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20 Michigan charter schools also noted

Media contacts: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.260.8466, barbara@eafocus.com; Bob Kittle, Munetrix, 248.797.1337, bob@munetrix.com

Auburn Hills, Mich. – April 15, 2015 – Bob Kittle, president of Michigan-based Munetrix, which offers a proprietary fiscal credit score and early warning indicator for school districts and municipalities through a data-driven, public-facing dashboard that complies with state transparency laws, announced 30 Michigan public school districts received a perfect Munetrix fiscal indicator score of zero for the 2013-2014 school year.

The perfect Munetrix scores are based on the latest available Michigan Department of Education data and consider a variety of factors, chiefly operations performance, enrollment trends and fund balance status.

The 30 Michigan school districts receiving a perfect Munetrix score are:
– Au Gres-Sims School District
– Big Rapids Public Schools
– Blissfield Community Schools
– Brimley Area Schools
– Byron Center Public Schools
– Chippewa Valley Schools
– Constantine Public School District
– Eau Claire Public Schools
– Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Schools
– Godwin Heights Public Schools
– Homer Community School District
– Houghton-Portage Township School District
– Jonesville Community Schools
– Kingston Community School District
– Linden Community Schools
– Marquette Area Public Schools
– Mason County Eastern Schools
– Negaunee Public Schools
– Northview Public Schools
– Northville Public Schools
– Plainwell Community Schools
– Rogers City Area Schools
– Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools
– Schoolcraft Community Schools
– Swan Valley School District
– Tecumseh Public Schools
– Three Rivers Community Schools
– Troy School District
– Vicksburg Community Schools
– Warren Woods Public Schools

“Under very difficult situations, these districts performed exceptionally well and should be commended,” Kittle said. “The fiscal headwinds facing local schools in Michigan and across the country are compounded by declining enrollments and state-aid revenue sources. Fiscal stewardship is taken very seriously by this group.”

Separately, 20 Michigan charter schools received perfect Munetrix fiscal indicator scores of zero based on the data released from the Michigan Department of Education:

– Advanced Technology Academy
– AGBU Alex-Marie Manoogian School
– American Montessori Academy
– Black River Public School
– Chandler Park Academy
– Four Corners Montessori Academy
– Hillsdale Preparatory School
– Holly Academy
– Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy
– Mt. Clemens Montessori Academy
– Oakland International Academy
– Old Redford Academy
– Richfield Public School Academy
– Summit Academy North
– Trillium Academy
– University Preparatory Academy (PSAD)
– University Preparatory Science and Math (PSAD)
– Washington-Parks Academy
– West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science
– Will Carleton Charter School Academy

Munetrix scores for charter schools were based on the same criteria as the public school districts.

“Munetrix has data on more than 2,000 school districts across the country, including all of Michigan’s 500 plus school districts and 300 charter schools,” Kittle said. “Looking at data in order to identify fiscal trends enables us to create the Munetrix score. We are pleased to aid in important research on fiscal issues that help schools districts identify early warning indicators and help them prevent a financial crisis situation.”

Munetrix measurement criteria was vetted by a concerted workgroup effort that was led by the Michigan Association of School Business Officials and included representatives from the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and several school districts. To learn more about the Munetrix fiscal indicator score, visit www.munetrix.com.

To view the raw data from the Michigan Department of Education, click here.

About Munetrix
Michigan-based Munetrix is the creator of the Munetrix (municipal metrics) cloud-based local government transparency tool and is among the nation’s largest aggregators of municipal and school district data, allowing subscribers to view public sector financial and demographic data in an easy to understand format and use that data to make meaningful and reliable budgets and financial projections. What is your community’s Munetrix Score? To learn more, visit the Munetrix website.

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