Boards to decide whether or not to approve budget.

The boards of Leelanau County’s four public school districts this month will consider approving – or not – a Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District (TBAISD) general education fund budget calling for an estimated $5.4 million in expenditures based on $6.5 million in anticipated revenues.

TBAISD provides services to 16 public school districts in five northwest lower Michigan counties. About four years ago – following concerns about how an intermediate school district (ISD) in downstate Oakland County was being managed – the state Legislature passed a law requiring that school districts served by ISDs review the ISD’s general education fund budget annually.

But the TBAISD’s general education fund represents only about 15 percent of its overall budget, according to TBAISD superintendent Mike Hill, a Maple City resident. The district also manages a budget for Career-Technical education of approximately $8.3 million and serves as the fiscal agent for the state employment agency “Michigan Works!” with a local budget of around $5.6 million.

In addition, the TBAISD controls a Special Education Budget of nearly $36.8 million – a budget over which the 16 local school districts have no say, under state law. And that has been a sticking point for some of the local school districts, including Glen Lake and Leland.

Three years ago, the Glen Lake Community Schools Board of Education declined to approve TBAISD’s general fund budget until it heard directly from the ISD superintendent.

“After we learned that the law only allows local school boards to review the ISD’s general education fund budget – and after we were provided more information about the ISD’s other programs – we adopted a resolution of support for their budget,” explained Glen Lake school board president Joan Hawley. “I think the ISD is trying harder and doing a much better job now of keeping the local school districts informed.”

Hill said that in the 17 months he has served as TBAISD superintendent, only one public school board within the 16 public school districts that TBAISD serves has failed to endorse the ISD’s budget – Leland Public School.

“In the third year of the process, we met individually with representatives of each district to explain our budget and answer any questions they may have,” Hill said.

In most cases, Hill along with his assistant superintendent for finance well as TBAISD board member Jim Scherrer of Northport, met with each of Leelanau’s four superintendents and representatives of local school boards – in most cases members of the school board’s finance committee.

“We’ve really stepped up our outreach effort to local school districts in the hope that every one of them will be comfortable enough with our budget to endorse it,” Hill said.

Leland superintendent Mike Hartigan said Leland school board members have been hesitant to endorse TBAISD’s budget because of what they see as a lack of input on the majority of the ISD’s budget, notably the special education budget. Despite Hartigan’s recommendations that they approve the TBAISD budget, Leland school board members have declined to do so.

“I believe our board feels that is the only way they can register their concern that they don’t have the appropriate input on TBAISD’s special education budget,” Hartigan said. “The whole idea of creating ISDs was to create economies of scale for smaller school districts such as ours. And although TBAISD is providing a lot of great services, our board would like them to do a better job of designing services that will help smaller schools such as ours do a better job of helping our kids.”

Hill said he now makes a point of bringing all of the TBAISD’s issues to the table in discussions with local school districts – even though the law only allows local school districts to consider the TBAISD’s general education fund budget.

The largest expenditure in the general education fund budget is for “instructional services” including operation of a regional math, science and technology center, early childhood programs, “safe and drug free schools” programs, and professional development programs for teachers, among other efforts. The ISD also operates a regional educational media center and provides business support services to local school districts.

Under state law, local school districts are tasked with reviewing the ISD’s budget beginning May 1 and adopting a resolution of support or non-support for the budget by June 1. The new fiscal year for school districts begins July 1.