Reception In Lansing Pleases School Board President

LANSING- A delegation of worried Ann Arbor school board members may have nudged state officials towards considering another method of chopping education aid to balance Michigan's budget. The group, meeting Thursday afternoon with key legislators and governor's representatives, pressed its contention that Gov. William G. Milliken's budgetcutting plan would discrimínate against school districts such as Ann Arbor. ? Ann Arbor school officials said that the district would lose more than $710,000 if the Milliken proposal is approved as is by legislative committees and that the district might not be able to opérate through the end of the school year. "We were very pleased with the reception given us," said Dr. Harold J. Lockett, president of the Ann Arbor Board of 'Education and leader of the delegation. "There certainly is a very great need to cut the state budget, but what concerned us was how it affected Ann Arbor and districts like ours at this particular time. "At the same time, the governor's representative and the legislators pointed out the realities of the legislative process and the hard work they must do to balance the budget." Representing the district, besides Lockett, were board members Charles Good (vice president), Robert Conn, Cecil Warner, Henry Johnson and Paul Carrington, and Supt. W. Scott Westerman, Jr. They met with state Rep. Raymond J. Smit, R-Ann Arbor, who made arrangements for the visit; House Speaker William A. Ryan, D-Detroit; and Charles W. Greenleaf, Jr., administrative assistaiit to the governor for education affairs. Lockett said Greenleaf seemed to have "complete understanding" of Ann Arbor's presentation, and that Ryan indicated the information might encourage the legislature to devise alternative methods. Milliken's plan is to trim some $110 million out of the current state budget to avoid a deficit. Two of the specific parts of the plan involve state aid to education. One item would cut state aid to each school district by a flat 2 per cent, saving $15 million. Another pomt is to elimínate the "grandfather clause" guarantee that no school district would get less money frorn the state this year than it did last year. That cut would save $12 million. The Ann Arbor board members said their main problem is with the grandfather clause elimination, which would cost the district $625,308 of the $710,430 it would lose out of a total current budget of $24 million. "The governor and legislature have a problem, I know," said Rep. Smit, "but the present plan is highly discriminatory to a district I think has been doing a fine job, so my job is to help find ways to solve our budget problems without emasculating our school district." In short, the Ann Arbor delegation's visit to Lansing may not result in the legislature's leaving education approporiations untouched, but at least another voice has been added toward modifying any cuts.