Contents of this issue:
- Detroit teachers won't agree to contract
- South Haven contracts for principal
- Grand Rapids board could change public address rules
- District moves offices to save on MESSA
- New charter school opening in Ypsilanti
DETROIT TEACHERS WON'T AGREE TO CONTRACT
DETROIT - The Detroit Federation of Teachers is demanding 50
items be added to contract talks, while Detroit Public Schools
says it must slash $88 million in costs, according to the Detroit
Free Press.
"We can't afford to let them off," Superintendent William F.
Coleman III told the Free Press. "It's not business as usual in
Detroit."
DFT President Janna Garrison left open the possibility that
teachers could strike if a contract is not in place when classes
start in September, telling the Free Press the union has a "No
contract, no work" position. Teacher strikes are illegal under
Michigan law.
The union is demanding 15 percent raises for veteran teachers,
access to copy machines and telephones in every classroom, as
well as the ability for a teacher who receives an unsatisfactory
performance review to transfer to a new school, according to the
Free Press.
Coleman said salaries and benefits make up almost 60 percent of
the district's $1.4 billion budget, and DPS cannot afford to give
raises. If the union does not agree to the cuts, Coleman told the
newspaper the district would impose its own cuts while trying to
preserve current wage levels.
Although Garrison has often said, "What's good for teachers is
good for students," according to the Free Press, Lisa Blais, of
the nonprofit education advocacy organization Education
Partnership, said what's best for teachers financially is not
always what is best for students.
"You can pay a mediocre teacher more and more and more, it does
not necessarily mean they're going to become a better teacher,"
Blais told the Free Press.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Detroit schools, teachers not budging,"
July 27, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/NEWS01/607270313
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit teachers want more money,"
June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS to cut jobs; union rejects
concessions," July 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7807
SOUTH HAVEN CONTRACTS FOR PRINCIPAL
SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. - South Haven Public Schools for the second
time will have a competitive contract in place for a school
principal, according to The Kalamazoo Gazette.
John Weiss, who is retiring as principal of Baseline Middle
School, will return in the same position for the 2006-2007 school
year, but not as a district employee.
South Haven will contract with Professional Contract Management
Inc. for Weiss's services, The Gazette reported. The district has
the same arrangement with high school Principal Dene Hadden, who
retired last year.
Weiss's salary and benefits will cost the district about $86,000,
as compared to nearly $104,000 when he was a school employee,
according to The Gazette. Most of the savings will come because
the district will no longer have to pay into the state's defined
benefit retirement plan for Weiss.
SOURCE:
The Kalamazoo Gazette, "Principal retires, but will return,"
July 25, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-18/115384093635320.xml?kzgazette?NEKP&coll=7
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Privatization Report, "Michigan Schools Continue to
Privatize," July 26, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7827
Michigan Education Digest, "Climax-Scotts could privatize
principal's job," May 30, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7758
GRAND RAPIDS BOARD COULD CHANGE PUBLIC ADDRESS RULES
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Board of Education could
require residents to sign up ahead of time if they wish to
address the board during public meetings, according to The Grand
Rapids Press.
Board members discussed the change during a recent retreat. The
change could entail requiring people sign up before the meeting
and indicate what issue they want to address, and discuss only
policy matters, The Press reported.
"You won't be denying people the ability to speak to the board,"
Superintendent Bernard Taylor told The Press. "You're telling
them there is a process that will be used."
The Press also reported that Taylor wants to consider whether the
district should continue showing board meetings on public access
television.
Past board meetings have become chaotic, board Secretary Luis
Pena told The Press.
"There were people insulting board members and intimidating board
members, and saying they were going to go on a radio station and
destroy board members," Pena told The Press.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "School board may limit comment at
meetings," July 23, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1153635908254160.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Judge orders Ann Arbor schools to pay
legal fees in free speech case," Oct. 12, 2004
https://www.educationreport.org/6858
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Happy Anniversary, Free
Speech," March 18, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/7007
DISTRICT MOVES OFFICES TO SAVE ON MESSA
WAYLAND, Mich. - The Wayland Union Schools moved its
administration office to another town in order to save money on
union-backed health insurance, according to The Grand Rapids
Press.
The office was moved from Wayland, in Allegan County, to Byron
Township, in Kent County, where MESSA premiums are less
expensive, The Press reported. MESSA is the Michigan Education
Special Services Association, a third-party administrator
affiliated with the Michigan Education Association school
employee union. MESSA serves as a middleman, repackaging
insurance plans and selling them to school districts.
MESSA sets premium costs by region based on the number of
employees enrolled and how many claims are filed, according to
The Press. MESSA often won't release those aggregate claims data
to school districts, thereby making it difficult for districts to
seek more competitive insurance bids directly from insurance
companies.
Wayland expects to pay about $160,000 less because of the move,
The Press reported.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "District reaps benefits from office
move," July 20, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1153407669147780.xml&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holton staffers drop MESSA,"
May 2, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7696
Michigan Education Digest, "Pinckney teachers voluntarily abandon
MESSA," Feb. 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7585
Michigan Education Digest, "CMU saves millions without MESSA,"
April 11, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7677
NEW CHARTER SCHOOL OPENING IN YPSILANTI
YPSILANTI, Mich. - More than 100 students are already enrolled in
a new charter public school set to open in Ypsilanti, according
to The Ann Arbor News.
Victory Academy, authorized by Bay Mills Community College, will
be the sixth public school operated by Ann Arbor-based Global
Education Excellence. Some 15 teachers and staffers have been
hired, and the school will receive a federal grant of $150,000 a
year for three years as part of a program to help open new public
schools, The News reported. As a public school, Victory Academy
cannot charge tuition, but will receive $7,175 per pupil from the
state's School Aid Fund.
The Kindergarten through fifth grade school has room for 175
students, many of whom will leave the Ypsilanti Public Schools to
attend Victory.
"We are aware that the academy is here," Ypsilanti Superintendent
James Hawkins told The News. "We have to respect that parents
have a right to make a choice."
Ypsilanti school personnel for the second consecutive year will
go door to door in an effort to recruit more students, The News
reported.
SOURCE:
The Ann Arbor News, "Charter school ready in Ypsilanti,"
July 5, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-18/115210874315570.xml&coll=2
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Ypsilanti could save $700,000 with
competitive busing contract," May 30, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7758
Michigan Education Report, "MEA loses lawsuit against public
schools," March 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7620
Michigan Education Report, "MEA continues lawsuit against public
charter schools," May 25, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7733
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.