School District to Apply for More Than $600,000 in State Aid

could be on its way to bringing in an additional $100 pupil this fiscal year, after qualifying for a "best practices" incentive as part of the state School Aid Act.

At their Monday meeting, school board members voted unanimously to approve a resolution with the State Aid and School Finance Office of the Michigan Department of Education, seeking an additional $100 per pupil — or approximately more than $600,000 — in state funding.

These funds would help replenish the district's coffers, which have been strained since the passing of Gov. Rick Snyder's 2012 state budget in February, which

The district qualifies for the funds because during the past few months, it has met all five best practices criterion laid out by the state as part of the School Aid Act., according to Thomas Goulding, deputy superintendent for business and operations.  The district has complied with the following:

• District employees contribute at least 10 percent of their health care costs.
• The school board is the designated policyholder for district employees' medical benefit plans.
• The district has obtained a competitive bid on noninstructional services — in this case, snow removal, Goulding said.
• The district provides a link on its website to the Michigan School Data Portal.

Finally, as Goulding said, the district is implementing a service consolidation plan that includes an initiative to have printed materials come from Oakland Schools instead of the , which is being used by the Greater West Bloomfield Cable Communications Commission as per a