When I was first hired to teach at my current district in Michigan eleven years ago, we had 72 teachers on staff. We now have fewer than fifty. I teach in a rural area and the loss of manufacturing has driven many families away.
Michigan's state funding mechanism, however, is accelerating the decline. Most school funding in Michigan is based on sales tax revenue. As you may have noticed, people aren't buying much right now. And what they are buying is increasingly found on the mostly tax-free internet.
The result is that Michigan has been forced into regular mid-year budget cuts in recent years. This means that local districts are forced to cut budgets AFTER the school year has started. Already this year, we have had two mid-year cuts. We expect another mid-year cut in January.