During a school board meeting on March 13, 2024, interim superintendent Jazz Parks announced that the district is facing $25 million budget cuts for the 2024-2025 school year.
While the details on these budget cuts are still unclear, these changes will inevitably have significant ramifications for Skyline’s staff. “It is important to note that these budget adjustments will necessitate organizational changes, including staff reductions,” stated Skyline interim principal Casey Elmore in the 3/15/24 Family Update. “While this is undoubtedly a difficult reality to confront, please know that we are dedicated to upholding our core values throughout this process. Equity, student and staff success, academic excellence, and responsible fiscal stewardship will continue to guide our decisions and actions.”
Parks owed this “multi-year” budget shortfall to a number of factors: Ann Arbor Public Schools has had an increase of 480 staff positions over the previous ten years despite losing 1,123 students within the past four years. Additionally, Parks attributed part of the deficit to a “well-deserved” increase in employee salaries enacted in June 2023.
“I have authorized several immediate steps to reduce spending and cut costs,” Parks said in an email to all AAPS members. These authorizations include a reduction of administrative and central office positions, a hiring freeze, and renegotiations with independent contracted services. The district has also announced it is currently analyzing its financial situation with Plante Moran, an independent management consulting company.
The school board will be meeting again at 3700 Earhart Road Building on Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m.. These meetings are open to the public, and are viewable in-person, through CTN Ann Arbor, or through Zoom.
“While previous budget decisions were made before I became interim superintendent, I am fully committed to addressing them and working with our staff, students, families and the Board of Education to create an action plan to move us forward,” Parks continued.
The Skyline Post will be closely monitoring this developing story and will report information regarding these budget cuts as they are made public.
