Contents of this issue:
MEA loses lawsuit against think tank
State House passes intermediate district reform bill
Failing schools to receive federal funds
COMMENTARY: "No Child Left Behind" not an unfunded mandate
Fennville district to outsource substitute teachers
Urban districts see rise in test scores
Some districts favor city buses over school buses and save
MEA LOSES LAWSUIT AGAINST THINK TANK
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Court of Appeals last Friday threw
out a lawsuit brought by the Michigan Education Association
(MEA) against the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research
institute that quoted the union's president in a fundraising
letter.
A three-judge panel unanimously concluded that the Mackinac
Center's letter fell "squarely within the protection of the
First Amendment," that there was no evidence the letter
attempted to mislead its readers into believing the MEA
president endorsed the Center's overall mission. The court said
a lower court erred by not throwing out the suit.
In Sept. 2001, MEA President Luigi Battaglieri convened a news
conference and told reporters, ". . . quite frankly, I admire
what they [the Mackinac Center] have done over the last couple
of years entering into the field as they have and being pretty
much the sole provider of research to the community, to the
public, to our members, to legislators . . . ."
The Mackinac Center drew from that quote in a letter to its
supporters and potential supporters, pointing out that even an
individual who usually disagrees with the Center recognized its
effectiveness.
MEA spokeswoman Margaret Trimer-Hartley said Friday that an
appeal is unlikely, but union officials maintain the Center
improperly used Battaglieri's name for commercial purposes. In
legal proceedings, however, Battaglieri acknowledged that his
union had used without permission the names of famous golfers
"Woods," "Nicklaus," and "Palmer" to promote a union golf
tournament fundraiser.
"This is a great victory for free speech," said Joseph Lehman,
Mackinac Center executive vice president. "We hope the union
will stop wasting teachers' dues on frivolous lawsuits that
don't even make it to trial."
"Ironically," Lehman said, "the quote the MEA tried to suppress
received vastly greater attention after the union's lawsuit
brought nationwide publicity."
The Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Justice provided legal
representation to the Mackinac Center for free. The Mackinac
Center is the publisher of
Michigan Education Digest.
SOURCES:
Opinion issued by State of Michigan Court of Appeals,
March 18, 2004, a PDF file.
http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/documents/OPINIONS/FINAL/COA/
20040318_C245862_57_245862.OPN.PDF
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Victory for Free Speech:
Michigan Appeals Court Sides With Think Tank, Rejects Teachers'
Union's Lawsuit," March 19, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6464
Detroit Free Press, "Court rejects suit about endorsing a rival,"
Mar. 22, 2004
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/mack22_20040322.htm
Detroit News, "MEA loses lawsuit," Mar. 19, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0403/19/schools-97472.htm
Booth Newspapers, "Court upholds think tanks' right to quote
teacher union head in fundraising letter," Mar. 20,2004
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-4/
1079734201239910.xml
Midland Daily News, "Mackinac Center wins, teacher union loses,"
Mar. 20, 2004 (free registration required)
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/
news.cfm?newsid=11151009&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
STATE HOUSE PASSES INTERMEDIATE DISTRICT REFORM BILL
LANSING, Mich. — The state House last week overwhelmingly passed
a bill that would allow residents to recall intermediate school
district (ISD) board members for failing to meet expectations.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, steps towards
a remedy for several instances of financial mismanagement and
abuse in intermediate districts, most notably the Oakland
Intermediate School District.
In its original form, the bill would have required all ISD board
members to be selected by general election rather than by local
school board officials. However, opposition to that clause forced
sponsors to alter the wording of the bill to allow ISDs to keep
their current choice between general election and appointment.
Rep. Ken Bradstreet, R-Gaylord, supported the original wording
requiring election of all ISD officials and criticized those
supporting the current system. "I don't think it's a case of
overreacting," he told the Detroit News. "Never before have I
seen a group so intent on preserving the status quo."
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "House OKs school reform bill," Mar. 19, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0403/19/d07d-96779.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Eliminate Intermediate School
Districts," August 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5678
Michigan Education Report, "What Are Intermediate School
Districts?" Winter 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/2709
Michigan Education Report, "Group files complaints against
districts," Spring 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/2882
FAILING SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS
LANSING, Mich. — Millions of dollars in federal funds guaranteed
to failing schools under the "No Child Left Behind" Act will be
dispersed by the Michigan Department of Education to help
overhaul the schools' plans for educating students.
Each of the 109 failing schools will receive $45,000 from the
federal Department of Education to work on a restructuring plan
that could range from staff reorganization to takeover by the
state or by a private company. If test scores do not improve by
next year, schools must implement the plan.
