Contents of this issue:
- Granholm: Change pensions to save money
- Students protest layoffs, seniority
- 'Give back' saves jobs
- Schools team up on custodial bids
- Districts eye security upgrades
GRANHOLM: CHANGE PENSIONS TO SAVE MONEY
LANSING, Mich. - In a bid to reduce state spending by
up to $450 million, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed modifying the pension
and health care plans for future school and state retirees, but also would
offer an incentive to current employees to retire this summer, according to
media reports.
Speaking to the Lansing Rotary Club, Gov. Granholm
said employees with at least 30 years of experience who retire between July and
September would get a pension boost ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per year,
according to reports in the Lansing State Journal and The Oakland Press.
But she also proposed cutting spending by requiring
employees to contribute more to their own pensions and by cutting retiree
dental and vision benefits, the Journal reported.
Granholm also suggested consolidating school districts
and services, and aligning the school and state budget years, The Press
reported. The proposals would require legislative approval.
Michigan Education Association spokesman Doug Pratt
called the retirement incentive "pretty tiny" and a "political
game and gimmick," the Journal reported.
SOURCES:
Lansing State Journal, "Retirees
from schools get boost, but others to see cut in benefits," Jan. 30,
2010
The Oakland Press, "Granholm
proposes retirement plan to cut costs," Jan. 29, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Public Pension Plans Need to Reflect Reality," Jan. 3,
2006
STUDENTS PROTEST LAYOFFS, SENIORITY
PONTIAC, Mich. - Students rallied outside Pontiac High
School last week to protest the layoffs of 15 teachers, but comments made by
one student to The Macomb Daily suggested that the youths also disagreed with
teacher seniority rules.
"The young, motivated teachers that are gone are
the ones that actually cared about us," Ravon Williams, 17, told The
Daily.
"The ones that got to stay because of seniority,
because of a contract, are the ones that aren't so patient with us and can't
relate to us."
Williams, former class president, organized the
gathering of about 200 students outside the high school on Friday, according to
The Daily.
Robert Martin, the district's chief deputy for
strategic reform, confirmed that 15 teachers were laid off at the end of the
first semester, The Daily reported.
The protesting students gathered outside the high
school before school, and the building was put on lockdown after other students
began leaving the school between classes to join them, according to The Daily.
It was unclear whether the students would be punished, The Daily reported.
SOURCE:
The Macomb Daily, "Students
protest in Pontiac," Jan. 30, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Teacher Quality Primer: Discretion in Hiring," June 30,
2008
'GIVE BACK' SAVES JOBS
MOUNT PLEASANT - Custodians in Mount Pleasant Public
Schools are turning back part of their earnings to the district as a way to
save the jobs of four colleagues, according to The (Mount Pleasant) Morning Sun. Separately, bus drivers and
support staff have ratified new contracts that include wage schedule freezes
and insurance changes.
The Sun reported that the district avoided laying off
four custodians when their coworkers agreed to "give back" five hours
of pay per week toward health insurance costs.
In related news, the wage schedules for bus drivers
and support staff members will be frozen for one year and two years,
respectively, though any workers who are not at the top of the schedule still
will receive step increases, according to The Sun.
To pay for those increases, workers agreed to switch
to Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plans administered through the Michigan
Education Special Services Association. MESSA is an affiliate of the Michigan
Education Association.
Peter Tresize, assistant superintendent for human
resources, told The Sun that MESSA rates came in lower when compared to another
carrier. The article did not name the district's current insurance provider.
SOURCE:
The (Mount Pleasant) Morning Sun, "School
workers take freezes," Feb. 2, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Are Schools Underfunded?" Nov. 23, 2009
SCHOOLS TEAM UP ON CUSTODIAL BIDS
MIDLAND, Mich. - Three public school districts and an
intermediate district are jointly seeking bids from private custodial firms,
though one official said that doesn't necessarily mean the districts will
privatize the work, the Midland Daily News reported.
Administrators told the Daily News that they want to
learn more about potential cost savings of outsourcing.
"Given the financial state that our districts are
in and the pessimistic outlook for next year, we're being forced to look at
every possible way to reduce our costs," Meridian Public Schools
Superintendent Doug Fillmore told the Daily News.
Nearby Midland Public Schools already has outsourced
its custodial work.
SOURCE:
Midland Daily News, "County
schools consider contracting custodial work," Jan. 28, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Privatization Survey 2009," Dec. 7, 2009
DISTRICTS EYE SECURITY UPGRADES
DETROIT - Surveillance cameras, secured entryways,
swipe cards and enhanced alarm systems are the new face of school security in
metro Detroit, according to a report in The Detroit News.
In an overview of current and planned security systems
in a number of school districts, The News reported plans ranging from
reconfiguring front entrances to adding surveillance cameras to locking doors
and using a "swipe card" entry system.
In some districts, upgrades depend on the outcome of
bond proposals, according to The News. In Chippewa Valley Schools, for example,
the district is asking voters to approve an $89 million bond next month, part
of which would be used to install surveillance cameras in four middle and 12
elementary schools, The News reported.
Chippewa Valley High School Principal Jerry Davisson
told The News that existing cameras in the high schools have reduced bullying,
vandalism, fighting and theft.
Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school security
consultant, told The News that new equipment alone is not sufficient unless
schools also include staff and student body training.
One school board member told The News that while it's
important that children feel safe, some devices such as metal detectors can
make them feel they are entering a prison rather than a school.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Metro
Detroit schools step up security," Jan. 29, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Schools beef up video surveillance," Oct. 30, 2008
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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