Contents of this issue:
Muskegon support staff dumps MESSA, saves jobs
Grand Rapids teachers agree to incentive-based pay
List of student names causes concern in Ironwood
Detroit teachers union wants more money
Study: Detroit graduation rate worst in nation
Muskegon charter school expands
Editor's Note: Next MED will be distributed Wednesday, July 5
MUSKEGON SUPPORT STAFF DUMPS MESSA, SAVES JOBS
MUSKEGON, Mich. — The 100-member support staff in Muskegon Public
Schools voted to get rid of union-affiliated insurance and save
the jobs of 10 co-workers, according to The Muskegon Chronicle.
The Non-Instructional Employees Association, which covers bus
drivers, janitors and food service employees, signed a three-year
contract that does not include insurance through the Michigan
Education Special Services Association, The Chronicle reported.
MESSA is a third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan
Education Association union.
The employees instead will be covered by Priority Health, which
will save the district about $370,000, according to The
Chronicle.
School officials earlier had said jobs would have to be cut if
the contract did not include reduced costs.
"We were given a total we needed to come up with," NIEA President
Sherri Dawson told The Chronicle. "We wanted to stay with MESSA,
but the numbers couldn't be reached."
Dawson also told The Chronicle that the employees felt "pressure"
to stay with MESSA, even though the NIEA is not part of the MEA
union.
The Chronicle quoted a union negotiator who said the Priority
Health plan is "pretty much the same package" as the more costly
MESSA, although co-pay for prescriptions is higher. Employees
will not, however, have to pay anything toward premiums with
Priority Health.
Dawson told The Chronicle she was glad the district and union
were able to negotiate and come to a "sensible, logical
conclusion."
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Health care deal keeps Muskegon schools
from privatizing," June 21, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1150902912208850.xml&coll=8
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holton staffers drop MESSA,"
May 2, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7696
Michigan Education Digest, "Pinckney teachers voluntarily abandon
MESSA," Feb. 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7585
Michigan Education Digest,"Hartland teachers willing to
sacrifice jobs for insurance," April 18, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7681
GRAND RAPIDS TEACHERS AGREE TO INCENTIVE-BASED PAY
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public Schools will pay
teachers more money if they can keep more students in the
district, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
A recently approved one-year contract will give teachers a 1.25
percent raise, but that could climb to 1.75 percent if fewer
students leave the district than expected, The Press reported.
The district is expecting an enrollment drop of 800 students for
the 2006-2007 school year. A sliding scale offers the incentive-based pay raise if more parents choose to keep their children
enrolled in the district.
"We're all in this together," Alex Chess, president of the Grand
Rapids teachers union, told The Press.
As highlighted in Michigan Education Digest last month, teachers
in Otsego agreed to a similar incentive plan, whereby they can
receive 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent raises based on enrollment decline or
growth.
Chess told The Press it was the union that suggested the
incentive during contract negotiations. The contract also gives
the district more authority in deciding where teachers are
assigned, particularly in cases of specialized training.
"We gave the administration some leeway, but seniority will still
play a role," Chess told The Press.
Superintendent Bert Bleke said many teachers wanted a change in
the assignment system after they were bumped from jobs by other
teachers with more seniority, according to The Press.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "If students stay, GR teachers get
bonuses," June 20, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-30/115080871187300.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Otsego teachers will pay more for
expensive MESSA insurance," May 9, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7701
Michigan Education Digest, "Substitute teachers privatized in
Grand Rapids," May 9, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7701
LIST OF STUDENT NAMES CAUSES CONCERN IN IRONWOOD
IRONWOOD, Mich. — Parents and school officials are expressing
concern about a list of student names and newspaper clippings
seen in an area used as a teachers lounge at Wright High School
in Ironwood, according to the Ironwood Daily Globe.
Michael Key, a local businessman, said at an Ironwood school
board meeting recently that during the last week of school,
students gave him a CD with photos on it, the Daily Globe
reported. Key displayed the photos at the meeting, which showed a
wall posted with newspaper clippings about students who wore T-shirts in a protest against union bargaining methods. The
comments made by certain students were highlighted in yellow.
"The personal attacks have got to stop," Key said, according to
the Daily Globe. "People have got to be aware that this is going
on."
The Daily Globe also reported that parent Lowell Vomhof wrote to
Principal Tim Kolesar about the issue.
"I find it unbelievable that adults at this school would engage
in such behavior toward students," Vomhof's letter said,
according to the Daily Globe.
Kolesar told the Daily Globe he conducted an investigation, and
that when he went to the room, everything had been removed.
"I am not aware of any evidence of mistreatment," Kolesar told
the Daily Globe. "These are good kids. If I find out anyone was
mistreated, I'll deal with it."
