Local schools Glen Lake, Leland, Suttons Bay, and Northport all receive federal funding in some form or another.
With the recent news of U.S. Department of Education cuts, local superintendents are preparing for the next steps.
At a Glen Lake Board of Education meeting Monday, Superintendent Jason Misner is preparing for a May budget meeting wondering if millions are going to be cut, or not at all.
“We all know impact aid is a year-toyear program,” Misner said. “Can’t present something that we don’t have yet. We are being proactive.”
Every district in Leelanau County is a little different when it comes to federal funding.
Glen Lake sits on federal land and receives roughly $3.5 million in funding for the loss of tax revenue.
Misner states that the school can operate normally without the federal money, but the margins become a lot thinner.
Future infrastructure projects that the school has already dumped 10s of millions of dollars into over the past few years could be up for grabs. Glen Lake is preparing to spend $23 million in capital improvements over the next 10 years.
For Suttons Bay Public Schools, federal funding accounts for approximately 10% of overall revenue available to deliver high quality educational programs and instruction.
“The federal dollars that we receive help us to offset some costs for our breakfast and lunch programs, implement intervention programs to support students that need additional help with their Math and Reading skills, provide training and professional development to all staff, and hire additional staff to help improve instruction in our classrooms,” Suttons Bay Superintendent Casey Petz said. “Simply put, the federal money we receive helps our school improve the educational experience and effectiveness of our instruction for ALL students every day. We are hopeful that all schools receiving Federal funding will see stability in the years ahead, as it is impossible to have quality education institutions when the rules, expectations, and funding are compromised, or changes are made without considering the consequences to the students and families we serve.”
The U.S. Department of Education (DoE) told 1,300 workers they were losing their jobs last week. With another 600 workers choosing to leave, resign, or retire, the department is now cut in half from its 4,133 employees at the beginning of the month. Free school lunches, investigations against discrimination, and programs for students with disabilities are among some of the top programs that are being cut.
“Slashing any agency by 50% across the board seems reckless, performative, and dangerous. If efficiency is the goal, then a measured approach by department, made by those in charge of the agency with consideration for the ramifications and long-term impacts of the cuts, and a plan for how the work will be continued would make more sense,” Leland Superintendent Stephanie Long said.
“Each of the schools in the county receives unrestricted Federal Impact Aid, which flows directly from the Department of Education to our schools. These funds account for as much as 20% of our budgets, depending on the school. We have already felt the impacts because we have not yet received the funding that we typically receive by the first week in February. Additional delays in our funding or a cut to FIA would lead to substantial, and I dare say, drastic, financial consequences to our budgets, staffing, and programming,” Long said.
The topic of federal funding is sure to come up over the next couple of week’s at local school board meetings.
“School districts thrive on consistency. We like to know how much money we have to spend. We like to know how many students we have to educate. We like to know what rules we are playing by. Any time we lack consistency, especially abruptly, students lose out. I will continue to take care of my students, staff, and families and figure out how to deal with the inconsistencies as they arise. Plus, wait a day, and I’m sure there will be a new inconsistency for us to sort out,” Northport Superintendent Neil Whetherbee said.
