Contents of this issue:
Education Access Grants proposed in Minnesota
Flanagan says survey shows need for state-mandated curriculum
Massachusetts looking at teacher merit pay
Data suggests 94 percent of teachers are highly qualified
State threatens action against MEAP contractor
Hesperia school board declares impasse over health insurance
Teachers union upset school district published bargaining positions
EDUCATION ACCESS GRANTS PROPOSED IN MINNESOTA
Minneapolis — The Minnesota Legislature is considering a program that
will allow for greater school choice in Minneapolis and St. Paul, while
simultaneously boosting revenues for the Minneapolis Public School
District, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis.
The program, known as Education Access Grants, would be targeted at the
Twin Cities' poorest students — those who fall at or below 250 percent
of the federal poverty level, NCPA reported. Access Grants would serve
the dual function of allowing those students the opportunity to attend
private school and creating a revenue surplus for MPSD. Ericca Maas of
the Friedman Foundation, whose organization was the source of NCPA's
report, said Access Grants would be financially advantageous to all
parties.
NCPA reported that Education Access Grants would be available to
students whose families earn less than $48,375 a year. Access Grants
would cost the state less per student than if each student continued at
public school, but for six years MPSD would still receive a large
portion of the state per-pupil aid for those who opt for private
school. Thus, reported NCPA, low-income students would get a state
grant to attend a private institution without depriving the local
public school district of funding that would normally accompany the
student. According to NCPA, the stability measures built into the
Access Grant program would result in up to $14.2 million in additional
revenue.
SOURCE:
National Center for Policy Analysis, "Re-educating Minnesota,"
Oct. 4, 2005
http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php
?article_id=2333&PHPSESSID=d47d42d36c25a5b0649150eaeb275f07
FURTHER READING:
Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, "A Fiscal Analysis of Proposed
Education Access Grants in Minneapolis," July 2005
http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/MNfiscal.pdf
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Forging Consensus," Apr. 30, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6517
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in Schooling,"
Jan. 29, 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3236
Michigan Education Report, "Private scholarships expand opportunities
for low-income families," Sept. 13, 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/3056
FLANAGAN SAYS SURVEY SHOWS NEED FOR STATE-MANDATED CURRICULUM
Lansing, Mich. — Results from a Michigan Department of Education survey
have officials calling for a state-mandated high school curriculum,
Michigan Information & Research Services reported. State Superintendent
of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan, presenting the results of the
survey at a state Board of Education meeting recently, said it proved
Michigan needs to take a closer look at how its high schools are
preparing graduates for post-secondary education and the working world.
Currently, the state allows local school districts to determine their
own core curriculum, according to MIRS. About 45 percent of all
Michigan school districts with high schools responded to the MDE
survey. The results found Michigan high schools ordinarily require
students to take four years of English, three years of math, three
years of social studies and two years of science, MIRS reported. About
40 percent do not require any art classes and 62 percent do not have a
foreign language requirement. Also, MIRS reported that half of the
schools surveyed do not require a family/consumer science course.
According to MIRS, state Board of Education President Kathleen Straus
said the survey was eye opening.
"I thought we were doing a lot better than this, and it's going to
startle a lot of other people when this information gets out to the
public," she said.
In her weekly radio address on Sept. 16, Gov. Jennifer Granholm called
for statewide curriculum standards, according to MIRS. Flanagan will
most likely make specific curriculum recommendations at the Nov. 15
Board of Education meeting, MIRS reported.
SOURCE:
Michigan Information & Research Service, "MDE Survey Shows Specific
Curriculum Lacking," Oct. 5, 2005
http://www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=343#5368
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "State Superintendent Flanagan wants
rigorous graduation standards," Sept. 20, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7358
Michigan Education Digest, "State board considers statewide graduation
requirements," Aug. 2, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7220
MASSACHUSETTS LOOKING AT TEACHER MERIT PAY
Boston — Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney proposed an education plan to
provide laptops for students, recruit new science and math teachers and
include teacher performance pay that could add bonuses of $5,000 or
more to deserving teachers' annual salaries, The New York Times
reported.
Romney called for $46 million in new spending initiatives to fund the
plan for fiscal 2006 and up to $143 million for 2007. According to The
Times, Massachusetts is part of a nationwide trend where states are
moving away from setting teachers' salaries on years of service. The
Times reported that Arizona, Florida, Iowa, New Mexico and North
Carolina currently have programs that reward teachers for classroom
performance. In addition, a ballot measure in Colorado that would raise
property taxes to allow teachers to qualify for earned benefits is
expected to pass next month. The Times also pointed out that the Bush
administration is considering a national teacher merit pay system.
