Contents of this issue:
- 700 sign 'Race' memo
- State board to discuss school finance
- Health insurance database now online
- Private students lose aid, too
- Huron to apply for bonds
700 SIGN 'RACE' MEMO
LANSING, Mich. - Nearly 89 percent of the state's public
school districts have signed a Memoranda of Understanding indicating they will
support Michigan's bid to win up to $400 million in federal education funds,
The Detroit News reported.
The 703 districts that had signed by Sunday included both
conventional and charter public school districts, according to The News.
Signing the memorandum indicates those districts will
participate in such reform measures as using student academic performance to
evaluate teachers and administrators and introduction of a three-tier teacher
certification process, The News reported.
Education officials have said that widespread support
among districts will increase Michigan's chances of winning the Race to the Top
money.
At least six Oakland County schools have said they will
not participate.
The report did not indicate how many signed memos
included signatures from teacher union leaders. State unions at one point
encouraged local union leaders not to sign, saying the reform measures went
beyond the grant requirements.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "700
districts back state's bid for fed grant," Jan. 10, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Race
to the Top Realities," Dec. 22, 2009
STATE BOARD TO DISCUSS SCHOOL FINANCE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - As part of an effort to pull
together recommendations on school finance reform, the state Board of Education
was to host a philosophically diverse group of panelists at its meeting today,
according to The Grand Rapids Press.
At the same meeting, the board will review the state's
application for federal Race to the Top grant money, according to The Press.
Michigan could receive up to $400 million for education if its application is
approved.
Among the guests discussing school finance will be
Michael Van Beek, education policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public
Policy, which publishes Michigan Education Digest. Other panelists include
Jeffrey Guilfoyle of the Citizens Research Council, Michigan State University
economics professor Charles Ballard, and economist Timothy Bartik of the W.E.
Upjohn Institute, The Press reported.
The group is expected to discuss education budgets, state
tax and revenue structures and reforms in the organization and delivery of
education, according to The Press.
SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "State
Board of Education says school finance problems require urgent solutions, calls
for bipartisan help," Jan. 9, 2010
The Grand Rapids Press, "State
Race to the Top plan calls for new evaluations for teachers, interventions for
failing schools," Jan. 9, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Are
schools underfunded?" Nov. 23, 2009
HEALTH INSURANCE DATABASE NOW ONLINE
MIDLAND, Mich. - The Mackinac Center for Public Policy
has posted an online database that reports how much individual public school
districts spend on employee health insurance.
The database includes 2008-2009 health insurance costs as
reported to the Mackinac Center by more than 95 percent of Michigan school
districts, Mackinac Center Director of Education Policy Michael Van Beek said
in making the announcement. The Mackinac Center also publishes Michigan
Education Digest.
School employee health insurance collectively costs
taxpayers $2 billion per year across the state.
The database lists each district's health plans, plan provider, monthly premium
cost, employee contribution and number of enrollees.
The 2008-09 average annual premium for 602 family plans
offered to teachers was $15,786, and the average annual employee contribution
to these plans was $665, or 4.2 percent, according to the Mackinac Center.
Teachers in 301 districts make no contribution to the cost of their own
insurance premium.
Conversely, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports that the
average family premium in Michigan in 2008 was $11,321. On average, employees
contribute $2,522, or 22 percent, to the cost of their own monthly premium.
"Rising health insurance costs combined with
declining enrollment and state-based tax revenue makes it imperative for
schools to explore new ways of reducing employee insurance costs," Van Beek
said. "This database can assist school districts in that endeavor."
SOURCES:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Health
Insurance Information for More than 500 Michigan School Districts Available
Online," Jan. 6, 2010
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan School District Health Insurance."
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Chesaning: MESSA costs up,"
Jan. 4, 2010
PRIVATE STUDENTS LOSE AID, TOO
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - While the end of the Michigan
Promise scholarship program grabbed most of the headlines last fall, students
at the state's private universities saw a similar reduction, according to The
Grand Rapids Press.
The state cut the Tuition Grant Program that offered up
to $2,100 per student to private college enrollees, affecting nearly half the
student body at Davenport College and about one- third of enrollees at Baker
College, The Press reported.
Davenport's total grant was reduced from $6.4 million to
$3 million and Baker's from $20.9 million to $3 million, The Press reported.
Grants to all other private universities combined were reduced from $29.3
million to $25.6 million. The awards are given based on need; colleges now are
likely to award less per student or tighten eligibility, according to The
Press. Graduate students are no longer eligible for any assistance.
Edward Blews, president of the Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities of Michigan, told The Press that the grants save
taxpayers millions of dollars.
The state spends an average of $5,700 per student on
public colleges, he said. If the 40,000 students receiving private- school
grants last year moved to public universities, it could cost taxpayers $228
million in state aid, he said.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "College
students at two schools — Davenport and Baker — are taking the brunt of Lansing
cuts to aid program," Jan. 3, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "When
We Should Break a Promise," July 2, 2009
HURON TO APPLY FOR BONDS
NEW BOSTON, Mich. - Huron Schools will apply for $9.8
million in federal stimulus funds for new classrooms, technology and other
improvements, according to The Monroe News.
The interest-free loans are available under the Federal
Recovery and Stabilization Act of 2009. About $325 million in bonds is
available to school districts in Michigan, The News reported; each district can
apply for up to $15 million in aid.
Huron Schools would add six classrooms to Miller
Elementary and upgrade its gym and cafeteria, and the high school and junior
high school would be the site of varied improvements, including swimming pool
repair and converting a lab into classrooms, according to The News.
The district would have to repay the principal amount of
the loan, but with no added interest, The News reported.
SOURCE:
The Monroe News, "Huron
eyes stimulus for upgrades," Jan. 9, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Michigan School Money Primer: Revenue Sources,"
May 30, 2007
MICHIGAN EDUATION 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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