Key said he felt the school did not take enough action.
"It cannot go unchecked," Key said, according to the Daily Globe.
"We cannot let this incivility go unchecked, where you can go
after anybody who disagrees with you. That incivility is going to
destroy the community."
SOURCE:
Ironwood Daily Globe, "Citizen calls for civility in school
talks," June 21, 2006
http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0621iasd.htm
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Irony in Ironwood,"
May 23, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7654
Michigan Education Digest, "MESSA at heart of Ironwood deadlock,"
Feb. 28, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7606
DETROIT TEACHERS UNION WANTS MORE MONEY
DETROIT — The Detroit Federation of Teachers is requesting a 15.6
percent raise for its top-tier teachers, according to The Detroit
News.
Teachers who have a master's degree and have been employed by the
district at least nine years are considered top-tier, The News
reported. Heated contract talks last summer nearly led to a
strike by teachers, according to The News. Teacher strikes are
illegal under Michigan law.
School board member Jonathan Kinloch told The News he hopes both
sides will be aware of "the effect of the terms on the district's
bottom line as well as what's in the best interest for providing
a quality education for the children of Detroit."
Top salary for Detroit teachers is about $70,000, compared to
$76,000 in suburban Detroit districts, according to a DFT source
quoted by The News. DPS enrollment is dropping by about 10,000
students a year, and the district had to borrow $200 million last
year to avoid bankruptcy, according to The News.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Top Detroit teachers want raise,"
June 14, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606140353
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS limits 'excessive' retreat
spending," May 23, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7710
Michigan Education Digest, "Teacher 'sick-out' forces Detroit
schools to close," March 28, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7656
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit school district reaches
short-term agreement," Aug. 30, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7327
STUDY: DETROIT GRADUATION RATE WORST IN NATION
DETROIT — A recent study found that Detroit Public Schools has
the worst graduation rate of the country's 50 largest districts,
according to The Detroit News.
Editorial Projects in Education, of Maryland, said DPS graduated
21.7 percent of the students who made up the class of 2003. DPS
says the figure that year was actually 44.5 percent, and is now
up to 68 percent, The News reported.
EPE determined the national graduation rate is 69.6 percent, and
said Michigan's 66.4 percent ranks it 34th nationally. State
officials dispute that, saying 89 percent of Michigan high school
students graduate, according to The News. The study is available
at
www.edweek.org/dc06.
District officials say the study did not take into account the
thousands of students who have left DPS over the past several
years, The News reported. In an accompanying editorial, The News
said no matter which numbers are correct, "the district has
failed." The News also pointed out that DPS spends $1.4 billion
a year. "And yet the education establishment will not admit
defeat and allow parents more publicly funded choices."
The News said the "most humane thing" to do is lift the cap on
charter schools in Detroit.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Officials dispute claims that Detroit only
graduates 1 in 5," June 21, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606210324
The Detroit News, "Another failing grade for Detroit schools,"
June 22, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060622/OPINION01/606220323/1008
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS students leave rather than
relocate," June 6, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7766
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit Public Schools enrollment
drops again," Nov. 29, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7448
MUSKEGON CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANDS
MUSKEGON, Mich. — Muskegon Technical Academy is expanding its
high school to accommodate a growing enrollment, according to The
Muskegon Chronicle.
MTA is building a 4,500-square-foot addition, which will cost
between $300,000 and $350,000. A middle/high school wing was
added in 2003 for $380,000, The Chronicle reported.
"It's been crowded, and we've been sitting on ourselves," MTA
Superintendent Barbara Stellard told The Chronicle. "The demand
(to serve more students) is there and we can't put it off any
longer."
MTA, the only charter school in Muskegon County that offers a
high school, opened in 2001 with 168 students. Current enrollment
is about 250, The Chronicle reported.
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Charter school expands again to handle
growth," June 15, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-9/115038636329930.xml?muchronicle?NEM&coll=8
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Growing charter school expects more
students at new location," June 13, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7782
Michigan Education Report, "Charter schools continue to see
enrollment growth," March 7, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7621
Michigan Education Digest, "Metro Detroit charter school
growing," June 6, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7766
EDITOR'S NOTE: NEXT MED WILL BE DISTRIBUTED WEDNESDAY, JULY 5
MIDLAND, Mich. — The next issue of
Michigan Education Digest will
be distributed Wednesday, July 5, due to the Fourth of July
holiday. We encourage everyone to celebrate Independence Day with
passion and verve, remembering it as the signatory day of a
document embodying the most sublime of political ideals, an apogee
in humanity's quest for liberty of thought and action.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 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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