DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) - Gov. Jennifer Granholm's school aid veto is causing an uproar at school districts across Michigan.
The governor on Monday vetoed K-12 school aid payments to school districts that get among the highest per-pupil payments statewide. The cut will cost 39 districts about $51.6 million.
A list of the districts affected and the estimated aid involved:
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-- Ann Arbor Public Schools, $3,714,952
-- Avondale School District, $1,116,896
-- Bangor Township School District 8, $6,342
-- Birmingham City School District, $955,748
-- Bloomfield Hills School District, $612,969
-- Bridgman Public Schools, $289,656
-- Burt Township School District, $11,780
-- Centerline Public Schools, $569,700
-- City of Harper Woods Schools, $390,420
-- Clarenceville School District, $563,673
-- Colfax Township School District 1F, $6,575
-- Dearborn City School District, $4,921,715
-- East Lansing School District, $1,042,480
-- Farmington Public School District, $2,202,803
-- Grosse Ile Township Schools, $513,106
-- Grosse Pointe Public Schools, $1,613,700
-- Jefferson Schools-Monroe County, $298,894
-- Lamphere Public Schools, $455,775
-- Livonia Public Schools, $4,922,693
-- Melvindale Allen Park Schools, $726,240
-- Midland Public Schools, $2,418,890
-- Northville Public Schools, $2,237,370
-- Novi Community Schools, $1,698,083
-- Oneida Township School District 3, $2,016
-- Port Hope Community Schools, $26,448
-- Republic Michigamme Schools, $37,224
-- River Rouge City Schools, $272,583
-- Romulus Community Schools, $1,027,393
-- Saugatuck Public Schools, $240,900
-- School District City of Royal Oak, $1,498,068
-- South Lake Schools, $587,972
-- Southfield Public School District, $1,284,103
-- Trenton Public Schools, $755,250
-- Troy Public School District, $2,958,888
-- Walled Lake Consolidated School District, $4,719,511
-- Warren Consolidated Schools, $3,756,095
-- Warren Woods Public Schools, $869,670
-- Waverly Schools, $780,725
-- West Bloomfield School District, $1,479,926
The cuts are devastating for districts like Dearborn, and parents are bracing for the cuts and wondering what will happen to their children's schools.
"I'm gonna have to eliminate hundreds of jobs which is going to impact services for kids," said Dearborn Schools Superintendent Brian Whiston. "To be honest with you, I wanted to throw up. You sit there and say, 'How am I supposed to do this?' "
Whiston has to slash almost $5 million out of his budget thanks to the governor's late veto of 52 million dollars in school aid. Add that to other cuts already being made, and Brian has to carve $9.5 million from his budget right now.
"That means we will be eliminating teachers mid year," said Whiston. "We'll be eliminating secretaries and administrators mid year."
Dearborn is not the only district hit. Livonia stands to lose the most from the latest cuts, almost $5 million. Then Dearborn, followed by Walled Lake at $4.7 million, Warren at $3.7 million, and $3.7 million at Ann Arbor Schools.
Statewide, 39 schools are affected, and while Whiston says he expected the per pupil cuts, this additional $5 million is just too much, and he's tired of the politics in Lansing.
"They're playing games with kids," he says.
As school lets out at Duvall Elementary in Dearborn, parents are talking about the cuts and concerned about what's next.
One parent said, "Not only do I have a daughter in kindergarten, my mother is a teacher in Dearborn and cuts are cuts. No one wants them."
