THIS ARTICLE WAS IN THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
ON 1-2-15. LET’S SEE WHAT IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE HAD THE AUTHOR BOTHERED TO
GET MORE THAN JUST ONE SIDE OF THE STORY.
THE COMMENTS OF THE “OTHER SIDE” ARE IN BOLD AND RED.
Partnerships, deal save Pontiac’s K-12 district
State, county, teachers team up to bring down deficit,
improve learning
By Lori Higgins
Detroit Free Press
On paper, the Pontiac School District appeared to be on
the brink of collapse in 2013. The district’s massive deficit had ballooned
from $38 million to $52 million in just one year. Bills weren’t getting paid.
And residents were on the hook for a nearly $8-million court settlement. IT WAS ACTUALLY A COURT ORDERED 3 MILLS FOR $7.8 MILLION FOR TEACHERS
INSURANCE PREMIUMS, WHICH THEY DECIDED NOT TO PAY. WE GAVE THEM TAX MONEY FOR
IT ONCE AND THEY DIDN’T PAY IT, SO RESIDENTS HAD TO PAY IT A G A I N !!!!
But desperation has turned into hope in this district.
“Nobody wants to see this district dissolved and it’s not
going to,” said Karen Jones-Thomas, a kindergarten teacher at the International
Technology Academy. “It’s just like the city. We’re bouncing back.” THIS IS NOT TRUE. THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS IN THE
DISTRICT WANT TO SEE IT DISOLVED. THE CARE
COMMITTEE DOES NOT AGREE WITH DISOLVING THE DISTRICT, BUT INSTEAD WOULD LIKE TO
SEE A TRUE REORGANIZATION.
The district’s
deficit has been whittled down to $33 million over the past two years, thanks
largely to employees who took pay and benefit cuts, two big emergency loans
from the state, property sales and cost-cutting. THE EMPLOYEES HAVE SACRIFICED A LOT; A LOT MORE THAN THE
OVERSEERS AND MANAGEMENT HAVE SACRIFICED, WHICH IS ZERO. USING THE DISTRICT’S OWN NUMBERS - AT THE TIME
OF THE CONSENT AGREEEMENT THEY WERE $51.7 MILLION IN DEBT. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO PUBLIC PROOF, THEY NOW
CLAIM TO BE ONLY $33 MILLION IN DEBT. THAT’S A TOTAL DEBT REDUCTION OF $18.7
MILLION. HOWEVER, $7.8 MILLION OF THAT
REDUCTION CAME FROM THE ONE TIME COURT ORDERED MILLAGE COLLECTED FROM THE
TAXPAYERS (SEE ABOVE). THAT MEANS THEY ARE CLAIMING THAT, ON THEIR
OWN, THEY HAVE PAID OFF $10.9 MILLION.
BUT WAIT……….DURING THAT TIME THEY GOT 2 STATE LOANS TOTALLING $20
MILLION. THAT TOTALLY CHANGES THE NUMBERS!
THE REALITY IS THAT THEY ARE NOW $9.1 MILLION FURTHER IN DEBT
THEN WHEN THEY STARTED.
But while the district is far from being financially
healthy, the question on many minds is whether its path there — via a consent
agreement with the state, a unique partnership with the Oakland County
intermediate school district, and a plan to also address lagging achievement —
might be a more viable and palatable option for school districts in a financial
emergency.
It’s a timely question, considering the Michigan
Department of Treasury this month will begin preliminary reviews of 11 school
districts with deep financial troubles — reviews that could have the state
finding them in a financial emergency. Pontiac is among five school districts
previously identified.
But while the Detroit, Highland Park and Muskegon Heights
school districts received emergency managers between 2009 and 2012 — Pontiac
went a different route by choosing the consent agreement in 2013. The Benton
Harbor Area Schools followed suit in 2014. An EM, after all, would mean the
locally elected board of education would lose much of its power to govern the
district. And it would provide almost unilateral power to one person.
The consent agreement process is far different. While the
board doesn’t have full power and can be compelled to make decisions the state
deems necessary, it still is in charge.
“It does keep all of the shareholders at the table
talking,” said Don Weatherspoon, the man the state appointed to serve as a
consultant for the agreement. Weatherspoon is also the emergency manager in the
Highland Park school district and previously served as the EM in Muskegon
Heights.
