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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
October 20, 2009

Contents of this issue:

  • Governor nixes '20j' payments
  • Teacher, district settle for $106,000
  • More shared services may lie ahead
  • Michigan math scores flat
  • Arbitrator: Privatizing not a contract violation

GOVERNOR NIXES '20j' PAYMENTS

LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed the part of the state school budget that essentially protected school districts from Proposal A losses, the Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. reported Monday.

The so-called "20j" payments are given each year to higher- spending school districts that would have received less per- pupil revenue under Proposal A than before that law was passed.

This year the total allocation would have been $54 million spread among 52 districts, MIRS reported.

The school budget also incorporates a $165-per-student cut across all districts, and the governor said more cuts may be forthcoming if revenue numbers continue to fall, according to MIRS. Overall, school aid would be reduced by 2.9 percent, or $382 million, under the budget passed by the Legislature earlier this month, the report said.

MIRS reported that school districts in Livonia, Dearborn and Walled Lake stand to lose about $5 million each due to 20j cuts.

SOURCE:

Michigan Information & Research Service Inc., "Governor Vetoes 20J in Signing K-12 Budget," Oct. 19, 2009 (Subscription required)

FURTHER READING:

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How to Save $2.2 Billion," June 8, 2009

TEACHER, DISTRICT SETTLE FOR $106,000

BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A Byron Center Public Schools special education teacher will receive $106,000 in a settlement agreement with the school district, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

The teacher, Timothy Grider, was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct in a case involving a prostitute, The Press reported. The district also reported that the teacher admitted to drinking vodka on school grounds after parent-teacher conferences, according to The Press.

Because of the time and uncertainty involved in trying to revoke his tenure, the district instead pursued a resignation agreement, The Press reported.

Grider has been on administrative leave since March and submitted a letter of resignation. The $106,000 is the value of his salary and benefits, according to The Press. The settlement agreement requires the district to write a letter of reference to any non-school prospective employer on the teacher's behalf, while providing the disciplinary report to any prospective school employers, the report said.

In an unrelated case, West Ottawa Public Schools won its case to revoke the tenure of a science teacher, but paid the teacher's salary and benefits while the case was heard, totaling $89,000, as well as $84,000 in legal fees, The Press reported in a separate article. The teacher in that case was found to have given test answers to students.

SOURCES:

The Grand Rapids Press, "Byron Center settles with teacher for $73,651 plus benefits after incident with prostitute," Oct. 16, 2009

The Grand Rapids Press, "Plenty of legal bills for West Michigan school districts," Oct. 16, 2009

FURTHER READING:

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Reforming Teacher Tenure Policies," June 30, 2008

MORE SHARED SERVICES MAY LIE AHEAD

THREE RIVERS, Mich. - Consolidation of services is one likely way public school districts will deal with future budget reductions, the Three Rivers Community Schools superintendent told the school board recently, according to radio station WLKM- 95.9.

Superintendent Roger Rathburn noted that technology services already have been consolidated at the county level there, and he suggested that business and superintendent services may follow suit, the station reported.

"The school systems just can't exist under the old model. There are not enough revenues to sustain that model and I think most districts are doing their best to keep the impact away from the classroom," Rathburn said, according to WLKM.

The Three Rivers district has reduced spending by about $2.8 million in the past four years, the report said. The K-12 spending bill passed by the state Legislature for the current year cuts school aid by about $165 per student.

SOURCE:

WLKM-95.9, "TR School Board discusses budget trends," Oct. 13, 2009

FURTHER READING:

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally Responsible Public School Districts: Executive Summary," Dec. 3, 2002

MICHIGAN MATH SCORES FLAT   

DETROIT - Michigan math scores remain at a standstill on The National Assessment of Educational Progress, while other Midwest states are improving, The Detroit News reported in a recent column.

The NAEP tests fourth- and eighth-grade students across the country. The latest math scores show that achievement levels in Michigan have remained essentially flat over the past five years, while those in other Midwest states have improved relative to national averages, according to The News.

In addition, African-American students in Michigan scored lower, on average, than their counterparts in any other state, The News noted. Michigan also is tied for last nationally in calculations of black-white achievement gaps on the test, the report said.

"While our neighbors are dramatically improving, we continue to fail," Sharif Shakrani, co-director of the Michigan State University Education Policy Center, said, according to The News.

SOURCES:

The Detroit News, "New test scores show that our students are falling behind," Oct. 19, 2009

National Center for Education Statistics, "Mathematics 2009: Snapshot State Report, Michigan Grade 4."

National Center for Education Statistics, "Mathematics 2009: Snapshot State Report, Michigan Grade 8."

FURTHER READING:

Michigan Education Report, "Double-but-nothing: More education spending hasn't yielded better results," Sept. 6, 2006

ARBITRATOR: PRIVATIZING NOT A CONTRACT VIOLATION

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - An arbitrator has ruled that Grand Rapids Public Schools did not violate its collective bargaining agreement with bus drivers when it hired a private company in 2005 to take over busing, even though a year remained on the contract between the drivers' union and the district, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

The Grand Rapids school board hired Dean Transportation Inc. to provide transportation services at an anticipated savings of $18.5 million over five years, The Press reported. Since then, the Grand Rapids Educational Support Personnel Association has filed several grievances and lawsuits related to the matter.

