Contents of this issue:
DPS administrators to get raises
NEA gives millions to special interest groups
New Detroit Board of Education holds first meeting
Dearborn schools could lose one day's funding
Michigan teacher training gets poor marks
Livonia parents fight school closings
DPS ADMINISTRATORS TO GET RAISES
DETROIT, Mich. — Detroit Public Schools administrators will
receive pay raises next month, even as teachers work the first of
five days without pay, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Principals will get 10.6 percent pay increases, or about $10,250,
while assistant principals will be paid 4.7 percent more, or
about $3,675, the Free Press reported. The pay hikes come after
the district performed an "internal pay equity analysis," the
newspaper said. Half of the administrators will get raises
starting in February, while the other half must wait until next
year's budget is approved in June.
The district's more than 7,000 teachers have not had a pay raise
in three years, and will work five days without pay during the
second semester, the Free Press reported. That agreement was part
of a one-year contract approved last August.
"They told us they had to have these cost-saving cuts for the
district to survive," teachers union President Janna Garrison
told the Free Press. "I think we will certainly protest and
insist that the five days not be taken."
Deborah Williams, chief human resources officer for DPS, told the
Free Press that administrators took a 10 percent salary cut this
year and that they also pay more toward benefits. The average
Detroit teacher makes $63,900, the Free Press said, compared to
$77,600 for an assistant principal and $96,500 for a principal.
"One of our goals it is to have top-quality leadership," Williams
told the Free Press. "We were having difficulty recruiting and
retaining the highly qualified people we need in those jobs."
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Administrators to get raises," Jan. 5, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS01/601050510/1003/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit school officials investigate
principal salary padding," July 16, 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4494
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit principals protest 12-month
work year," July 2, 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4460
NEA GIVES MILLIONS TO SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation's largest teachers union used
members' dues to give more than $65 million last year to groups
such as Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, The National Women's Law
Center and the Fund to Protect Social Security, according to an
editorial in The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal also said Reg Weaver, president of the National
Education Association, makes $439,000 a year, while the national
average salary for teachers is about $48,000. The union has a
payroll of $58 million for about 600 employees, with more than
half of them making more than $100,000 annually.
"The NEA is spending the mandatory dues paid by members who are
told their money will be used to gain better wages, benefits and
working conditions," the editorial stated.
The numbers come from reports unions must now file with the
Department of Labor, The Journal said. The NEA took in $341
million last year, including $295 million in member dues.
"What wasn't clear before is how much of a part the teachers
unions play in the wider liberal movement and the Democratic
Party," Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency told
The Journal. "They're like some philanthropic organization that
passes out grant money to interest groups."
SOURCE:
The Wall Street Journal, "Teachers' Pets," Jan. 3, 2006
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007761
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "NEA national convention exhibits
political overtones," July 6, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6683
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Voluntary Unionism Puts
Interests of Students and Teachers First," February 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3316
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Union Political Involvement,"
December 2001
http://www.mackinac.org/3979
NEW DETROIT BOARD OF EDUCATION HOLDS FIRST MEETING
DETROIT, Mich. — A publicly elected Detroit Board of Education
met last week for the first time in six years, according to The
Detroit News.
About 1,000 people, some of whom booed, were at Cass Technical
High School Tuesday to greet the 11-member board, The News said.
Detroit Public Schools had been run by an appointed board since a
state takeover in 1999. The new board argued for 20 minutes about
whether or not it could have two vice president positions.
"It's just like the new Iraq," parent Timothy Gary told The News.
"This is not bickering," board member Jonathan Kinloch said. "This is us participating in the democratic process."
The board met for about four hours, passing a resolution opposing
a ballot measure that would ban affirmative action in Michigan,
The News reported. The board has several more issues to resolve,
including a budget deficit, how to stop an enrollment decline and
a proposal from Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans for his office
to provide school security.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Board starts with sparks," Jan. 4, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060104/SCHOOLS/601040423/1026
The Detroit News, "School board ready for heat," Jan. 3, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060103/SCHOOLS/601030339/1026/SCHOOLS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Private K-12 scholarships: a viable
alternative for Detroit's school children," Dec. 15, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7485
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit Public Schools enrollment
drops again," Nov. 29, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7448
Michigan Education Report, "Six years later: Takeover of Detroit
Schools shows few intended results," Dec. 15, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7476
Michigan Education Report, "DPS' credit rating falls after $259
million tax error," Dec. 15, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7467
DEARBORN SCHOOLS COULD LOSE ONE DAY'S FUNDING
DEARBORN, Mich. — A mix-up regarding the start date of a Muslim
celebration could cost Dearborn Public Schools $100,000 in state
funding, according to the Detroit Free Press.