There is resistance to the plan from some state lawmakers and union
leaders in Massachusetts, who criticize it as divisive and politically
motivated, according to The Times. They say it limits the number of
teachers who can earn the extra money to those teaching Advanced
Placement courses or to those in the top third in classroom
improvement.
"It's more of a political statement," state Sen. Robert R. Antonioni, a
Democrat, told The Times. "It plays to those who feel the teaching
profession is inadequate by trying to walk around the rank and file."
Romney, a Republican, countered such claims.
"I'm looking for change, and I'll spend money for change on the
potential that it'll make a difference," he told The Times. "If
something doesn't work, we'll try something else. But you can't keep
spending more money the same way and expect different results. That's
the definition of crazy."
Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, a private organization
that helped develop the plan, told The Times he knows it will be hard
for the Romney administration to advance its plan and unify key
constituencies in the face of union pressure.
"His proposals are short on substance, long on politics," Massachusetts
Teachers Association President Catherine A. Boudreau told The Times.
She called merit pay, "inequitable, divisive and ineffective."
Romney indicated the criticism would not deter him.
"It takes time. You've got to sell it. It's hard to get the public to
support everything, but this is a multiyear effort," he said, according
to The Times. "You know, I would just love it if you could just throw
out all the special interests from education."
SOURCE:
The New York Times, "Teacher Merit Pay Tied to Education Gains,"
Oct. 4, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/college/coll04merit.html
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Should teachers be paid based on merit?
YES," Aug. 18, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6747
Michigan Education Report, "Should teachers be paid based on merit?
NO," Aug. 18, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6746
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Collective Bargaining: Bringing
Education Back to the Table," Aug. 1, 1998
http://www.mackinac.org/791
DATA SUGGESTS 94 PERCENT OF TEACHERS ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED
Lansing, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Education released new data
last week that shows as many as 94 percent of teachers in the state may
be "highly qualified" under the definition in the federal No Child Left
Behind Act, The Detroit News reported.
NCLB requires that by June 2006, 100 percent of teachers in core
classes including English, math, science, foreign language, government,
economics, arts, history and geography be highly qualified, that is,
either teaching in their college major or having proved their
competency through state certification procedures. The data, released
by MDE's Center for Educational Performance and Information, shows
Michigan may be very close to reaching that goal.
The Michigan Education Association, however, doubts the number of
highly qualified teachers is as high as the state says it is. The MEA
told The News it has heard from many members who were initially told by
schools they were highly qualified, only to find out later they did not
actually fit that definition.
"It would be a dream come true if 94 percent are highly qualified at
this time," MEA spokeswoman Margaret Trimer-Hartley told The News. "We
are very nervous that we will fall short of the goal by 2006 ...
because of confusion and misinformation."
The News reported that school districts will be unable to assign
unqualified teachers to classrooms if they do not reach the highly
qualified goal by the end of this school year, and that schools can
face penalties for violating this rule. MDE Supervisor of Client
Services Frank Ciloski said such penalties could come in the form of
state control of district federal funding. But Ciloski added he
believes the state can get close to the 100 percent deadline by June,
The News reported.
The 94 percent mark is a two-percentage point increase from last year's
measure, according to The News. MEA officials have warned their members
not to rely on the word of school administrators when it comes to
determining if they are highly qualified or not, The News reported. The
union has put out its own information for its members on what it takes
to be highly qualified.
The News reported that teachers who will be primarily affected by the
NCLB standard are those who started before the state required
certification tests in 1993. Teachers have the option of taking a
certification test, going back to school or putting together a
portfolio that proves they are highly qualified if they do not
currently meet the NCLB standard.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Most teachers meet standards," Oct. 4, 2005
http://www.detnews.com/2005/2005/schools/0510/07/B01-336269.htm
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Report: Mixed progress on implementing No
Child Left Behind Act," July 21, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6708
Michigan Education Digest, "Federal standards relaxed for English
testing," Feb. 24, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6353
STATE THREATENS ACTION AGAINST MEAP CONTRACTOR
Detroit — The Michigan Department of Education is threatening to invoke
contract clauses that would penalize an Iowa company up to $10,000 a
day for mistakes the Department says the company made in providing the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests, the Detroit Free Press
reported.
According to the Free Press, with the three-week MEAP testing period
starting last week, a number of schools complained they have received
incomplete and inaccurate test materials. The MDE told the Free Press
it sent a special MEAP administrator to Iowa to work through the
problem with the state's contractor, Pearson Educational Measurement.
