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LANSING, Mich. — Facing a $25 million projected deficit in 2011-2012, Lansing School District officials are considering school closures, a 10 percent wage reduction and elimination of some jobs, while a union official says administration also should be trimmed, according to the Lansing State Journal.
At a recent five-hour school board meeting, the district’s chief financial officer said the district could save $12 million if teachers and other labor groups agree to a 10 percent wage reduction, the Journal reported. The current teachers’ union contract expires on June 30, according to the Journal.
The board, itself divided on many issues, has voted to close one elementary and is expected to vote later this month on closing a second building, the Journal reported. The district also is considering eliminating 70 positions.
Union President Jerry Swartz has called for administrative reductions, including cutting the superintendent’s cabinet from seven to five members and wage concessions among those remaining, the Journal reported.
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, “Sharply
divided Lansing board must fix $25M deficit before July 1,” April 16, 2011
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “The School Employee Concession Myth,”
Dec. 24, 2010
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