School board to tackle budget shortfalls

A budget workshop for the Manchester Community Schools Board of Education was held on Monday, Feb. 24.

Superintendent Nick Steinmetz led the presentation at the workshop with some projections of this year’s enrollment as compared to future years’. Under Michigan’s school funding model, enrollment is the major source of state revenue for the district.

“From fifth grade down, our enrollment looks to be pretty stable,” Steinmetz began. “But in grades six through 12, our numbers are still high and our upcoming classes will not be as large as those that will be graduating.”

For example, this year Manchester High School will graduate 104 students. But currently the district is anticipating kindergarten enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year to be about 50 pupils. Classes are getting progressively smaller, with the class of 2020 enrollment currently at 91, and class of 2021 at 78 students. With the decreasing number of students, state revenues will also decline–about $312,000 in 2020 and an additional $382,000 in 2021.

“School of choice is not providing us with a significant gain or loss,” Steinmetz noted in response to a question from a board member. He added that the district is also starting a program of looking into who is leaving the district, and why, in response to another board member’s query. “We are finding that most of those who are responding to our questions have simply moved out of the district,” he said.

Several situations have led to savings for the district. Steinmetz said that the district is seeing cost savings in response to the energy savings project and the closure of Ackerson School; and despite this year’s deficit of $365,000 the district currently is holding a fund balance of $938,889. A new source of revenue will be the rental of space at Klager Elementary School to the Manchester Co-Op Preschool. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s recently-released budget may mean more per-pupil funding from the state. But despite the cost cutting that has already been done, other changes have increased the district expenses, and that fund balance is slated to decrease sharply this year.

“We will need to develop a deficit reduction plan, or face eventually being placed under emergency management by the state,” he said. “Basically, we are going to have to ‘right size’ the district, especially in the K-6 buildings. We will need to decrease teaching staff, support staff, and administration.”

Emergency management is mandated for districts who have a fund balance of 5 percent or less of their total budget. Manchester’s fund balance is currently at around 9 percent.

Steinmetz stressed that he has already spoken to the union and they are aware of the situation. It is hoped that prospective retirements could help avoid layoffs.

“We are going to need to weather the storm for the next five years or so,” he said. “And that should be doable without taking anything away from what we offer our kids.

“It’s happening everywhere,” Steinmetz continued. “We just need to think outside the box for ways to continue to benefit our students as well as our sustainability as a district. These are all difficult decisions we need to make to provide the best services to our students.” He talked about partnering with other local districts that are facing similar struggles, shared staffing, and other ideas that would definitely have been considered “outside the box” just a few years ago.

Asked by a board member if he ever got “into the box,” Steinmetz said with a grin, “I feel weird in a box.”

Decisions will need to be made by the April school board meeting.

The next Board of Education Meeting will be held at 6 pm on Monday, March 18 at the Riverside Media Center.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.