The company has a three-year, $48.6-million agreement with the state to
create, provide and score the tests, the Free Press reported.
At the time of the Free Press report, it was not known how many schools
had been affected. Pearson said it was working on correcting the
problem, but also released a statement accusing the state of supplying
incorrect data, missing approval deadlines and underestimating the
number of books it would need.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Contractor must fix MEAP problems, state says,"
Oct. 5, 2005
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw122219_20051005.htm
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "More students to take MEAP: Testing earlier
in school year," Sept. 6, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7344
HESPERIA SCHOOL BOARD DECLARES IMPASSE OVER HEALTH INSURANCE
Hesperia, Mich. — The Muskegon Chronicle reported last week that the
Hesperia school board declared an impasse in contract negotiations,
mainly due to conflicts over health insurance benefits, and intends to
require teachers to start paying 12 percent of their premiums. Teachers
will also be charged for last year's health insurance under the school
district's proposed remedy.
According to The Chronicle, Hesperia Education Association Director
Bill Kuiper said teachers were "surprised and upset" at what he calls a
"strong-arm tactic."
The Chronicle reported both sides had been in mediation, but the board
felt discussions over health insurance were going nowhere. The union
said there was no impasse. Legally, the school board is required to
declare an impasse before it can impose contract language, The
Chronicle said.
Hesperia teachers do not pay a share of their MESSA-Blue Cross
premiums, The Chronicle reported, but do pay $5 or $10 co-pays on
prescriptions under their current agreement. The school district plans
to begin deducting the 12 percent of health insurance premiums from
teachers' paychecks beginning Jan. 1, according to The Chronicle.
Teachers will have the option of reducing the amount deducted if they
start Oct. 28 instead of waiting until January.
Hesperia Interim Superintendent Jack Mansfield told The Chronicle the
district budget is coming up short. The district cut $1 million from
the budget this year, laid off seven teachers and other staff and has
not bought a new school bus in three years, the newspaper reported.
"We are saying we want some cost containment," Mansfield told The
Chronicle. "To expect the board to pay 100 percent of a plan they have
selected is not within the realm of possibility for the board."
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "School board orders teachers to pay some
health costs," Oct. 5, 2005
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1128523567130340.xml&coll=8
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland district concerned about possible
illegal teacher strike," Sept. 20, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7358
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland teachers prepare for strike,"
Sept. 27, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7364
TEACHERS UNION UPSET SCHOOL DISTRICT PUBLISHED BARGAINING POSITIONS
Mt. Pleasant, Mich. — The Shepherd Public School district irritated the
local teachers union when it printed and mailed a brochure detailing
the bargaining positions of both sides days before a scheduled mediated
bargaining session, the Morning Sun reported.
Shepherd Education Association President Dee Brock called the brochure
"adversarial," and said the district "intensified an already negative
atmosphere at the school," according to the Morning Sun.
The newspaper reported the brochure is eight newsprint pages and
appears to have been mass mailed to Shepherd residents, as well as
distributed to the teachers. The document outlines the teachers' plan
to ask for, among other things, higher longevity payments and a second-year pay increase of 1.95 percent. The Morning Sun reported teachers
are offering to pay $80.33 per month to keep their health plan or will
switch health insurance if the district absorbs the whole cost.
The district is offering to either institute no pay increase and
require teachers to pay $134.48 a month to keep MESSA insurance, or
offer the teachers a 2.95 percent pay raise if they agree to switch to
less expensive Blue Cross-Blue Shield coverage, the Morning Sun
reported. The brochure also highlights rising health care, retirement
and energy costs. SPS expects to face an enrollment decline this year.
According to the Morning Sun, Brock was surprised the district would
publicly release the bargaining positions in a brochure.
"The overwhelming response of the teachers is that the professional
reputation of every Shepherd teacher was dishonored by this politically
driven smear campaign, which is going to get in the way of the
settlement," she told the Morning Sun.
Shepherd teachers have been without a contract since June 2004, the
Morning Sun reported. A mediation session was scheduled for last
Monday.
SOURCE:
Morning Sun, "Brochure rankles teachers union," Sept. 30, 2005
http://www.themorningsun.com/stories/093005/loc_union001.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Collective Bargaining: Bringing
Education Back to the Table," Aug. 1, 1998
http://www.mackinac.org/791
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
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for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Contact Managing Editor Ted O'Neil at [
med@educationreport.org].
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