6/29/14 - School officials from the Whitmore Lake and Ann Arbor districts are looking at the viability of a potential merger. Whitmore Lake Public Schools is facing the possibility of going into debt in the coming years, and officials have been in talks with Ann Arbor Public Schools about that district possibly annexing Whitmore Lake. A public meeting on the subject was held on Monday, June 23rd, and the decision was made to pursue a feasibility study for such an action. The Ann Arbor district gets $9,100 per student from the state, while Whitmore Lake gets only $7,251. If the two merged, the combined district would get $9,097 per student. The annexation would help Whitmore Lake avoid going into deficit and possible state takeover, while Ann Arbor would get a larger student body, new properties, access to the US-23 corridor, and a state annexation incentive totaling $1.8 million. There are still concerns about the fate of Whitmore Lake school buildings, disparity in taxation between the two districts, and how to make sure Whitmore Lake residents are represented in the new district. The two school boards plan to put the issue to a vote on the November 4th ballot. (TD)
↧