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.