Contents of this issue:
- Holland teachers, district agree on new contract
- Study: Independent school students outperform public students
- Byron to save $1 million with insurance change
- Competitive contracting getting more popular
- DPS spending $500,000 to lure students back
HOLLAND TEACHERS, DISTRICT AGREE ON NEW CONTRACT
HOLLAND, Mich. — Teachers in the Holland Public Schools have
agreed to pay a portion of their premiums and higher prescription
co-pays in exchange for keeping union-backed health insurance,
according to The Holland Sentinel.
The school board and teachers ratified the new three-year
contract in separate meetings Monday night. The deal is
retroactive to August 2005, when the previous contract expired,
The Sentinel reported.
Teachers agreed to pay $40 a month toward premiums and will
return to health insurance offered through the Michigan Education
Special Services Association, according to The Sentinel. MESSA, a
third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education
Association union, acts as a middleman to repackage health
insurance for school districts.
Teachers will see their monthly contribution increase to $60 in
July 2007, and will now pay twice as much for prescription co-pays, according to The Sentinel. As previously reported in
Michigan Education Digest, teachers were not paying anything out-of-pocket for health insurance under a previous contract
implemented by the school board that allowed the district to buy
non-union health insurance directly from an insurer.
SOURCES:
The Holland Sentinel, "Union, board OK deal," Aug. 8, 2006
http://hollandsentinel.com/stories/080806/local_20060808002.shtml
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland declares second impasse,
teachers get free insurance," Jan. 17, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7551
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland teachers threaten illegal
strike," May 2, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7696
Michigan Education Report, "School districts wrestle with high
health care costs," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7611
STUDY: INDEPENDENT SCHOOL STUDENTS OUTPERFORM PUBLIC STUDENTS
DETROIT — Students at independent schools outperformed their
public school counterparts in 11 of 12 instances, according to a
study released recently by Harvard University, the Detroit Free
Press reported.
The study, conducted by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government,
used the data from a July U.S. Department of Education study that
originally suggested public school students perform as well as
students in private schools, according to the Free Press.
Harvard's study, however, used what its authors called "an
improved methodology," comparing reading and math scores of
fourth- and eighth-graders while factoring out variables like
race or income. Authors Paul Peterson and Elena Llaudet said they
"identified a consistent, statistically significant private
school advantage," the Free Press reported.
"This new study does a good job of showing the defects of the
U.S. Department of Education study," Jay Greene, an education
professor at the University of Arkansas, told The New York Sun.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Students do better in private schools,
researchers find," Aug. 3, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060803/NEWS07/608030426/1009
The New York Sun, "Report ranking public school students above
private school students said 'flawed,'" Aug. 2, 2006
http://www.nysun.com/article/37192
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The School Choice Movement's
Greatest Failure," Aug. 7, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7859
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private School Costs vs.
Public School Costs," Nov. 13, 1997
http://www.mackinac.org/1118
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Vouchers or Tuition Tax
Credits: Which is the Better Choice for School Choice?"
July 27, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6710
BYRON TO SAVE $1 MILLION WITH INSURANCE CHANGE
BYRON, Mich. — Teachers and support staff in the Byron Center
schools have agreed to health insurance changes that will save
the district about $1 million over four years, according to The
Grand Rapids Press.
The board of education and the unions representing the employees
unanimously approved the contract, which adds two years to a
current deal that would have expired June 20, 2008, The Press
reported. The district expects to save $250,000 per year for each
of the next four years because employees agreed to pay a bigger
share of their prescription drug costs. Co-payments will double
to $10 for generic drugs and $20 for others, according to The
Press.
Support personnel and teachers will get raises of 2.5 percent and
2 percent, respectively, each year, The Press reported. Teachers
also can receive a 1 percent raise if the district achieves
certain goals, including an enrollment increase of 100 or more
students and a grade of "A" on the state report card for five of
the district's six buildings.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Teacher, support staff deal approved,"
Aug. 3, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1154616739216680.xml&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Grand Rapids administrators could get
incentive-based raises," July 19, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7817
Michigan Education Digest, "Grand Rapids teachers agree to
incentive-based pay," June 27, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7798
COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING GETTING MORE POPULAR
DETROIT — Public school districts across Michigan are
increasingly turning to competitive contracting for non-instructional services as a way to save money, according to the
Detroit Free Press.
More than one-third of Michigan's 552 districts contract for
custodial, food or busing services. Garden City schools voted in
July to contract for custodial and food service, the Free Press
reported. The district estimates it will save up to $2.3 million
over the next three years.
"We had to look for some options that would reduce our costs
considerably," Superintendent Richard Witkowski told the Free
Press.
Those opposed to the plan are trying to recall five Garden City
board members, according to the Free Press. In the St. Clair
Shores Lakeview schools four board members survived a recall
effort after voting for a custodial contract that saved the
district about $400,000, the Free Press reported.
"School boards are stuck between a rock and a hard spot on this,"
Tom White, executive director of the Michigan School Business
Officials, told the Free Press. "They're looking for ways they can
save money so they can continue to keep the same number of people
in the classroom."
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Schools embrace outsourcing," July 30, 2006
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060730/NEWS06/607300644
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Schools continue to
privatize," July 26, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7827
Michigan Education Digest, "Hartland schools to save $5 million
with competitive contract," May 16, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7704
DPS SPENDING $500,000 TO LURE STUDENTS BACK
DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools will spend $500,000 in an effort
to stop an outflow of students, according to The Detroit News.
The public relations campaign will focus on the theme of "Come
Home to DPS" and try to attract Detroit families who have chosen
to enroll their children in charter public schools, independent
schools or in other districts, The News reported.
Some 11,500 students left DPS last year, and the district
estimates another drop in enrollment of 9,000 students for the
coming school year, The News reported.
Felisa Ware, whose four children attend charter public schools in
Detroit, said the ads will not be enough to change her mind.
"You cannot do a media blitz when you have a myriad of
(unresolved) issues," she told The News. "Not to bash DPS, but my
position is to advocate for my kids."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Schools push to win pupils," July 31, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/SCHOOLS/607310348/1026
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
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
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=wwwMED