Most cash-poor school districts trim teachers’ pay or extracurricular activities to stem red ink. But Kalkaska is believed to be the first district in the country to close so early because of fiscal woes. As it stands now, Kalkaska will shut down next Wednesday, when the district expects to run out of money to meet its payroll, instead of June 4, the scheduled end of the school year. It’s an extreme approach to budget woes faced by schools around the country, says Jeremiah Floyd of the National School Boards Association. With the recession, state tax revenues are down-and states have less for schools. As a result, the burden on homeowners who support schools through property taxes is increasing. Kalkaska voters have defeated two property-tax hikes so far, last September and again in November. Few expect passage of another vote this week.
Rural Kalkaska County isn’t rich; the average home is worth only about $44,600. Property-tax receipts are so low that the system spends only $3,019 per student annually, compared with $8,477 in the affluent Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. Most of Kalkaska’s voters aren’t parents of the system’s 2,300 students and aren’t happy about the prospect of paying an average of more than $200 a year-the amount that school officials say it will take to stay open until June.
Kalkaska school officials decided in November that the early close is their only responsible way out. Saving money by stripping the curriculum would turn Kalkaska schools into “nothing but glorified baby-sitting,” says high-school principal Jerry Judge. A huge debt was also unacceptable. “I don’t think a deficit will solve the problem,” says school-board president Mel Cooke. “We’d be further in the hole next year.”
Some people think teachers-who’ve gotten a 6 percent raise for the last three years-should have taken a cut to help the schools stay open. But Rik Ponstein, president of the local teachers union, says he won’t let them be scapegoats because their average $34,000 annual salary is already $6,000 less than the state average.
Some residents expect the state to help, but school and state officials say that won’t happen. “There will be no additional money,” says John Truscott, press secretary to Gov. John Engler. The state’s position is that the schools are guilty of mismanagement because they refuse to make any cuts.
In the meantime, teachers, who will lose pay for the days they don’t teach, are looking for extra income. Many Kalkaska parents are scrambling for day care for their kids. And students are trying to cram three months into a few weeks. After that, most won’t have too much to do. There’s not even a YMCA in town. Brian VanAlstine, a sophomore, won’t be able to do the pole vault this spring. “It’s kind of tough to do it without the school,” he says. “Maybe I can break off a broomstick and jump into a pool.” Senior Angie Judge refers to herself as a member of the “class of 92.75.” Graduation is set for March 27, a week after the prom. Instead of throwing their caps into the air, maybe the new grads can throw snowballs.