About one-third of the district's 17,000 students are Muslim, and
most are expected to stay home today, the first of three days
marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the Free Press
reported. If attendance on any one school day dips below 75
percent, the state reduces the per-pupil funding by a prorated
portion. The exact amount lost will not be known until official
attendance figures are reported.
The district had scheduled Wednesday through Friday off, but
miscalculated the start date by one day, the Free Press reported.
The start of the festival is determined by the appearance of the
new moon over Mecca, rather than a date-certain.
Dearborn could cut the lost funding from its budget, or hold
school on a teacher training day later this year, when students
had been scheduled to be off.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Holy day mix-up may cost Dearborn schools,"
Jan. 7, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060107/NEWS05/601070307/1007/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Per-pupil School Funding
Guarantee," May 1, 1993
http://www.mackinac.org/5785
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Improving Education for
Michigan Children, No. 42: Give schools 'real-time' funding for
their per-pupil portion of state aid," May 6, 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4220
MICHIGAN TEACHER TRAINING GETS POOR MARKS
LANSING, Mich. — For the fourth consecutive year Michigan earned
a near-failing grade when it comes to efforts for improving
teacher quality, according to The Detroit News.
Michigan again received a D+ in teacher training in the Quality
Counts 2006 study, published in last week's Education Week
magazine. The state received a B for academic standards and
accountability, but Cs or lower for equitable distribution of
education resources and school quality, The Detroit News
reported. Michigan's overall grade was a C, according to The
Saginaw News. The national average was a C+.
Michigan scored 65 out of a possible 100 points and was third
lowest in categories pertaining to teacher education and
qualifications, teacher assessment and accountability for teacher
quality, The Detroit News reported.
A Detroit News editorial said this issue is alarming in light of
tougher high school graduation requirements the State Board of
Education proposed last month.
"That curriculum is needed, but it will only work if qualified
teachers are in front of the classrooms," the editorial said.
SOURCES:
The Saginaw News, "Teacher training falls short: study,"
Jan. 4, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1136388002237660.xml?sanews?NECN&coll=9
The Detroit News, "Poor teacher training threatens new
curriculum," Jan. 5, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/OPINION01/601050322/1008
The Detroit News, "Mich. gets D+ for its teacher quality effort,"
Jan. 5, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/SCHOOLS/601050372/1026
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Michigan expects to meet NCLB teacher
requirements," Nov. 15, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7430
Michigan Education Report, "Back to the future: College looks to
the past to train tomorrow's teachers," Sept. 13, 2000
http://www.educationreport.org/3079
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Frivolous, Trendy Teacher
Training in Michigan," March 28, 2003
http://www.mackinac.org/5196
Michigan Education Report, "Michigan lagging in teacher quality
says federal agency," Sept. 8, 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4603
LIVONIA PARENTS FIGHT SCHOOL CLOSINGS
LIVONIA, Mich. — Parents here have hired an attorney as they
fight a plan to close schools and consolidate grades, according
to both the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.
School board members last month approved a plan that would close
seven elementary school buildings and separate the remaining
schools into K-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12 grades, the Free Press
reported. About 1,000 parents, calling themselves "Citizens for
Livonia's Future," oppose the plan, and plan to file recall
petitions against five of the seven school board members, the
newspapers reported. The group also hired Mayer Morganroth, who
has represented Jack Kevorkian and Geoffrey Feiger.
District officials said the plan would cut costs by $2 million in
the first year, the Free Press reported. Morganroth said "the
program is not cost-effective," and he plans to file an
injunction in Wayne County Circuit Court to stop the plan from
taking effect, The News reported.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Livonia parents fight school cuts,"
Jan. 5, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/SCHOOLS/601050355/1026
Detroit Free Press, "Parents in Livonia hire lawyer to fight
schools," Jan. 5, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS02/601050487/1004/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Livonia to close seven schools," Dec.
13, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7464
Michigan Education Digest, "Metro Detroit schools face budget
cuts," Jan. 29, 2002
http://www.educationreport.org/4188
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
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a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 148,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Contact Managing Editor Ted O'Neil at
mailto:med@educationreport.org
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