Contents of this issue:
- Niles teachers protest contract offer
- Bill to ban grad student unionization moves to Senate floor
- School
claims township implementing ‘neo-Jim Crow’ in lawsuit
- State grants emergency $4 million for Highland Park
students
- Endowments up at Michigan colleges and universities
Niles Teachers Protest Contract Offer
NILES, Mich. — About 100 teachers carrying signs showed up
at a recent Niles Community Schools board of education meeting to protest the
board’s latest contract offer, according to The Niles Daily Star. The
protesters claimed the signs, which had various percentages ranging from 19.5
to 28.3 written on them, represented the real decrease in total compensation
each teacher was facing should the union accept the offer.
“We wanted to remind the board that their last best offer’s
overall impact is more than just a 7 percent or 8 percent decrease in pay; it
also includes insurance costs,” teachers’ union President Katherine Elsner told
The Star. “That impacts the community as a whole. For every dollar we make, we
spend about $1.50 in the community.”
Board president Jeff Curry argued the spending reductions
were essential to prevent the district from running a deficit as soon as the
2013-14 school year, according to The Star.
“Simply stated, our cost exceeds our revenue and we are
entrusted to balance the budget,” Curry told The Star. “We are burning through
over $200,000 a month right now, and we cannot afford to do that and educate
our kids.”
According to The Star, the two sides failed to reach an
agreement after state mediation last year and are currently completing a fact
finding process.
SOURCE:
The Niles Daily Star, “Teachers
protest contract offer," Feb. 20, 2012
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, “Niles
secretaries take 2.5 percent pay cut,” Jan. 29, 2012
Bill To Ban Grad Student Unionization Moves To Senate Floor
LANSING, Mich. — The Senate Government Operations Committee
has approved a bill that would block the unionization of graduate student
research assistants at state-funded universities, according to The Associated
Press. The vote was 3-2 along party lines and the bill now moves to the Senate
floor.
According to the AP, the bill comes in response to an
attempt to unionize by a group of graduate student research assistants at the University of Michigan. The
bill seeks to put into law a 1981 decision by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission that found grad students were not employees and therefore not eligible to unionize.
SOURCE:
The Associated Press, “Michigan
bill would ban some grad student unions,” Feb. 21, 2012
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Capitol Confidential, “Bill To Stop Graduate
Student Unionization Moves Ahead,” Feb. 22, 2012
School
Claims Township Implementing ‘Neo-Jim Crow’
PITTSFIELD TWP., Mich. — The
Michigan Islamic Academy has asked a federal district court judge to overturn a
Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees decision that rejected its rezoning
request, according to AnnArbor.com. MIA is seeking to have land it purchased in
2010 rezoned so it can build a new 360-student school.
According
to AnnArbor.com, the lawsuit claims representatives from the school met with
Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal before purchasing the land. Grewal reportedly
told MIA that they should not have any problems getting the land rezoned for a
school as long as they followed the proper procedures.
Because
Pittsfield “has not identified any compelling government interest for denying
MIA’s application” the lawsuit argues the township has violated the First and 14th
Amendment as well as the federal Religious Institutions Land Use
Protection Act, according to AnnArbor.com.
Dawud
Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which
is a partner in the lawsuit, told AnnArbor.com the township’s arguments that
the school would lead to traffic issues and a fall in neighboring property
values were the “same old, tired, bigoted arguments that have been made in the
past.”
“This
will set a dangerous precedent if the community is allowed to block the
construction of this school,” Walid said. “It is neo-Jim Crow in a sense.”
SOURCE:
AnnArbor.com,
“American-Islamic
council: Pittsfield Township's blocking of Islamic school is 'neo-Jim Crow',”
Feb. 22, 2012
FURTHER READING:
Michigan
Education Report, “Muslim
school backers ask federal oversight,” July 28, 2011
State Grants Emergency $4 Million for Highland Park
Students
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder has signed an emergency
bill that allocates $4 million dollars to the help students of Highland
Park, according to The Detroit News. The funding will not go to the school
district, but rather gives each student about $4,000 to go the school of his or
her choice.
Concerns about the continued operation of the Highland Park
schools arose because the district does not have enough cash to make the next
pay period. According to The News, this measure was intended to ensure that
students would be able to continue their studies should the district have to
shut down.
The funding is not without its opponents, according to The
News. "There's still a question about how this will positively impact the
district," said school board Secretary Robert Davis.
The News reports the bill provides the funding to any
school district or charter public school that accepts a student from Highland
Park. Highland Park will not receive any of the funds unless someone is brought
in from the outside to run the financially troubled district. Gov. Snyder had
asked Jack Martin to step down as emergency financial manager after an Ingham
County judge ruled his appointment process violated the Open Meetings Act.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, “Snyder
signs bill to aid Highland Park students,” Feb. 24, 2012
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Capitol Confidential, “School District: Spending Up, Revenue Up,
Red Ink Up — Wants More Money,” Jan. 23, 2012
Endowments Up At Michigan Colleges and Universities
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A recent study by the National
Association of College and University Business Officers has found that college
and university endowments around Michigan saw strong growth in the previous
fiscal year, according to MLive.com.
“The main factor is that the financial markets in general
for that 12 month period had very strong returns,” Brian Copeland, associate
vice president for business and finance at GVSU, told M-Live.com.
Central Michigan University saw the largest percentage
increase at 27.9 percent. MLive.com reports that the University of Michigan, at
$7.8 billion, has the largest overall endowment in the state.
According to MLive.com, schools use their endowments to
offer scholarships, endow faculty positions, and fund various student programs.
“Without endowments you rely more heavily on tuition, room
and board for expenses,” Tom Bylsma, Hope College’s vice president for business
and CFO told MLive.com. “We’re trying to make higher education as affordable as
possible. Endowments help.”
SOURCE:
MLive.com, “Growing
investments: Endowments on the rise at West Michigan colleges and universities,”
Feb. 21, 2012
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, “Michigan
public universities have $4.2 billion in unrestricted assets,” Jan. 18,
2012
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report, an online
newspaper published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Contact Managing Editor Kyle Jackson at mailto:med@educationreport.org
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