TRAVERSE CITY -- Local educators are working on a plan to restructure learning across the five-county region in hopes of securing state dollars.
But, they said, the area's blueprint for public school reform is being designed for use, regardless of whether it is selected for funding.
The Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District has until Aug. 14 to submit a proposal for Project ReImagine, a program launched this spring by state Superintendent Mike Flanagan as a way to encourage school systems to become more innovative with instruction.
Individual districts or larger intermediate systems are eligible. The ISD is submitting one application on behalf of its 16 public districts.
Under the program, applicants have to discuss challenges their districts face and what outcomes they hope to reach.
"What we're trying to do is break down the barriers of education," TBAISD Superintendent Mike Hill said. "We're trying to craft this to meet the needs of everybody."
Among the components of the ISD's plan: Offering more students the chance to take online classes, increasing young students' access to preschool and adding an International Baccalaureate curriculum.
"This is an opportunity for our students to get some of those things ... our students may not otherwise have access to," said Derrel Kent, superintendent of Alba Public School, a tiny K-12 district in eastern Antrim County.
Project ReImagine will help the small school expand curriculum, Kent said.
The program, although not considered a grant, will be funded in part by private foundations, said Martin Ackley, a Michigan Department of Education spokesman. Between 10 and 20 districts likely will be chosen.
The project also will be the state's application for a share of $4.35 billion in federal stimulus dollars earmarked for these types of reforms.
"Times are changing," Ackley said. "Not all kids learn the same way. They don't all learn sitting in front of a blackboard."
Administrators could use stimulus funding or other resources to continue with their plans if not chosen for ReImagine funding, he said.
State revenues continue to decline, trickling down to public schools through small or stagnant increases in per-student funding, a situation compounded by declining enrollment in districts across the state, and difficult budget cuts are required as expenses outpace revenue.
"That should not paralyze school districts from improving the way they educate kids," Ackley said. "That's not a default to just keep doing what we're doing."
If TBAISD does not receive ReImagine funds, some ideas might have to be postponed, Hill said.
Administrators are having to consider what programs and services they can continue to afford due to the recession, said Kerry Baughman, coordinator of the Traverse Bay Area Great Start Collaborative, which works on early childhood issues.
"They have to think differently because economically we're forced to," Baughman said. "The status quo is no longer an option."
Record-Eagle reporter Sheri McWhirter contributed to this article.
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