NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS: MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST WILL NOT BE
PUBLISHED ON JAN. 2, 2007. THE FIRST ISSUE OF 2007 WILL BE
DISTRIBUTED JAN. 9.
Contents of this issue:
- Ten alternative schools may close in Detroit
- Sudden changes in DPS superintendent search
- Hart teachers upset about insurance savings plan
- Harper Creek chooses less expensive MESSA plan
- Gates-funded commission proposes major education reforms
- Win an iPod
TEN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS MAY CLOSE IN DETROIT
DETROIT — Ten alternative schools in Detroit may close unless the
Detroit Federation of Teachers grants contract waivers to the
schools' teachers, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The schools, which focus primarily on educating high school
dropouts, are run by community groups and cannot afford to meet
the requirements of the union teacher contract. Negotiations have
failed because the DFT wants a share of the state funding the
schools receive in return for signing the waivers, according to
the Free Press.
"While we have signed a contract saying we will abide by the
contract, if they decide to enforce the DFT contract, we will not
stay open," Ida Byrd-Hill, founder of Hustle & TechKnow, an
alternative school in Detroit, told the Free Press. "We cannot
afford the benefits ... and this is an alternative program, which
means we have to do things a little differently," Byrd-Hill said.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "10 schools fear closing," Dec. 10, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS01/612100676/1003
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS fights union to keep at-risk
program," Nov. 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8059
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit teachers union wants more
money," June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit dropout programs encourage
kids to go back to school," Sept. 27, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7364
SUDDEN CHANGES IN DPS SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools board of education has
decided to offer its current superintendent an interview after
initially rejecting him as a finalist in the search, according to
The Detroit News.
William Coleman III has drawn criticism during his one-year
tenure. His contract will expire in July, the Detroit Free Press
reported.
At a recent board meeting, however, it was decided that he be
allowed the fifth spot for interviews. This occurred after board
member Jonathan Kinloch suggested that the board scrap its search
and hire a national search firm. The board voted against hiring a
search firm, but made alterations to their own process, according
to The News.
"We should see the process through," board Vice President Joyce
Hayes-Giles said, according to The News. "We will start again if
we need to."
Excluding Coleman, the search has been narrowed down to four
candidates: David Snead, Connie Calloway, Gerald Dawkins and
Doris Hope-Jackson. Snead was hired as Detroit's superintendent
in 1993, but resigned four years later under pressure from the
school board. Dawkins is currently the superintendent of Saginaw
Public Schools, while Calloway is the superintendent of the
Normandy School District in St. Louis. Hope-Jackson is currently
the CEO of an education consultant service company in Illinois,
according to the Free Press.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Bid to block DPS interviews fails,"
Dec. 15, 2006
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612150417
Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Public Schools: Coleman is out of
race, Snead is in," Dec. 13, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS01/612130340/1001/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS to re-bid IT contract,"
Oct. 17, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8008
Michigan Education Report, "DPS' credit rating falls after $259
million tax error," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7467
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS must repay almost $1 million to
feds," July 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7807
HART TEACHERS UPSET ABOUT INSURANCE SAVINGS PLAN
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Teachers in the Hart school district are
protesting an insurance change that is expected to save their
district $250,000 a year, according to the Ludington Daily News.
The board recently switched health insurance from the Michigan
Education Special Services Association, a union-affiliated,
third-party administrator, to SET SEG. Many teachers are
uncomfortable with the change, according to the Daily News.
"You have created sleepless nights," teacher Jennifer Stoneman
told the board, according to the Daily News. "You've altered the
way I have to provide for my kids."
Board Treasurer Mark Forner pointed to decreasing enrollment as
the driving force behind the change.
"Make no mistake. Student enrollment drives revenues to schools
in the State of Michigan," Forner commented to the board,
according to the Daily News.
SOURCE:
Ludington Daily News, "Hart teachers protest imposed insurance
changes," Dec. 12, 2006
http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=34157
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Hart schools leave MESSA,"
Dec. 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8104
Michigan Education Digest, "Madison contracts stall over health
insurance," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8087
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "MESSA Reference Page,"
March 10, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7643
HARPER CREEK CHOOSES LESS EXPENSIVE MESSA PLAN
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Teachers and board members in Harper Creek
schools have agreed to a new contract that will increase teacher
pay and decrease health insurance costs, according to the Battle
Creek Enquirer.
The district is switching its health insurance plan to the less
costly Choices II plan provided by the Michigan Education Special
Services Association. MESSA is third-party administrator
affiliated with the Michigan Education Association school
employees union. The switch will decrease costs for both the
district and teachers, who will now have to contribute only $30 a
month for their own health insurance. Currently, teachers must
pay $43.88 a month, according to the Enquirer.
Teachers will receive 0.75 percent step-scale pay increases for
the next two years, while teachers with more than 13 years of
employment in the district will receive a 1.25 percent pay
increase. The average teacher salary in the district is more than
$51,000, according to the Enquirer.
"Overall, I'm pleased we were able to ratify the contract,"
Harper Creek Education Association President Penny Osborne told
the Enquirer.
SOURCE:
Battle Creek Enquirer, "Harper Creek teaching contract approved,"
Dec. 13, 2006
https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061213/NEWS01/612130308/1002
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Teachers in thumb agree to cheaper
union health plan," Dec. 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8104
Michigan Education Digest, "Pellston teachers choose less
expensive health plan," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8087
Michigan Education Digest, "Fruitport teachers flock to less
expensive MESSA," Sept. 12, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7926
GATES-FUNDED COMMISSION PROPOSES MAJOR EDUCATION REFORMS
DETROIT — A group funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation has announced its support for education reforms -including running schools with private contractors, paying
teachers based on performance and replacing local property taxes
with state funding for schools — according to the Detroit Free
Press.
The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce
includes business executives, as well as school officials from
New York, Massachusetts and California. According to commission
member and former U.S. Labor Secretary William Brock, the group
is working to end an "insane" education system that does not
prepare students for college or the workplace, the Free Press
reported.
"Our children must be given the ability to compete in a global
economy, rather than a school system that leads the world in
dropout rates," Brock said, according to the Free Press.
The Gates Foundation is willing to help states implement some of
the ideas proposed by the commission, Tom Vander Ark, the
foundation's education director said, according to the Free
Press.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Group seeks to privatize schools,"
Dec. 15, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS07/612150420/1009
The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce,
"Tough Choices or Tough Times? The Report of the Commission on
the Skills of the American Workforce"
http://www.skillscommission.org/report.htm
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Dare We Compare: How American
Students Stack Up Against the Competition," Jan. 26, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/6954
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Why haven't Michigan's High
Teacher Salaries Improved Student Performance," Jul. 22, 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5566
WIN AN IPOD
MIDLAND, Mich. — Michigan Education Report is offering readers a
chance to win an iPod when they comment on articles in its Winter
2006 issue. Comments can be made via e-mail about stories on
alternative teacher certification
(
https://www.educationreport.org/8017),
successful public school
reform (
https://www.educationreport.org/8026)
and Michigan's cap
on charter public schools (
https://www.educationreport.org/8043)
and (
https://www.educationreport.org/8044).
Please visit
www.educationreport.org for more
information.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 150,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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