Almost half of Oakland County’s school districts have opted not to accept money for student safety and mental health services that came with strings attached, according to the state education department.
Of 27 districts, 12 gave up their share of over $321 million in available funds, known as Section 31aa funds.
The strings? Districts who wanted the money had to “agree to be subject to a comprehensive investigation, must affirmatively agree to waive any privilege that may otherwise protect information from disclosure in the event of a mass casualty event, and must agree to comply with a comprehensive investigation.”
Districts that opted-out:
Pontiac
Royal Oak
Berkley
Southfield
Novi
Madison
West Bloomfield
Brandon
Holly
Huron Valley
Lake Orion
Lamphere
“Huron Valley Schools opted out as a result of the constitutional violations and the coercive nature with which the statute was written,” said Huron Valley Superintendent Paul Salah. “Huron Valley is involved in a lawsuit regarding the conditions for 31aa dollars.”
Lake Orion voted to opt-out on the final day and forgo $1.13 million in funding.
photo by Matt Fahr
Using Salah’s estimate that Section 31aa money equaled around $135 per student, the 12 county districts turned down $6.9 million from the state. The per-student pay out to districts will be based on how many districts opted-in statewide.
“The district decided to opt-out of the 31aa funding opportunity for this year due to concerns with the grant language which included a conditional waiver of certain legal privileges in the event of a mass casualty incident,” Southfield Chief of Staff James Jackson said. “This is currently being appealed through the Michigan Court of Appeals; however, there wasn’t a final ruling from the court prior to the opt-out deadline. Therefore, we decided to opt-out to preserve all privileges.”
Jackson estimated the district lost $500,000.
The Lake Orion school board held a special meeting on Dec. 30 and voted 6-0 to opt-out of over $1.13 million in funding.
According to meeting minutes, the financial impact resulted in a $550,000 decrease in the budget.
The board cited “serious concerns about vague definitions” and “uncertain legal implications” as their reason for opting-out.
“The board discussed rescinding the acceptance of funding due to the privilege waiver requirement remaining in place, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the district’s operational rights over financial gain,” the minutes read.
The West Bloomfield board voted 6-0 on Dec. 3 to recommend the district pass on $700,000.
“The district was effectively forced to opt out of the Section 31aa grant because key conditions of the funding could not be clearly explained,” the district said in a statement. “Despite repeated requests, the district did not receive clear answers regarding how a ‘mass casualty event’ is defined or whether accepting the grant would waive attorney-client privilege only during the grant period or indefinitely beyond it.”
“With those unanswered questions and the issue now under active litigation, the district could not responsibly opt-in without full and reliable information about the legal implications,” the district said.
According to the publication Bridge Michigan, about 982 or 82% of the state’s schools and districts, excluding nonpublic schools, have opted in and agreed to the conditions.
Several Oakland County private schools – such as Oakside Prep Academy, Great Lakes Academy and Crescent Academy – also turned down the money.
More than 30 districts and intermediate school districts sued the state education department and state school superintendent challenging the privilege language does not meet the requirements of the state Constitution and is unconstitutionally vague.
The case was heard by Judge Sima Patel in the Michigan Court of Claims and on Dec. 17 she ruled that the new privilege provisions would remain in place.
The districts have appealed the Court of Claims ruling and no date has been set for the appeal to be heard.