is happening to K-12 education across our area, region, and state. The way schools are funded in Michigan is no longer adequate. For the past eight years support for K-12 education has failed to keep pace with normal inflation. As a result, all schools are cutting student programs in order to keep from bankruptcy. It will take legislative action to correct this situation. The situation we are in is a result of a combination of two factors. The first factor is the state of Michigan’s economy, which has been suffering for years. Money raised by various taxes no longer is increasing at a pace that will keep up with inflation. The second factor is that laws and regulations adopted over the past 40 to 50 years force schools to operate in a prescribed manner that raise their expenses and make it difficult to reduce expenses evenly when funding isn’t available. Examples of these laws can be found at both the federal and the state level: No Child Left Behind, Education Yes, school improvement, Michigan Merit Curriculum, student data reporting, special education, collective bargaining law, tenure law, and others. These all impact the cost of school operations. One can argue about the impact and the societal need for such laws, but what can't be argued is the fact that the laws have increased the cost of doing business for the schools.

Funding for K-12 schools since 2002 has not been able to keep up with inflationary increases. As a result, what has been happening with schools in a budgetary sense could be likened to what happens to a person who goes on a diet. In that analogy, what started out as a weight reducing diet has now turned into a starvation diet. During those years, schools saw a total increase of 8% in funding while during that same period inflation increased costs by 19.8%. In St. Ignace, our revenue this year is nearly identical to what it was in 1999.

In 2004, counting support staff and teaching staff, the St. Ignace Area Schools had 106 employees. We are now at 74 employees. From an economic standpoint, that is a loss of 32 jobs and the income those jobs contributed to the local economy. In terms of student opportunity, the loss has been even more significant: high school library not budgeted and not staffed, French IV, French III, Introduction to business, Accounting I, Accounting II, Advanced Computer Applications, Creative Writing, Journalism, Yearbook, Desktop Publishing, Beginning Foods and Nutrition, Advanced Foods and Nutrition, Beginning Clothing, Advanced Clothing, Senior Life Skills, Psychology, Drafting, and Construction have all been eliminated. In the middle and elementary school, all grades are now in two sections, elementary art has been eliminated, the elementary principal’s time has been reduced, and the middle school principal’s time has been reduced. In athletics, transportation is not funded, ninth grade athletic funding is eliminated, baseball and softball funding is eliminated, dance and bowling teams are not funded, and the subsidy to the athletic budget has been reduced by 60%. In every area -- administration, business office, teaching staff, secretarial, custodial, bussing, cafeteria, aides, athletics -- reductions have been made.

Currently, we are estimating that we will need an additional $600,000 for next year to run the identical program we are running this year -- and this year’s program is bare bones. We are told to expect a cut of $268 per student in foundation allowance and expect declining enrollment to reduce our revenues by $400,000. Contractual obligations plus normal supply increases will raise our expenses approximately $200,000 next year.

It’s easy to just say “cut some more” -- that’s what we have been doing and the reality is there are very few places left to cut anymore. Every cut affects some student’s program and all students’ opportunities. A quality school program is vital to the future of our state and nation. A quality school program is vital to the local community. Poor quality schools have a very difficult time attracting growth to their business districts and growth to their communities.

Regionally, most of the other EUP school districts are facing similar or worse economic outlooks for next year. Every district is taking the actions that it must to survive as long as possible, to maintain as many student opportunities as possible, and to avoid bankruptcy. If maintaining a local school in the community is important, then now is the time to call our legislators to action.

If you choose to contact your legislators, I would suggest you may want to discuss the following:

1. Legislative regulation

If a law or regulation is enacted that increases the cost of doing business, there must be corresponding increase in funding, otherwise don't impose the law. To do otherwise is to wish for failure via the unintended consequences that follow.

A one-size-fits-all mentality is not the best when considering how to address the needs and strengths of all students across the state. Find ways to return decision making to the local community. Decisions made locally are the truest way to represent the unique needs of each community.

2. Equity in funding

Since passage of Proposal A, the state has controlled public education and dictated what each district will receive to educate the students who live in that district. It is time that all schools are funded equally. There should be moral outrage for valuing students in one district at $12,000 per student and in others at $7,000 based only on your street address. Change the way funding is collected and distributed.

3. SOS

Save Students, Schools and State -- This organization has a balanced approach to promote change that addresses both legislative reform and funding reform. They have a Web page address that fully outlines their platform at www.sosmichigan.org.

It is not acceptable that schools be forced to continue to cut programs. It’s bad for students, it’s bad for our communities, it’s bad for the state, and it’s bad for the future. There are very few options available to local citizenry to support their local schools. All of the main controls for effecting changes rest with the legislature –- they have it in their power to change laws that will either raise revenue or lessen the cost of operation. It is only the legislature that has the ability to take these actions. The future of our students and the schools is at stake. If you care, our representatives need to hear from you that failure to act is not acceptable.

Representative Gary McDowell will meet with the school board and the public about this issue Sunday, March 7, at 3 p.m. at the St. Ignace Middle School. Please join us for the discussion.