State Superintendent Tom Watkins said he might request additional
time from the federal government for restructuring before
requiring schools to undergo severe changes.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Federal money helps 109 failing Michigan schools,"
Mar. 19, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0403/19/d01-96960.htm
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act'," Winter 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4082
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Fall 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4846
COMMENTARY: "NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" NOT AN UNFUNDED MANDATE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A commentary printed last week in Education
Week argues that the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) reform act is
not an unfunded mandate as described by critics, but is actually
just a reorganization of current levels of state and federal
funding.
Authors Paul E. Peterson and Martin R. West, both of Harvard
University, wrote that extra funding to implement NCLB reforms is
unnecessary, as the reforms mandated by the law are relatively
inexpensive. "The costs of setting standards, testing students,
and releasing results to the general public are trivial, compared
to the cost of public schooling more generally."
The authors point to a study by Harvard University economist
Caroline Hoxby examining the cost of school accountability
systems in 25 states. The study found that such systems cost
anywhere from $2 to $34 per student, while the average total
spent per pupil is nearly $10,000. "In short," wrote Peterson and
West, "the true costs of the No Child Left Behind Act are no more
than 0.2 percent of the total cost of public schooling. ... Far
from being an unfunded mandate, the No Child Left Behind Act may
be providing designer clothes at a bargain-basement price."
SOURCES:
Education Week, "The Contentious 'No Child' Law II: Money Has Not
Been Left Behind," Mar. 17, 2004 (free registration required)
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=27peterson.h23
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act'," Winter 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4082
FENNVILLE DISTRICT TO OUTSOURCE SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
FENNVILLE, Mich. — In a move to cut costs, the Fennville School
District is planning to privatize as many positions as possible,
beginning with substitute teachers.
Beginning next school year, the district will contract with
Kalamazoo-based Workforce Strategies, Inc. to provide substitute
teachers and other necessary staff to replace the current in-house system. District officials say the switch will save the
district modest amounts at first, but will reduce the amount
spent hiring substitutes drastically in the future.
By contracting out the hiring of substitutes, the district will
save on contacting and training substitutes, on retirement pay,
background checks and health care. "We don't have an exact
dollar figure on what we will save yet," district Financial
Director Delores McMullin told the Holland Sentinel. "But it will
definitely be worth doing."
SOURCES:
Holland Sentinel, "District to begin outsourcing subs,"
Mar. 22, 2004
http://hollandsentinel.com/stories/032204/loc_032204011.shtml
Michigan Privatization Report, "Substituting the Private for the
Public," February 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/2727
URBAN DISTRICTS SEE RISE IN TEST SCORES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A report released last weekend says several
large, urban school districts made noticeable improvements in
test scores over the past year, identifying several reform
tactics that work to increase student performance in those
settings.
The report by the Council of Great City Schools, which represents
60 large districts, says a sample group of students scored
several percentage points higher in math and reading. The number
of urban fourth-graders scoring at proficient levels on reading
tests rose 4.9 percent in 2003 to 47.8 percent, while on math
tests the number of proficient students rose 6.8 percent to 51
percent. Eighth-graders showed similar but smaller gains.
Some experts are reluctant, but willing to give credit to the "No
Child Left Behind" Act of 2002. "It would be difficult to give
sole credit to No Child Left Behind, but it deserves some
credit," Michael Casserly of the Council told USA Today. But
Michael Pons, spokesman for the National Education Association,
was quick to deny such credit. He said the improvement "does not
reflect an overnight change or something that's been done since a
federal law was passed."
SOURCES:
USA Today, "Test scores in large urban school districts make big
strides," Mar. 21, 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2004-03-21-scores-usat_x.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Defies Its
Demographics," Nov. 1, 2000
http://www.mackinac.org/pubs/mer/3131
SOME DISTRICTS FAVOR CITY BUSES OVER SCHOOL BUSES AND SAVE
DENVER, Colo. — The Denver Public Schools approved a plan last
week to replace busing for older students with a contract with
city buses rather than the traditional yellow school buses,
saving money and offering more choices to students in schools.
According to an analysis by the Denver school board, the move
could save the district up to $750,000 annually. With the new
system, schools will be able to offer classes through 4:15 p.m.,
offering more class choices to students and allowing some to
begin their school day as late as 9 a.m.
The district joins other large districts in its decision,
including San Diego, San Francisco and Dayton, Ohio. "The main
thing this will do is provide us with a lot more flexibility,"
Denver superintendent Jerry Wartgow told the Rocky Mountain News.
SOURCES:
Rocky Mountain News, "School buses may be phased out,"
Mar. 18, 2004
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/education/article/
0,1299,DRMN_957_2738764,00.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Contract Out School Services
Before Laying Off Teachers," Nov. 20, 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5948
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Habit 2: Take Advantage of
Cost Savings Through Outsourcing Non-Instructional Services,"
Dec. 3, 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4896
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Contact Managing Editor Neil Block at
med@educationreport.org.
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