The 2010-11 Grosse Pointe Public School System budget will present perhaps the most difficult challenge to the district in its history. Approaching such a problem with stakes as high as they are will require careful planning, collaboration, and deliberation. Above all else, it requires an understanding of the dynamics that contribute to the current economic distress.
Last night’s Board of Education meeting was the first official Regular Meeting of the Board of Education of 2010. I am honered to have been voted by my peers to serve in the role of treasurer, but at the same time I know that the task and responsibility of the position could not be any greater than they are right now.
Having spent the last 4 and a half years on the school board, and over a year before that, educating myself on the economic factors at play for our district and all those across the state of Michigan, I approach this daunting task with a great deal of confidence and resolve. The trite phrase is “Knowledge is Power,” but knowledge is impotent if not leveraged. The more people who have knowledge and choose to leverage it, the better off we will all be. My strategy will be to continue to accumulate knowledge and leverage it to the greatest extent to solve our problems.
In that context I continue to invest substantial amounts of my own time making financial information accessible – meaning not just available, but simple to understand – for as many people as possible. That is why this blog exists. That is why I created the Financial Transparency Series and many other tools and reports available both on this blog and on the district’s web site.
Last night I delivered the presentation below to introduce the 2010-11 Budget Development Process, but more importantly the economic backdrop to that process. It represents an abstract of the entire Financial Transparency Series. I welcome your questions and feedback – so much so that I announced last night I will make myself available to present to any group across the district that has an interest in the finances of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. So if you are a part of a PTO, athletic or performing arts booster group, or any other community group please take me up on my offer. I will be there.
The actual Resolution codifying the 2010-11 Budget Development Parameters can be found here.
I am a great fan of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a non-partisan policy think-tank specializing in Michigan governmental affairs. Their motto is “The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about.” I take that to heart and hope everyone else does as well. So please consume these materials so you can contribute constructively to the solutions we need.
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