Douglas Road Elementary

[CITIZENTRAIN]

While we all love our tachers and school district employees, the truth is no school district can afford to operate under the current system.  both parties in lansing and several former governors including the current gov. have not had the political will power to make a stand against the MEA. and say we need to fix this system,  the idea that revenue will continue to go up to pay the cost of retiree health care & pensions, or that we can delay until revenue thru more taxes or the federal gov can save us has failed,  as bad as 2009 was just imagine if the stimulus money had not been there to help.  It won't be there again!
Its a new year the handwriting is on the wall, the new math doesn't add up.  The solution is for school district employees to end pensions for new hires, pay more towards health care, buy outs cost more than they save, end loop holes to buy early retiremnt credits, and don;t allow former employees to qualify for life time health care when they turn 60 by working 13 days,  stop administrators from working contract jobs while they are drawing pensions & health care. otherwise closing schools ,  crowded classrooms, and school district merging will be become the norm,   Time is running out on the michigan education time bomb? wake up & call or email your legislators & governor. 

[CITIZENTRAIN]

more by the numbers,  Even though these reforms are instituted it will take a long time to right the ship, Why because in the last decade school employees rose 7%,  but school retirees increased 36% per year  so those MPSERS contributions will continue to increase as retirees move thru the plan.   

We could double the amount taxpayers pay on their property tax portion and delay everything a few yrs, but it will only delay the inevitable,

thats exactly what granholm is proposing by giving early retirement to 39,000 teachers, its a shell game move the cost of saving 89 milllion to adding 195 million to the under funded health & pension plan,  the result being taxpayers will pay the increase one way or the other

without reforms bedford will continue to be hit annually with the rising MPSERS contributions

[KeepItPositive]

Citizentrain you have done your homework and have pointed out the financial flaws of the statewide school finance system.  You also point out, if corrected now, it will take several years to "right the ship."  So the problem still exists here, what and how do we cut $4,000,000.00 next year?

[unionmade]

There is some great financial information on the Bedford Public Schools web site.   Bedford Township residents should take some time and read over the financial statements, especially the Annual Financial Report for 2008-09 and the “Weekly Cash flow YTD Nov ’09-’10 to get a good idea where the money comes from and where it goes.  This may be a real “wake up” call for everyone.  Here is the link to the page:
http://www.bedford.k12.mi.us/business_office.html 

When you consider the amount of money they will be short, I really do not think that BPS has any other option but to close an elementary school building.  Some of you may remember; we went through the same situation back in the ’70’s or ‘80’s.

How about a Town Hall Meeting soon to get all the facts out to taxpayers before making a decision?

[BettyBedford]

If these reports do not wake the dead here in Bedford, nothing will.

With my background, not going there, this shows that something has to be done ASAP with the current expense and budget.

NOW AGAIN, BEDFORD TOWNSHIP, PLEASE POST OUR 2009-2010 BUDGET PLEASE ONLINE. 

Bedford residence really need to see this...there maybe something there that someone may see as being of help.

I checked with our surrounding communities, and most do publishes them online.

[KeepItPositive]

Thank you Unionmade and Betty, finally some people are recognizing what I have been talking about.  I hope Dr. Magrum and the Board of Education hears us and takes some immediate action

[a2zaw4]

Citizentrain you have done your homework and have pointed out the financial flaws of the statewide school finance system.  You also point out, if corrected now, it will take several years to "right the ship."  So the problem still exists here, what and how do we cut $4,000,000.00 next year?

Like I have been saying for two years, Had we cut the JR/ SR High Buses we would have saved money, I was always told cause we DON'T have sidewalks. Well back in the 80's when service was cut, there was no sidewalks then and there isn't now so what is the difference? Perhaps just another reason to not cut buses. Sure it wont solve the budget problems in its entirety but it would help. in 5 years it would equal to 1.5 million and in 10years it would be 3 million
Instead the community wanted to keep their buses. while programs were being cut, support being laid off, We are loosing core educational stuff and yet we still want the buses. It is either one or the other, at this rate I see we close another building, cut everything else, and buses will be the last item to cut.

Buses for Title I and elementary students are only required at this point.

[Director29]

The Gov is proposing that employees pay an additional 3% of their salary to help the pension fund. Rep Bishop has proposed that all state funded employees take a 5% pay cut and pay 20% for their insurance. Wonder how much political will there is.

[steelerfan73]

Well said KIP. If times are that tough then big changes need to be made. Altho I feel that 6th graders do not belong at the junior high I agree that provisions could be made to basically isolate the young ones from the upper classmen. All those health insurance perks need to be scrutinized and money needs to come out of some pockets. Agreed.

[johnnydollar]

School enrollment is down. State money is reduced. No more stimulus money next year. The future looks bleak.

How to cut $4,000,000? I do not know what the best answer is, but here are some possibilities:

Close one elementary school and send the 6th grade to the jr high. I know some helicopter parents are afraid of this, but about 9 or 10 years ago they did this and it worked out great for my oldest son. He went from a very protected environment at Smith Road to the jr high. Scary at first, but it was great for his development.

Eliminate Community Education. I assume all the staff gets full benefits through the school system. We have the YMCA, church groups, private clubs, etc. that can fill in some of the gaps.

