Pinckney Community Schools’ officials say they’re looking forward to a boost in revenue for the coming year’s budget, but are still facing enrollment challenges.

Proposed in Michigan’s 2019 budget is an increase in base K-12 funding, from $120 to $240 per student. The additional revenue was brought up at Pinckney’s Board of Education meeting Thursday as officials discussed the district’s 2018-2019 budget. Speaking to the additional funding, Superintendent Rick Todd says “everything helps”, especially as the district has only made its way out of a deficit within the last year.

Still, the state’s effort to increase per student revenue is somewhat of a bittersweet situation for school districts like Pinckney, which has and still is battling declining enrollment. Todd says there are a variety of factors contributing to that problem, like a lack of affordable housing and therefore a decrease in incoming families, as well as the many quality school of choice options in Livingston County. The district is also up against natural attrition, as there are more students graduating than there are coming in. Todd says that’s a hit of about $1 million per year.

At their most recent meeting, the board of education discussed various aspects of the district’s budget for the coming year. Last year’s budget reflected the district’s first step out of debt with a small, but no less victorious, $147,000 surplus in their fund balance. As this year’s budget has not yet received official approval, it’s unclear where the fund balance will stand.

The board will review and discuss this year’s budget once more, before it returns for final approval June 28th. (DK)