Brenda Carter, president of the Pontiac Board of
Education, calls the consent agreement “a wise choice” because it gave the
board “the opportunity to work with the state to help stabilize our school
district.” OH YES, YOU CAN
CLAIM THAT THE CONSENT AGREEMENT WAS A VERY WISE CHOICE, BUT LET’S SEE HOW THAT DECISION WAS ACTUALLY MADE. THERE WAS MUCH GNASHING OF TEETH AND WRINGING
OR HANDS, BECAUSE MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD WERE DEAD SET AGAINST ANY
“OUTSIDE” INTERFERENCE. THEY SAID “WE
CAN GET OURSELVES OUT OF THIS PROBLEM”. HOW WAS THAT WORKING OUT? IN FACT, THEIR
“WISE CHOICE” WAS A RESULT OF THE STATE TELLING THEM “EITHER SIGN THE CONSENT
AGREEMENT OR WE WILL SHUT YOU DOWN”. FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD TO ATTEMPT TO PASS
THIS DECISION OFF AS ONE OF THEIR GREAT AND SAGE IDEAS, IS AT THE VERY BEST
JUST PLAIN DISINGENUOUS.
The agreement in Pontiac called for the board to contract
with an outside agency to run key functions of the district. They chose Oakland
Schools, the ISD for Oakland County, which is in charge of finance, human
resources, technology and communications in the Pontiac district.
And while it could have mixed success in other districts,
Weatherspoon said he’s impressed with what’s happened so far in Pontiac.
“By any measure, Pontiac is supposed to be gone,”
Weatherspoon said. “The turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable.”
Some students say they’re noticing the change.
“There’s programs that are coming that are getting you
ready for the future,” said Jose Ybarra, 16, an 11th-grader at the academy.
“We’re rising slowly, but we’re still rising.”
They’re rising, said academy sophomore Dorian Kellam, 15,
because “everybody is working hard to be on top. I think the district has
gotten better.”
But the Pontiac district has a long way to go. State data
released last month showed the Pontiac district is far worse off than many
other districts in financial stress, with its $33-million deficit representing
46.66% of its revenue. Among traditional districts, only Benton Harbor was a
higher deficit ratio, at 47%. Detroit Public Schools was at 32%.
Much of the district’s future is tied up in two proposals
on the ballot in March. One asks voters to approve renewing 18 mills on
non-homestead property, which generates more than $20 million in revenue for
the district. The other asks voters to approve the creation of a sinking fund,
a special fund that generates revenue to pay for major repair projects.
Two previous attempts to pass a sinking fund millage
failed in 2015, and officials are hoping the third time will be the charm. The
district includes the city of Pontiac and portions of nine surrounding
communities. It’s in those surrounding communities where the district struggles
to get support. THIS IS ANOTHER PART OF THE PROBLEM. THERE IS
A TOTAL DISCONNECT BETWEEN PONTIAC AND WHAT THEY CALL “THE OUTER COMMUNITIES”.
ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE, THERE ARE NINE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. LET’S ADD THEM UP: ORION TOWNSHIP, LAKE
ANGELUS, WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP,
AUBURN HILLS AND SYLVAN LAKE. I’VE CHECKED
TWICE AND I ONLY CAME UP WITH SEVEN “OUTER COMMUNITIES”. AND, THAT’S 12 PRECINCTS OUT OF A TOTAL OF 33
IN THE DISTRICT. TO FURTHER PROVE THE “OUTER COMMUNITIES” STATURE AS THE
PROVERBIAL “RED HEADED STEPCHILD”, A CANDIDATE FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD IN THE LAST
ELECTION CYCLE, APPEARED AT A PONTIAC CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF
AND WAS ASKED WHY HE WAS THERE IF HE LIVED IN SYLVAN LAKE? EVEN WORSE, ONE OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES ASKED
THE SAME QUESTION IN A LATER MEETING OF POTENTIAL SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES.
“It’s absolutely crucial,” Carter said. “With all
the work we’ve done with raising student achievement and reducing our
(deficit), we still need to maintain our buildings. Buildings are in
disrepair.”
The last time the millage was before voters,
it lost by 116 votes. It was encouraging news in the district.
