School district administrators are facing a perfect storm. Districts must submit a balanced budget to the state by June 30 - during a pandemic and recession - with virtually none of the information they need to do it.
School districts are in the middle of a budget nightmare.Balanced budgets are due to the state in two weeks.
But administrators don't know what the state's per pupil funding will be, because the state has postponed finalizing its budget until the fall.
They can't estimate how many pupils they will have, due to pandemic uncertainty.
Peter Spadafore is with the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators.
"It means layoffs, it means increased class sizes in a time when we're encouraging to reduce the number of pupils per classroom, all sorts of things that are going to be really problematic if we do not see a second round of stimulus dollars from Washington," Spadafore said.
Spadafore said if the state cuts funding for this fiscal year, districts will be forced to drain their rainy day funds -- if they have them -- or go into deficit spending, which is against state law.
