Would you want to be a school administrator these days?

We think not. The same holds true for a board member, union representative, or staff member.

A cloud of uncertainty hangs over the state’s school system right now. And, from the look of that cloud, it portends a nasty storm instead of sunny and blue skies.

State Sen. Wayne Schmidt, from the Traverse City area, shared this week what many already had figured — you can’t pick cherries from a tree with no fruit on it.

He said the economic fallout from the COVID pandemic has devastated state tax collections, and districts looking at their budgets for the fall could see as high as a 25% reduction in state aid.

“There’s no way around it. There’s going to be cuts to the per-pupil foundation,” Schmidt warned.

While there are some measures under consideration at the federal level that could provide aid to local governments, Schmidt said that planning on such help would be foolish. It may, or may not, materialize, he said.

Educational leaders already have had to deal with developing online teaching options, planning alternative graduation ceremonies, and trying to figure out what teaching in the fall might look like while maintaining social distancing.

In some ways, having to do all that with less money is just another “day at the office” for school officials, these days.

It’s yet another sad reality of how the pandemic has impacted all our lives.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)