OTTAWA — As Ottawa school superintendent Dean Katt ponders his options as school aid from the state continues to be cut, he says he would flunk legislators’ budget work. Three years ago there was a $950 million surplus, a record in the state’s history, but now, there’s a deficit, he said. Katt said he’s been frustrated that legislators have knowingly continued handing out tax breaks despite the plummeting reserves. Katt is also worried about next year, when federal economic stimulus money earmarked for education runs out. Katt reviewed the Ottawa school district budget in Sunday’s “School Survival 101” Community Perspective, the weekly public affairs program produced by KOFO News.