Extend school hours 20-30 minutes per day and shorten the school calendar. This would save quite a bit of money on transportation costs, utilities, and support staff expenses.

The closing of the elementary school would mean teacher and administrative cost reductions. This is still not enough. I hate to take money out of any families pocket, but teachers must contribute more to their pension and health care costs. They still have 1975 benefit packages in the year 2010. Taxpayers can no longer afford this luxury.

Increase the fee for sports and other extra-curricular activities. I do not like this either as I have paid quite a bit of money for this program, but it might be necessary to keep these programs viable.

Dramatically increase the fee for the parking lot passes for the high school. I think it is only $25 per year. Make it $100. Once again this hits my pocket, but if you can afford the gas and insurance you can afford this fee.

Raise the prices of lunch. It is still very cheap. An extra buck a day per student would really add up. If the teachers are sacrificing, the parents should too.

Some people want to eliminate busing. This is an option but then way too many kids would be driving cars to school. We should be promoting mass transit, not discouraging it. Is it feasible to charge kids $5 per month for a bus pass?

[BettyBedford]

helicopter parents
hahahahhhh now that is funny


do u think our local government will take a pay cuts
that is even more funny

[bedford wife]

Middle School is a crucial time....making sure a child who is approaching or beginning puberty is in a developmentally appropriate educational setting does not even begin to qualify as helicopter parenting.  You may think that it does but I still think I'm a size 5 and haven't felt the effects of gravity As I posted previously....there are many other things that can be cut and should be looked at.  Transportation is the first.  It really, in an area this size, quite a luxury the way it is currently implemented.  Other nations are surpassing us, educationally, at an alarming rate.  We are now a nation that must be able to compete on a global playing field.  You may not like it but it is what it is, whinging won't change it.  What will change our current inability to compete is a steadfast commitment to do all it takes to make sure our kids have the best education we can possibly give them.  There really is a lot of waste here...not horrible programs but just things that are wants, not true needs.  Just to be blunt...I'm gonna irritate you here....this area for many years was able to depend on the auto industry for income, it's not like that any more.  Now we have to look at our kids as the possible way out and the only think that will address that is to make sure they are as competitive as they can be.  The effect of slashing education has the affect of putting out a substandard child.  I hope we can figure out this mess.  All you financial guru's could be a big help in throwing down the BS cards.

[Danielle]

For those who are interested, there is a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Monroe Road Elementary to talk about the budget update. I'm sure it will be interesting.
Since it's February already and the discussion amongst the board has yet to take place about closing an elementary school, I doubt that will take place for next year. It's more likely, if there is a huge decrease in enrollment for the 2010-11 school year, that will be the year the district talks closing.
In addition, the discussion has yet to take place about sending the sixth-graders back to the junior high. If that was something the board was serious about for next year, the district would have been on it by now. That's not something that can just happen between now and the end of June when the budget is due to the state. I could be surprised though.
Unionmade mentioned town hall meetings. At the January meeting, there was information presented about hosting town hall meetings in March and April. I haven't heard anything definitive yet, but as soon as I do, I will post it.
One of the most important meetings to attend is the committee of the whole meeting, which typically takes place on the last Thursday of the month. The board attends and central administration, but hardly anyone else does. I seem to be the only audience member. Any major decision is discussed at that meeting at great length before its presented.
For several years now Douglas Road Elementary has been rumored to close. At this point, that is still nothing but a rumor. It was perpetuated during the town hall meeting last year when someone in the audience asked why the district didn't just close DRE now. I think people assumed it was going to happen and have been talking about it ever since.
Until the June budget is due, stay tuned. It's going to be exciting around here.
I've been trying to use Twitter live from board meetings, especially the committee of the whole meetings, and write stories about the meetings to keep taxpayers informed about the district. Unfortunately, I cannot always access the district's Internet at meetings. That doesn't mean I won't have stories.
Keep checking the BN, BN Web site, Chatter and the Monroe Evening News for updates.

[KeepItPositive]

Yes Danielle the meeting should be, to say the least "interesting."  The bottom line is, I think the board and the administration are afraid to make that call.  I do believe with declining enrollment and other factors (such as eliminating transportation next year - what a traffic nightmare that would create) will lead to the eventual closing of an elementary building.  I think the district must look at upcoming MAJOR needed repairs (roofs, boilers, etc.) at the older elementary buildings and make the decision to close in a timely manner (which in my opinion should have been this winter.) 

[Danielle]

The district will be using the money from the sinking fund to repair roofs and boilers. Of course, that about $535,000 a year for the next five years. The one repair is at least $1 million based on an estimate given earlier in the year, so that might be a little while. They have been piecemealing some repairs on other roofs like Temperance Roads when they didn't have sinking fund money.
Now on the topic of enrollment, the district has lost students in the last few years, and probably will again for the 2010-11 school year. The problem is that there are still too many students to justify the closing of a building at this time. There were also more kindergartners this year than there have been in the last several years, which is a good thing for enrollment.
So closing a building right now might not be a good money saver at this point unless the district would lose 200 kids. They lost about 80 this year from last.
Transportation is expensive and routes have been shorten, eliminated, etc. I'm not sure the district will cut all drivers for next year.
I think concessions amongst all the different groups will be the biggest saver for next year.
I'm curious to see what the moves will be.