MONROE, MICHIGAN -- Parents in Monroe, Michigan felt an entire range of emotion at last night's school board. Some were elated that their elementary schools were saved from the budget axe. At the same time, others were crushed when the board voted to close Cantrick Middle School, which had not been on the chopping block.
Wednesday morning will be the beginning of the end for students at Cantrick. Under the plan approved last night, the sixth graders from Cantrick will now go back to elementary schools, while seventh and eighth graders will go to Monroe Middle School.
The board decided the move was needed to millions of dollars in its budget.
Despite the relief on the elementary school level, there are feelings of sadness at Cantrick. One parent told us she was happy that the elementaries were staying open. "[My son] gets a lot of attention, and to move him to a bigger school would just throw him backwards," said Karen Meyer, a Monroe parent.
But while some are happy, others are concerned about the upcoming change. "My husband, fortunately, has enough seniority and a degree that he will still have a job," said Karen Vavrick, the wife of a Cantrick teacher. "We're concerned about a lot of the younger teachers who don't have the tenure or the seniority and they have no place to go now to teach."
Cantrick Middle School will be closed by this fall.
The Monroe School District has already reduced its budget by more than $6 million in the last three years. Now, with declining enrollment and higher costs, they "have to cut" another $5 million before the fall.
Superintendent David Taylor says the district is not receiving enough money per student from the state, and Monroe's enrollment is declining. "This is not the fault of Monroe Public Schools and its community," said Taylor in a story first broadcast on WTOL in February. "It's the fault of the way we fund schools in Michigan -- and the fault of our slowing economy in Michigan."
Taylor says the flat payment per student district receives from the state is part of the problem. "We also had occasions where the state has reduced the amount and taken back from us money that was promised," he said.
Reorganizing the district, which means closing schools and combining them with others, is the key to cutting costs, Taylor said.
