The City of Ypsilanti can expect big changes in the upcoming year as the school districts of Ypsilanti and Willow Run merge. Many costs are anticipated with the merge.
Security costs for the schools, including a mass re-keying for the district, will run a bill of $175,000. There are other costs to expect such as the purchase of new marching band costumes, new athletic uniforms and unilateral technology changes and upgrades.
During their first meeting, the new district’s school board approved a $6.5 million draft budget to be sent for approval. This budget draft would request funds from the $10 million dollars that Gov. Rick Snyder has set aside to help with consolidating school district costs.
Michigan Department of Education State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said he believes the costs are worth it and that Ypsilanti will be a model for the rest of the state, reported The Ypsilanti Courier. He said Michigan can’t afford to have 500 something school districts at the expense of children’s education anymore.
The draft also includes $1 million for estimated costs associated with layoffs, unemployment claims and contract buyouts. There is no way to know for sure if this number is above or below what the actual costs will amount to, but the district feels that it is a good rough estimate.
Eastern Michigan University freshman Michael Cornish, a secondary math education major, is skeptical of the consolidation.
“My initial reaction is to think back to my hometown, Saginaw. Between two cities, there are three public high schools. If they were to consolidate the schools, I don’t see it going over well with the students.”
Cornish said he is also concerned about how things would work out spatially with the merge.
“I don’t see cramming a bunch of students into one building working well,” he said. “You don’t want to have insanely large class sizes either. This is not a good idea.”
The proposal was due Nov. 30 and Ypsilanti will receive an answer on whether or not they will receive the grant by February 2013.
Officials are hoping for a speedy answer, because the sooner they know what they have to work with, the sooner they can get to work.
