It’s been a crazy series of weeks, what with the Revenue Consensus Conference, the release of the Governor’s School Aid Fund (SAF) budget, talk of the MEA Retirement Proposal and the moving target of the Federal stimulus package. Members have lots of questions and reporters have even more. As time moves on, we will have the answers to many of these questions. In an effort to keep you in the know, I will cover a number of topics with the latest information we have.
Governor Releases School Aid Budget Amid Federal Stimulus Funding Questions
The Revenue Conference brought more bad news, although it was not necessarily unexpected. We had been hearing the concerns of state officials in recent months that revenue estimates for the current fiscal year would need to be decreased and the 2009-10 fiscal year would be even worse. It seems like the state is overly optimistic with revenue estimates no matter how conservative they try to be. We learned of a $38 million shortfall in the SAF for 2008-09 and another $209 million for 2009-10. The Governor proposed that the per-pupil funding be decreased by $59 in February when she released the proposed School Aid budget. Since then, the House Fiscal Agency reported that revenues from January show the SAF another $60 million short. Another question we need to ask is “How will the Federal stimulus package help?”
Now that we know that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has been signed into law by President Obama, we expect to receive direction from the state and learn how schools will be able to benefit from these funds, and just as important, what restrictions these funds will carry. How will Maintenance of Effort (MOE) and Supplement vs. Supplant issues be resolved? We are hearing that MOE will look back to 2006. Initial thoughts are that the state will at least be able to use the Federal stimulus funds to fill the gaps in our state aid shortfall for this year and next.
But just covering the shortfall doesn’t mean we won’t be feeling the pain. Covering the shortfall in 2009-10 just brings us back to 2008-09 levels. How much are your costs rising, including salaries, retirement, health insurance, and utilities? Districts will still be facing major cuts unless the state can come up with at least an inflationary increase… and I’m talking about a school district’s inflation rate, which is higher than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The Federal stimulus legislation is expected to bring needed dollars to the State and individual districts. But, don’t forget about the affect the stimulus monies will have on our general state economy. It is hoped that the School Aid Fund will see additional revenues projected when the Revenue Consensus Conference meets again in May.
The School Aid Bill will start in the House this year and the Appropriations chairs have set a timeline to have the House approve the bill by April 3, the Senate approve the bill by June 5, with full passage by June 26. With all the issues surrounding the economy, Federal stimulus monies and necessary budget reductions, we may not see the School Aid budget actually get passed until the end of the summer, perhaps even in September.
We have set up two web pages to keep the latest information on both the School Aid Budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As the state aid legislation moves through the House and the Senate and as we get information and direction from the State on ARRA, we will keep both websites up-to-date. Check back often!
The Bursars Are Coming!
MSBO is hosting a one-of-a-kind professional development opportunity on Thursday, March 12 at the MSBO office. A group of British school business officials, referred to as "bursars" in Great Britain, are visiting Michigan. As part of their trip they will present information on the British system, including a discussion on how school business professionals do their jobs across the pond. The group is particularly interested in knowing how school business professionals here are involved in leadership in our schools.
The presentation begins at 2:00 pm on Thursday, March 12 and will be followed by discussion and a reception. Seating is limited, so please send an RSVP to Lillie Kopke in our office if you will be able to attend. There is no charge and no SB-CEUs will be available for this meeting. We hope we'll have a good showing of our members for this unique opportunity to learn from and with our counterparts from another country.
Energy Solutions Symposium Will Help Your District Save Resources
Many districts have been considering “green” projects such as wind turbines, solar panels and geothermal systems. This has been further fueled by the Federal stimulus package and its emphasis on energy-related projects.
It’s important to understand all of these energy and “green” issues that we hear so much about. To that end, MSBO, MASA and MASB have developed an Energy Solutions Symposium (link to brochure) designed to offer information on a wide variety of energy topics. Topics include renewable energy, new energy regulations, strategies to reduce energy costs in transportation, concepts for teaching students about energy, understanding high performance building cost and benefits, and others. This event is Thursday, March 12 at Forest Hills Public School District’s Fine Arts Center (link to directions), a LEED Silver building. Don’t miss out - CEU’s will be offered.
Energy Essentials – Another Way to Save Resources
MSBO is committed to helping districts save resources. MSBO’s Energy Essentials program offers school districts assistance in beginning the journey toward effective energy management. This program helps your district get started with an energy plan.
Energy Essentials creates energy awareness and strategies that result in saving precious dollars for the district. This is a comprehensive, systemic approach to energy savings. We have worked with many districts around the state, successfully helping them save money. We are happy to meet and describe the scope of the program and various ways to implement it. Just contact Scott Little to find out more.