Ann Arbor school district to cut 141 employees for 2024-25 school year
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) — More than 100 Ann Arbor Public Schools employees will be cut from the 2024-2025 budget. The school board voted for the decision 6-1 at a meeting at Pioneer High School Monday night.
The new budget plan is meant to address the district's $25 million budget deficit.
Around 200 people spoke out against the plan Monday night through written comments or in-person statements.
All said they are against the cuts to special programs in the districts, which would eliminate some art, music, physical education, librarian, and foreign language teachers. Instead, they said the budget cuts should come from the top.
"You view us as perhaps nothing more than babysitters and definitely not as real teachers with important programs that bring value to the lives of the kids we get to know and teach for six-plus years," said one gym teacher in the district.
"Do you really want this as your legacy? The board that cut music," said a district parent and volunteer.
Teachers said cutting language classes in elementary schools is short-sighted.
"Our children, their future needs to be global, and they are global citizens. We need to learn foreign languages," said Yuting Yeh, a Chinese language teacher.
The new budget plan will also cut full-time elementary school librarians.
"That affects our whole program — all of the students in our school. If they don't have a full-time librarian in their building, then they don't have access to all the books, resources, and instruction that they need," said librarian Jennifer Colby.
Those against the plan said budget cuts should not be student-facing but should instead come from administrators and executives. Many suggested cutting the catering, dinner, and hotel costs of higher-ups, as well as salary cuts for executives and administrators.