Contents of this issue:
100,000 MEA members near deadline to save $200 each
State promises MEAP scores will be returned on time
New York union chief proposes teacher incentive pay
Madison Heights superintendent may have questionable doctorate
Colorado governor approves college vouchers
Federal education department to decide on state accountability
revisions
100,000 MEA MEMBERS NEAR DEADLINE TO SAVE $200 EACH
Midland, Mich. — More than 100,000 Michigan teachers and public
school personnel are about to take home slightly smaller
paychecks for the next two decades unless they opt out of a new
union fund drive by June 1.
The Michigan Education Association will begin a 20-year program
of deducting an additional ten dollars per year from each of its
members' paychecks to raise an estimated $1.1 million annually.
A flyer promoting "all inclusive membership" says the money would
bolster MEA's political clout by automatically adding members to
the union's retiree organization.
To opt out of paying the extra fees, MEA members must "write an
individual letter" to their local membership chair by the June 1
deadline, according to a union memo. Members who take no action
will see their paychecks deducted automatically.
MEA member and special education teacher Linda Taylor objected to
the new fees. She said, "The union already takes too much of our
money then spends it on projects and political campaigns that a
large percentage of the membership do not even support."
Last year the union raised members' compulsory dues by the
maximum amount allowed by its bylaws.
SOURCES:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "100,000 Public School
Employees Near Deadline to Save $200 Each," May 11, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6629
Michigan Education Association memo, April 30, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/media/images/2004/meamember.pdf
Michigan Education Association flyer, "All Inclusive Membership,"
April 30, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/media/images/2004/meawhyjoin.pdf
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "MEA Teachers Face Maximum
Dues Hike to Ease $10 Million Union Shortfall," March 12, 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5181
STATE PROMISES MEAP SCORES WILL BE RETURNED ON TIME
LANSING, Mich. — The state Department of Education will release
this year's Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test
scores on time following three years of delays and other problems
with the test scores.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm moved administration of the MEAP test from
the Treasury Department back to the Department of Education in
2003. The last three years of test administration has seen
delays, missing tests and allegations of cheating.
The Department of Education in October hired a test company
executive to oversee the MEAP program and improve its execution,
including eliminating delays in scoring the test.
SOURCES:
Booth Newspapers, "MEAP scores will be on time, state vows,"
May 6, 2004
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-4/
1083795001269270.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Granholm Should Move MEAP
Test Administration Back to Education Department," Nov. 20, 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4861
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure
Up?" December 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4382
NEW YORK UNION CHIEF PROPOSES TEACHER INCENTIVE PAY
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The chief of the New York City teachers' union
proposed a pay increase to teachers willing to teach in the
city's lowest-performing schools.
The proposal suggests a 15 percent increase for teachers willing
to relocate to the 200 lowest-performing schools in the city,
funded by a new court-ordered $1.5 billion increase in state
funding.
After the announcement, Chancellor of New York City schools Joel
Klein did not agree to the proposal, but said, "I think there
were some interesting ideas in there. I look forward to talking
to her about them." Klein told the New York Times that Mayor
Bloomberg has included an incentive pay plan in his proposal for
the new state funding.
SOURCES:
New York Times, "A Proposal for Incentive Pay at Low-Performing
Schools," May 9, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/education/09teach.html
Michigan Education Report, "Incentives for Teacher Performance in
Government Schools: An Idea Whose Time Has Come," Spring 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4373
Michigan Education Report, "Increase teachers' pay the right
way," Early Fall 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/3084
MADISON HEIGHTS SUPERINTENDENT MAY HAVE QUESTIONABLE DOCTORATE
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. — An editorial in the Detroit News
questioned the superintendent of the Madison Heights public
school district for failing to produce proof of his doctorate to
the local board of education, saying it could have been purchased
at a "diploma mill."
Steve I. Johnson, who earns $250,000 per year as Superintendent,
claims he earned his doctorate in educational philosophy in 1996
from LaSalle University in Philadelphia. But that university says
they only offer a master's degree in education. "Perhaps Johnson
earned his sheepskin from the now-defunct distance-learning
LaSalle University in Mandeville, La. The FBI shut down that
school eight years ago and charged the president with fraud,"
wrote the News.
Though Johnson was hired based on his master's credentials, the
News suggests that having a false advanced degree belies the
integrity of the school district and sets a poor example for
staff and students. "If he's claiming a degree he doesn't have,
what is he teaching those children about honesty, integrity and
hard work?"
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Madison Heights School Chief Should Show His
Diploma," May 6, 2004
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0405/08/a12-144004.htm
USA Today, "States probe teachers' uses of bogus advanced
degrees," May 4, 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2004-05-04-bogus-degrees_x.htm
COLORADO GOVERNOR APPROVES COLLEGE VOUCHERS
DENVER, Colo. — Colorado Gov. Bill Owens yesterday signed into
law the nation's first college voucher program, which provides
state-funded tuition vouchers to students in the state.
The law allows qualified students to receive up to $2,400 for
attending a state university or $1,200 while attending a private
institution. "Quality education isn't about institutions, it's
about the future of our students," Owens said. "It's a new day
for higher education funding in America, and I'm proud to say
that it's dawning in Colorado."
Opponents of the program say the portion that allows state money
to be used at private institutions could be challenged in court
and will require cuts in other state services.
Michigan's popular college tuition tax-credit program has
operated for years with no such court challenges.
SOURCES:
CNN, "Nation's first college voucher program OK'd," May 10, 2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/05/10/college.vouchers/index.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Education Reform, School
Choice, and Tax Credits," April 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4191
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Friedman Says Vouchers and
Tax Credits Useful Route to Greater School Choice," March 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4117
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education," January 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3236
FEDERAL ED DEPARTMENT TO DECIDE ON STATE ACCOUNTABILITY REVISIONS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly all 50 states plan to make changes in
their accountability plans which were originally approved just
last year under the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
Forty states plan to make changes for reasons ranging from new
flexibility in the interpretation of the federal law to
implementing systems other states have succeeded with. "Our goal
is to wring every ounce of flexibility out of the law, but not to
change the law," said Raymond J. Simon, assistant secretary for
elementary and secondary education. "That's where we draw the
line."
The Department of Education requested that all proposed changes
be submitted to Washington before April 1. If approved, a state
must incorporate the approved changes and have the department
sign off on it before it can be implemented. "We're proud of the
states for taking another look at their plans," said Simon. "I
think it's a positive sign that states and districts are trying
to make this work."
SOURCES:
Education Week, "States Seek Federal OK For Revisions,"
May 5, 2004
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=34Account.h23
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
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.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to:
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx.