LANSING- Feb. 2, 2006- With Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s announcement of possible cuts to the school aid budget, lawmakers say they are willing to work in a bipartisan matter to solve the problem.

The projected $850 million hole in the budget means schools could lose up to $225 per student in state aid, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.

A Michigan Association of School Business Officials survey found said that about 120 districts, representing about 20 percent of those in the state, could be operating with a deficit by the end of the 2006-07 year.

The association didn’t identify those districts because responses were anonymous.

Bath Schools Superintendent Dennis Furton said he was disappointed about the potential cuts because the district depends heavily on money from the state.

“We can’t afford any type of cut,” Furton said. “Even when we receive a solid amount, we still have a tough time keeping up with our budget, so to hear that the state was mistaken about this is very hard to hear.”

The way to get on the right track is to find a long-term solution such as a tax, he added.

Some legislators are seeking bipartisan approaches after the House recently held what Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, called a “budget bootcamp”.

Jones said groups of five Republicans and five Democrats debated what should be done about the budget dilemma.

Jones declined to discuss what other participants said but suggested one solution is to reduce spending on a “very inflated” corrections system.

“You have to ask yourself a question: Do we cut from prisoners or cut from children?” Jones said. “We have to be able to cut from corrections in order to start making progress.”

But the prison system isn’t the only area where spending can be reduced, he added, and the state must cut everything possible.

“I don’t want to see the school system hurt,” Jones said. “K-12 and public safety are what citizens value, and what are we telling them when we begin cutting away from one of the things they care about?”

Rep. Rick Shaffer, R-Three Rivers, said he is disturbed by the size of the potential cuts.

“We need to be working in more bipartisan ways to fix these cuts, and both sides have taken the lead in taking this stance too,” Shaffer said. “The first place to start to help fix these problems is in the schools and being able to work with the superintendents to help share ideas.”

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said some legislators might be jumping to conclusions about the severity of the school budget situation.

Whitmer said Granholm was required under law to notify the schools of a possible deficit but that it’s not certain until the governor’s budget proposal is released on Feb. 8 after her State of the State address.

“I think some legislators don’t understand this situation fully,” Whitmer said. “Once the budget is released, then we all can work together to fix this before we would have to make these cuts.”

Whitmer suggested that raising revenues could close the deficit, as could a tax that would help the school aid budget.

She said she is concerned about more cuts to a budget that has already seen so many.

“We have made so many cuts over the last years and hurting certain organizations in the process,” Whitmer said. “We need to start taking bold actions and work to help make our schools whole and function at their proper level.”