Former School Board Member Vs. Superintendent on Annexation Question

By The Ann Arbor Independent Editorial Team On Dec 9, 2015 0

Bob Rorke is a member of AAPS Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift’s Blue Ribbon Commission. He is a former member of the Board of Education who stepped down in 2003. Rorke is concerned about the proposed annexation of the Whitmore Lake school district by the AAPS. He drew up a list of his top five reasons why the annexation is not in the best interests of families whose kids attend the AAPS. Rorke is a member of The Ann Arbor Independent’s Editorial Board. In an Oct. 5 blog posting, AAPS Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift posted an entry to her blog which attempted to answer questions about the proposed annexation. Her answers are juxtaposed with Rorke’s comment.

Question: Why is the proposed annexation not in the best interests of the families whose children attend the AAPS?

Bob Rorke: Does it solve the problems that Ann Arbor and Whitmore Lake have? They are both school districts in financial stress. In Whitmore Lake, the district brings in about $10K per student and they spend $10K and then some, and this is because the district’s fund balance in approaching $0. Their problem is that they built a district for more students than they have. They have new buildings (high school) and recreational facilities for more students than they have. The new high school was built based on real estate speculation, the same speculation that is being made today by people in favor of the annexation.

Swift: In adding approximately 950 more students into the AAPS system from one additional high school and one additional elementary school, we expect to leverage the AAPS organization for sustainability and growth at the systems level. In addition, WLPS also has a middle school campus, and though it is currently closed, there is capacity for growth at that location as well.

Essentially, annexation would leverage economies of scale to the advantage of the overall school system. Annexation opens the door of adjacent possibility for growth in the future, over time, by increasing the footprint of the district. A decision to annex the Whitmore Lake Public Schools into Ann Arbor Public Schools is based in a vision of longer-term capitalization of possibilities for the Ann Arbor community, not in a one-time, short-term bonus.

When we consider the growth that annexation would immediately achieve across the two districts, however, I would point out that size does matter in this situation – in two key and critical ways. Interestingly, micro and macro perspectives exist.

Bob Rorke: Ann Arbor has a dysfunctional financial management system. Ann Arbor gets $12,500 per student ($9,100 foundation allowance) and we’ve added to that by bonds, sinking funds, special ed. millages, etc… We’ve increased revenue per student from $9,700 to $12,500 over the last decade, despite the recession and lack of growth in the foundation allowance. The question, then, is why the district is annually cutting services and positions? There’s little correlation betweent the money the district spends and the students the district is trying to serve. If you have 33 operating units (schools), you need 33 operating budgets. The fiduciary responsibility of the board is to make sure that the District’s financial health is maintained. Over the last decade, we’ve gone from a fund equity of $41 million to $9 million.

Swift: The current per pupil foundation for Ann Arbor Public Schools is $9,100 and Whitmore Lake’s is $7,126. The current estimated enrollment is 16,838 (AAPS) and 950 (WLPS) respectively. Based on the aforementioned figures and on current law that adds $100 to a blend ofboth districts’ foundation grants, the estimated foundation grant of the new combined Ann Arbor Public Schoolsdistrict will be $9,095,which would apply to all of the approximately 17,788 students in the combined district.

This will equate to an increase of $1,778,800 of state aid for the new district as compared to current funding prior to annexation.

Additionally, there is currently a proposed bill (HB 5848) that has been introduced that increases the blended foundation grant by $150 instead of current law of $100. If this bill is signed into law, then the new foundation for the combined district will be $9,145 (based on this year’s foundation). This foundation amount would apply to all of the approximately 17,788 students in the new combined district. If the bill is signed into law, it is estimated the increase in state aid funding to the new combined district will be $2,667,500 from current prior to annexation funding.

Deb Mexicotte, President, AAPS BOE: Annexation is not expected to affect the quality of education in the current Ann Arbor district in the short-term – but is hoped to improve our prospects for all students in the long -term. If the combined district were able to successfully add students, attract taxpaying businesses and development, and raise property values over time, this could improve educational programming for all our students, and strengthen our long-term financial sustainability.

3. For Whitmore Lake is a loss of power and decision-making. They will have no one on the school board. This board has shown that those in the weakest positions are sacrificed to balance the budget. Whitmore Lake would be in that situation.

Question: Why is the proposed annexation not in the best interests of the families whose children attend the AAPS?

This will equate to an increase of $1,778,800 of state aid for the new district as compared to current funding prior to annexation.

Deb Mexicotte, President, AAPS BOE: The Ann Arbor Board of Education, the AAPS Superintendent and the current AAPS administration will be the governing and administrative bodies for AAPS as they currently are. The Whitmore Lake Board of Education, Superintendent and central administration will all be eliminated, resulting in some of the savings and efficiencies you would expect through annexation efforts.

4. Services to students will be reduced. There will less money to spend. If Ann Arbor is spending $12,500 and Whitmore Lake is spending $10,000, $2,500 per student will have to transferred to Whitmore Lake. That’s roughly $2.5 million. Money will have to be transferred and this will mean the promises of additional funding per student will be a wash. In the past year, Ann Arbor has added principals and central administration positions. Central administration costs are higher. There is no evidence that economies of scale in the Ann Arbor public schools have ever been lasting.

5. There is too little data to make an informed decision about the annexation. Financial data such as a pro forma budget. We only have some superficial facts concerning what the foundation allowance is going to look like, what the transition revenue will be. We don’t have in depth agreement between the two districts as to how the combined district will be operated. There are union contracts and other management factors that have not been explored.