Part of the long-standing financial problems
in the district are tied to the failure to close buildings fast enough to
address swiftly declining enrollment. The student population has shrunk from
7,287 in 2008 to 4,224 this school year. THAT’S THE TIP OF
THE ICEBERG. SOME BUILDINGS WERE CLOSED FOR
ALMOST A DECADE AND IT COST A LOT OF MONEY TO MAINTAIN A BUILDING, EVEN IF IT
IS CLOSED. IT WAS KINGDOM BUILDING RUN
AMOK. BASED ON THEIR OWN NUMBERS, MAINTENANCE
OF THE CLOSED BUILDINGS, ALONE, WAS SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS. Meanwhile, frequent changes in
administration left little consistency at the management level. THE FREQUENT CHANGES IN ADMINSTRATION WERE A RESULT OF AN INVESTIGATION OF
A FEW PEOPLE, WHICH RESULTED IN THEIR RESIGNATION. IN FACT, ONE PERSON ACTUALLY GOT PRISON TIME FOR STEALING OUR CHILDREN’S MONEY
FROM THE DISTRICT.
By the time current superintendent Kelley Williams became
interim superintendent during the 2012-13 school year, the district’s financial
situation was dire. An audit showed the deficit was $35 million. But just two
weeks into the job, a new audit showed the deficit was dramatically worse, at
$57 million. Williams, whose background is in curriculum and instruction, was alarmed.
“Everywhere I turned in the office there was a bill, a vendor calling on a
daily basis asking for their payments,” Williams said.
The
consent agreement, Williams said, “is the best thing we ever could have done.”
But it hasn’t been easy. Egos had to be put aside. And some control was lost.
In the end, she said, the bottom line was hashing out a plan that was in the
best interests of students.
The district has sold 17 surplus properties,
earning $5 million. It refinanced bonds and received two $10-million emergency
loans from the state. And it had meetings with each vendor that was owed money,
establishing a payment plan for paying that debt.
It also made a commitment to spend federal Title 1 grant
dollars that go to schools with high populations of poor students. Nearly 80%
of the district’s students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The
problem before the consent agreement? Only 23% of the money was getting spent,
because the rule is schools must spend the money first, then get reimbursed
later. When the money went unspent, it meant kids who need extra help the most
weren’t getting it. Now, the district is spending 77% of that grant money,
Williams said.
Employees have stepped up in difficult ways, too. In
2012, they took a 6% pay cut, then another 5.6% pay cut two years later, said
Robert Moore, the deputy superintendent of finance and operations at Oakland
Schools. On top of that, family insurance plans used to be paid by the district
to the tune of $17,000 each, annually. The district now pays $10,000, while the
employee pays the rest. A similar shift occurred for single and married
insurance plans. “Employees are paying a huge amount more for their benefits on
top of having a more than 11% pay cut over two years. And they’re still
working. The sacrifice ... is unparalleled,” Moore said.
Aimee McKeever, president of the Pontiac Education
Association, said that despite the cuts, 168 of the 230 teachers who are part
of her union were in the district prior to the consent agreement — a testament,
she says, to their commitment to the district. “I come here every day because I
love it. Plain and simple,” said Chris Prentice, a ninth-grade social studies
teacher who estimates he’s earning about $15,000 less annually between the pay
cuts and the increase in insurance costs. McKeever said one of the pros of the
consent agreement is the addition of Oakland Schools, which has provided
consistency for some key functions in the district, she said. But overall, she
said she’d give the process a C-, because she doesn’t think there’s enough
collaboration involving teachers. “You need our input,” McKeever said.
CITIZENS ACTING FOR RESPONSIBLE EDUCATION, “CARE”,
WOULD LIKE TO APPLAUD THE TEACHERS FOR THE MANY SACRIFICES THEY HAVE MADE
THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS. WHILE
THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED MUCH, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND ADMINISTRATORS HAVE
CONTIBUTED NOTHING. “CARE” ALSO GIVES A
NOD TO SUPERINTENDENT WILLIAMS. ALTHOUGH
WE DISAGREE WITH MANY THINGS SHE DOES, SHE APPEARS TO BE TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF A VERY DIFFICULT
SITUATION.
FINALLY, THE GOVERNOR HAS ON HIS DESK A BILL
THAT PREVENTS PUBLIC OFFICIALS FROM COMMENTING ON PENDING PROPOSALS FOR A
PERIIOD OF 60 DAYS PRIOR TO ELECTION DAY. WE AT CARE DISAGREE WITH THIS
LEGISLATION. AS ADAMANT AS WE ARE ABOUT
REORGANIZING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE VOTERS SHOULD HAVE
AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE TO ENABLE THEM TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.
