TRAVERSE CITY -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she won't support any more spending cuts to public K-12 education and called on lawmakers to be decisive in seeking pension incentives that could shrink state payrolls.
Her urgent message, delivered Tuesday in a conference call with local school superintendents, comes as districts prepare to trim staff, services -- or both -- for another year.
In the call Lynn Gullekson and Mike Murray, the respective superintendents of Kingsley and Suttons Bay schools, Granholm discussed reductions in the pipeline for 2010-11 and stressed the need to stave off further spending cuts.
All Michigan school districts received a $165 per-student funding cut this year.
The conference call is among several the governor held in recent weeks with local school officials across the state to discuss K-12 funding.
"We have shrunk the base on which we fund our public schools, which is very damaging," Granholm said. "It means a massive cut to schools unless the Legislature acts."
Granholm in last month's executive budget proposed keeping education spending level by changing the state's sales tax to include services.
She also introduced retirement reforms that would entice eligible employees to leave by offering them more money and allowing them to skirt out-of-pocket costs next year.
Without the revenue to be generated from a new sales tax, districts could face a cut of $255 per student next year, on top of the $165 incurred now.
That could mean the loss of more teachers in Kingsley, Gullekson said, or the possibility of no general education busing in Suttons Bay.
Murray already combined third- and fourth-grade classes because he couldn't afford separate teachers. The district also cut nurses, an elementary librarian, counselors, teacher's aides and bus drivers.
Staffing reductions also have occurred in Kingsley. Employees switched health care providers to save $300,000, but the district still delayed a bus purchase and scheduled maintenance on heating and cooling systems.
"The things that we've been putting off waiting for things to get better are here, and we can't put them off any longer," Gullekson said.
Layoffs in Suttons Bay next year are contingent on whether the Bay Area Transportation Authority can absorb the district's general busing service, and could mean losing seven or eight teachers.
But Murray said officials need to know their funding situation by early April. That deadline also is necessary to plan for more retirements than expected if Granholm's program is approved.
Bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate. Granholm expects some version of it will pass.
"We can't continue to educate kids for the 20th century," Murray said. "We would like to see the Legislature also recognize that the world has changed."
Approving any legislation in a month is challenging, said state Rep. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City.
Both of Granholm's proposals represent significant shifts from the status quo that require detailed analysis, he said, adding that he expects every department could see a cut next year.
Schmidt also said it's hard to support tax increases when a large portion of Michigan residents are unemployed.
But it's the only way to hold the School Aid Fund at current levels next year, Granholm said.
"They're going to have to override a veto if that's where they're going," she said of potential opposition. "They weren't sent to Lansing to do easy things."