At earlier hearings, the drivers won a grievance over whether they could remain GRESPA members or would be moved to an existing Dean employee union, The Press noted. Dean also reached an out-of-court settlement with the union on allegations that it interfered with the union contract.

The latest ruling affirms school districts' sole authority to privatize support services, district spokesman John Helmholdt told The Press.

"As districts fight to keep precious resources in classrooms, they have to consider this (finding a cheaper way to provide support services)," Helmholdt said, according to the Press.

Michigan Education Association attorney Fil Iorio told The Press that the union is evaluating whether to challenge the arbitrator's ruling.

SOURCE:

The Grand Rapids Press, "Arbitrator: Grand Rapids schools did not violate collective bargaining agreement by outsourcing bus drivers," Oct. 15, 2009

FURTHER READING:

Michigan Education Report, "Dean Transportation, MEA at odds over unions," Feb. 23, 2007

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), an online newspaper published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

Contact Managing Editor Lorie Shane at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

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http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=MED

Michigan Education Daily
Sat., November 21, 2009
"Hillsdale Community Schools is offering severance packages to teachers and support personnel who retire now as a way to save money in the long run." >>
Fri., November 20, 2009
"The University of Michigan believes that a plan to create a single health insurance pool for all public employees is unconstitutional, firefighters believe it's unwise, but the president of Lansing Community College sees it as the right moral choice." >>
Thu., November 19, 2009
"Jackson Public Schools is investigating switching insurance carriers, self-funding or asking all employee groups to agree to higher deductibles and co-pays as ways to spend less on health insurance." >>
Wed., November 18, 2009
"Not yet certain whether they will face a $127 per-pupil cut in December, school administrators are reviewing their choices for dealing with it." >>
Tue., November 17, 2009
"More than one-third of the students who live within Detroit Public Schools boundaries attended a public charter school in 2008-2009." >>
Sun., November 15, 2009
"More than one-third of the students who live within Detroit Public Schools boundaries attended a public charter school in 2008-2009." >>
Sat., November 14, 2009
"State school Superintendent Michael Flanagan asked lawmakers and teachers unions Thursday to settle their differences and clear the way for Michigan to apply for up to $400 million in federal funding for public schools." >>
User Comments
beggarsall
I am a teacher in the same county who is presently trying to quit the union. Like Caldwell, I strongly disagree with the MEA.

This article was timely.

Rob Olson
Pittsford Area Schools

>>
rickolson
I agree this is a change worth making. I describe some of the uneven effects of the idea on my blog at http://rickolson.blogspot.com/2009/08/statewide-health-insurance-plan-for.html which you may also wish to read.

The devil will be in the details, so this is one we will need to monitor closely.

Rick Olson from Saline, former school Business Manager >>
MichelleO

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>>
QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>
colonelb
Godfrey-Lee on the west side of the state has been running all-day, every-day kindergarten for several years. >>
BenjaminY
We have a problem in Detroit Public School, their system had cash flow problem for years now. And honestly it getting worst in terms in progression with more children leaving to charter their schools almost every year. The state decided to give the Detroit school districts cash advance of $70 million so they would meet the schools expenses, as well as payment for teachers. Robert Bobb, the newly appointed emergency financial manager, requested the funds early in order for him to get the house in order before he had to start panicking. President Obama has been giving out large sums of money for troubled school districts, perhaps that’s where a generous portion of the aid came from. Getting Detroit Public Schools in working order is a worthy cause.

LINK TO READ FOR MORE INFO:
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/10/state-advance-detroit-public-schools-70m/


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colonelb
I am all for school choice and think its great that charters are finally moving forward. However, I'm wondering if the research accounts for a playing field that is not level. I can't take my school buildings and move them anywhere I want, nor can I simply slap up a pole building and make it a school. If anything, public schools need less state regulation and oversight so we can play by the same minimal rules charters do. If you want public schools to compete to improve, remove the barriers to doing so. I will gladly except less funding per pupil if the playing field is level.
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karen
The purpose is to encourage non excercising children to excercise but my daughter's highschool gave her an improper body fat percentage and made my healthy daughter who trains 20 hours a week in tap jazz and ballet believe she was overweaghit instead of a person with muscles.
I believe the public schools do not have the right to make the diagnoses with these kids because they are using one measurement and recording it from their arms that they have a certain percetnage of body fat with one arm caliper test.
Does any one have feed back?
>>
deepakp9
Specifically, 81 percent of students in religiously affiliated schools and 82 percent of students in other private schools have parents who report being "very satisfied" with their schools, compared to 55 percent of students in assigned public schools and 63 percent of students in chosen public schools.

High levels of satisfaction among private school parents also extend to opinions about their children's teachers, academic standards of the school, order and discipline at the school, the amount of homework assigned, and interactions with school personnel.

http://fitt.in >>
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>>