KALAMAZOO, MI -- The public budget hearing for Kalamazoo Public Schools was postponed after the Board of Education had technical issues with its livestream.
The board will reconvene the public budget hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 29, the board said during its regular meeting Thursday.
The decision to postpone came after district leaders were made aware that the hearing scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Thursday, June 25, was not live-streamed on Public Media Network for the public as planned.
Related: Kalamazoo school district proposes $7.4M in cuts, including staffing, programming
Board members discussed the Open Meetings Act and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order that allows for virtual meetings before deciding to postpone. The board also received advice from their legal counsel, Marshall Grate.
The board had planned to vote on the 2020-21 budget after holding the hearing. The budget includes a $7.4-million cut because of the coronavirus pandemic. The board must approve their budget by Tuesday, June 30, in accordance with state law, Grate said. The Open Meetings Act also mandates the notice the board must provide to the public about meetings.
Board member Tandy Moore argued in favor of postponing the meeting.
“The meeting was not available where we told people it would be,” Moore said. “I don’t think we have fulfilled our obligation for two-way communication in any way.”
Board President Patti Sholler-Barber said she was more comfortable recessing the hearing and reconvening rather than moving forward with the budget Thursday evening. Doing so was being “on the safe side of safe,” she said.
After the public hearing Monday, the board is expected to vote on the budget.
KPS, like other schools across Michigan, was forced to close its doors in March due to slow the spread of COVID-19 and provide education remotely to students.
Michigan’s School Aid Fund’s two largest sources of revenue - sales and income taxes - plummeted due to the pandemic, resulting in a major budget hole. School districts are now bracing for significant cuts in their per-pupil funding from the state.
The Kalamazoo school board plans to use its fund balance to make up lost revenue for the current fiscal year and must cut $7,495,000 from expenses to balance the budget for next year, Gary Start, deputy superintendent of business and finance and former interim superintendent, said during a board meeting Thursday, June 18.
The proposed budget cuts include 10 high school staff positions and the Middle School Alternative Learning and Lift Up Through Literacy programs.
For the next fiscal year, the district could save $810,000 by closing the Middle School Alternative Learning Program. Eliminating five positions each from Kalamazoo Central High School and Loy Norrix High School, would save another $1,060,000.
Another proposed cut is a 1.33% salary reduction for staff making greater than $11 per hour, subject to union negotiations. The salary reductions would save the district $1.35 million.
A 5% reduction to athletics, which would save the district $80,000, is also proposed. The district plans to reduce the facilities management budget by $100,000 and eliminate a vacant business office payroll position.
The elimination of two additional professional development days for teachers and reducing non-salary budgets by 5%. are also proposed.
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