ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — As officials with Ann Arbor Public Schools look to cut millions of dollars out of the budget, parents say they are worried about how those cuts will impact their children's education.
“I feel really distraught about it,” said parent Adelaide Lancaster.
Lancaster has three kids in Ann Arbor Public Schools. She along with other parents recently learned the school district has a severe shortfall in the current school year budget.
According to Superintendent Jazz Parks, “The district will need to cut approximately $25 million from the 2024-25 operating budget to comply with state and board of education requirements.”
“Looking at a number that’s that big is completely heartbreaking and overwhelming and it’s really sent everybody into a panic,” said Lancaster.
Superintendent Parks sent out a public letter saying there were a few factors that contributed to the shortfall including:
- Staff has increased by 480 in the last 10 years.
- Student enrollment has decreased by more than 1,100 over the past four years.
- Recent raises for teachers and staff
“To hear that it was a shortfall of this magnitude was news to me, I had no idea,” said Ashley Vaduva.
Vaduva’s three kids go to Pittsfield Elementary in Ann Arbor.
She says she’s worried about how her kids’ school will fare as the district starts making cuts.
“We are a Title 1 school, we have a large amount of diversity both in racial diversity but also the number of students with 504s and IEP plans so I think there's a lot at stake for our little school and I worry about how those students will be impacted,” said Vaduva.
Some of the things the district is doing to cut back costs immediately include:
- Reducing central office and administrative staff positions
- Freezing hiring
- Reviewing all central office, district, and school budgets for efficiencies and cost savings
- Renegotiating contracts with vendors to identify cost savings on contracted services
“I don’t know if it will help, I think that’s where the concern is,” said Vaduva.
Meanwhile, Adelaide Lancaster says even with uncertainty looming, she and her family will continue supporting Ann Arbor Schools.
“We are Ann Arbor loyal, we are Ann Arbor proud… we are really committed to our individual schools, I volunteer a lot,” said Lancaster.
