The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
District reacts to per pupil cut
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2007
While the Republican-led Senate rejected Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan for a 2 percent sales tax on services, the governor fired right back Friday saying she would never approve of the Senate's budget-cutting plan that would trim $377 million from the School Aid Fund and $255 million from the state general fund.
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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say the end result will likely be a combination of cuts and some kind of revenue enhancement plan.
The Senate Republican plan called for reducing funding to public schools by $34 per pupil from its current $7,085 minimum per student. The Republicans argued that the $34 is less than other previous numbers recommended and that most districts have enough revenue to deal with the reduction without reaching into classrooms.
In Saline, a cut of $34 per student would result in a hit of $190,000, which officials said they would be able to absorb this year, but would feel the impact of next year.
"We're estimating a flat increase in state aid and flat growth for next year," said TomWall, assistant superintendent for administrative services, adding he believed the $34 cut was probably the worst-case scenario. Wall expects the governor and the legislature to reach a compromise sometime in late April.
Wall said he expects to find the money in savings in utility costs and from the midyear layoffs in November, which saw seven teachers and six paraeducators let go.
"We're running a little bit better on utilities because of the mild winter," he said. "And the midyear cuts in November will help. It was good for us to act early."
--Heritage Newspapers Editor Terry Jacoby contributed to this story
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