MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — The Muskegon Area Intermediate School Board Superintendent sat down with FOX 17 Monday to discuss the school's history. The ISD Superintendent serves as a support branch for all schools in Muskegon County, but cannot directly control any local district.
In Muskegon Heights, there are two bodies that oversee the public school academy system. One is an elected board, which is elected the same way as every other public school board in Michigan. The other is an appointed academy board.
The academy board runs the district's day-to-day operations. The elected board controls the district's financial operations, which are largely centered around one thing: paying down the district's debt.
The district's history is even more complicated.
Issues in 2022 go back to financial struggles in 2011 when then-Governor Snyder took a look at the district's books.
In 2012, the district was in 8.5 million dollars of debt.
In 2022, they are 35 million dollars in debt. Roughly half of the debt is because a new school building was built. The other half of the debt is operating costs.
In 2012, the district was appointed an emergency manager by the State because of the debt the school district was in.
That emergency manager suggested the district become a charter, and ultimately, they did, hiring a charter school company called Mosiaca Education Inc.
Labor costs for charter schools are typically more affordable. Public school teachers are part of a different, more costly pension system. The Muskegon Heights school system cannot operate as typical public schools because of its debt.
For the last three years, the elected school board has paid down its debt. But digging themselves out of the hole will take years.
None of the current elected school board representatives currently on the school board were members of the school board when the financial trouble happened, with the exception of the school board president.
The current school board president was the only "no" vote when choosing to become a charter.
From 2012-2014, Mosiaca Education Inc. ran the school's charter.
Mosiaca left due to "financial issues and low enrollment" and since then, the school board ran their charter school without a management company through an appointed board and with state oversight.
In 2021, the elected public school board regained control of the district's finances without state oversight, because of its success in consistently paying down the district's debt.
Now, the elected public school board can choose who they contract out the job to running the school's charter. The elected board chose New Paradigm for Education which has resulted in many concerns with the community.
Most recently, parents took to a board meeting to express their frustrations, especially focused on school staffing.
Officials say most of the problems with staffing are due to a transitional period after the school district's most recent superintendent resigned.
It's also due to the reality that teachers are in short supply everywhere. Because Muskegon Heights Public Schools are run by a charter, they lack the pension benefits other local public schools offer, further exasperating the issue.
Staffing issues are working on being addressed at every level, and while the ISD nor the state can step in, they are monitoring the situation.
Muskegon Heights elected school board cannot run the district until their debts are paid off.
Largely, public trust is difficult to win over after so many years of issues.
