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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
August 15, 2006

Contents of this issue:
  • Mona Shores schools consider competitive contracting
  • Teachers accept incentives in new contracts
  • Report: Michigan plan fails to address minority students
  • Flint Promise?
  • Gwinn schools will contract custodial work, add jobs
MONA SHORES SCHOOLS CONSIDER COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING
NORTON SHORES, Mich. — Mona Shores Public Schools could seek competitive contracts for custodial and transportation services as a way to save money, according to The Muskegon Chronicle.

The district ended the 2005-2006 school year with a $1 million deficit, The Chronicle reported. One secretary and one custodian were cut, while five teaching positions were reduced by attrition.

"We're still looking at much more significant cuts next year for the 2007-08 year," Finance Director Michael Schluentz told The Chronicle.

The Chronicle reported that Mona Shores is considering competitive contracting because it saves money on "salaries, retirement expenses and union-sponsored health benefits." Locally, Reeths-Puffer, Fremont and North Muskegon all contract for janitorial work.

SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Privatization could be in school district's future," Aug. 9, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1155136643199370.xml?muchronicle?NEM&coll=8

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Competitive contracting getting more popular," Aug. 8, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7866

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

TEACHERS ACCEPT INCENTIVES IN NEW CONTRACTS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Recent contract agreements in three western Michigan school districts show teachers are willing to agree to incentive-based raises and bonuses, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

Unions in the Byron Center, Grand Rapids and Holland districts recently approved contracts that could give teachers more money if certain requirements are met, particularly student enrollment levels.

"Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising," Ronald Koeholer, assistant superintendent for the Kent Intermediate School District, told The Press. "I think the goal of an incentive like this is to establish better relationships with their customers and link that to the financial health of the district."

State funding of schools is tied to individual students, and with limited schools of choice in Michigan, parents have some options to choose which school their child attends. Higher student enrollment means more money for a district.

Byron Center teachers can get bonuses if enrollment in the district goes up by 100 or more students, The Press reported. Other criteria the district must meet deal with budgets and school performance on the state's report card.

Holland teachers can get more money if enrollment grows by 35 students, while Grand Rapids teachers and staff could see raises if the district simply doesn't lose as many students as it anticipates, The Press reported.

Margaret Trimer-Hartley, spokeswoman for the Michigan Education Association union, said the agreements should not be called incentives, but says they have more to do with districts not being able to accurately predict enrollment, according to The Press.

Charles Bullard, president of the Holland teachers union, disagrees. Teachers in his district who receive the National Board of Teaching certification will get a $5,000 stipend.

"This came from our side of the table," he told The Press. "It rewards teachers who complete this very extensive process, but it also benefits the district, which could incorporate NBT certification into its marketing plan."

SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "Incentives show shift in teacher contracts," Aug. 9, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1155135325147710.xml?grpress?NEG&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.mackinac.org/7798

REPORT: MICHIGAN PLAN FAILS TO ADDRESS MINORITY STUDENTS
LANSING, Mich. — A national education group says Michigan's plan to meet federal requirements for teacher proficiency fails to address the impact of unqualified teachers on minority students, according to Booth Newspapers.

The Education Trust looked at state plans filed with the U.S. Department of Education recently that detail how each state will meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind act that says core subjects must be taught by "highly qualified" teachers, Booth reported. Highly qualified, according to the law, applies to teachers who earned a college degree in that subject and have passed a certification test.

The Education Trust report said 40 states, including Michigan, did not take into account how minority students will be affected in the process, according to Booth.

"States really have not seized this opportunity to acknowledge inequality," Ross Weiner, policy director of The Education Trust, said in the report, according to Booth.

The federal government did not require states to address the issue of minority students impacted by unqualified or inexperienced teachers, Frank Ciloski of the Michigan Department of Education told Booth. Michigan looked at the Adequate Yearly Progress of schools to gather information for its report.

"AYP is a better measure, because AYP does not take into account the racial makeup of a building," Ciloski told Booth. "All it says is that these kids are learning what they're trying to learn."

As of last December, the state was reporting that 92 percent of all teachers were considered "highly qualified" as per NCLB requirements.

SOURCE:
Booth Newspapers, "Education group: Michigan plan for qualified teachers falls short," Aug. 13, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1155484203316370.xml&coll=7

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Does the No Child Left Behind Act help black students? Yes, test scores prove it," May 25, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7740

Michigan Education Report, "Does the No Child Left Behind Act help black students? No, it will lead to a resegregation of schools," May 25, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7741

FLINT PROMISE?
FLINT, Mich. — Community leaders in Flint are talking about developing a program similar to the "Kalamazoo Promise" aimed at increasing the number of high school students who attend college, according to The Flint Journal.

"We are just in the preliminary stages of exploring," Kathi Horton, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, told The Journal. "Feasibility is the big question. The one thing we're anxious about is raising expectations prematurely."

Announced last fall, the Kalamazoo Promise is funded by anonymous donors and will provide up to 100 percent of tuition costs for Kalamazoo Public Schools students who meet certain residency requirements, The Journal reported.

"We're not looking to replicate Kalamazoo," Horton told The Journal. "We want to design something that makes sense for our community."

The group, comprised of representatives from local colleges and philanthropic agencies, has discussed establishing a needs-based program that could be applied on a regional basis, rather than limited to one school district, according to The Journal.

SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Promise on Flint horizon?" Aug. 8, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-38/1155046821219730.xml?fljournal?NEF&coll=5

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "K-Promise: A whole new environment for Kalamazoo," March 7, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7624

Michigan Education Digest, "Charters, independent schools not worried about K-Promise," Nov. 29, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7448

GWINN SCHOOLS WILL CONTRACT CUSTODIAL WORK, ADD JOBS
GWINN, Mich. — A competitive contract for janitorial work in the Gwinn schools will save the district $716,000 over the next three years while adding three new jobs, according to The Marquette Mining Journal. The savings will help eliminate almost all of the district's projected $740,000 budget deficit.

Superintendent Steven Peffers told The Journal that most of the current 14 custodians will be able to "bump" into other jobs in the district. Bumping is a process whereby one union member fills another union job, often times based on seniority rather than performance.

The new contract calls for 17 custodians, which Peffers said would be filled locally if possible, according to The Journal.

"We will actually have our buildings staffed for more hours with custodial services," Peffers told The Journal.

SOURCE:
The Marquette Mining Journal, "District to go private with custodial work," Aug. 7, 2006
http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=5465

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Competitive contracting getting more popular," Aug. 8, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7866

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

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
Michigan Education Daily
Wed., September 1, 2010
"An aviation school in Michigan is one example of a new generation of public charter schools designed to serve niche audiences." >>
Tue., August 31, 2010
"A 10-year-old Windsor boy who completed part of his education in Michigan is being denied entry to public high school in Windsor even though he's completed the eighth-grade curriculum." >>
Mon., August 30, 2010
"Principal John Hoving is using Facebook as a way to promote Bay City All Saints Central School as well as to head off possible cyber bullying." >>
Sun., August 29, 2010
"Royal Oak Public Schools students will be featured in an Oct. 12 episode of MTV's "If You Really Knew Me," a cable television program that the producer describes as "students trying to be accepted for who they are."" >>
Sat., August 28, 2010
"Public schools in Michigan were offered an automatic "A" on part of their annual state report card this year, a one-time arrangement that may have spared some from being unaccredited." >>
Fri., August 27, 2010
"More than 1,000 teacher retirements will allow Detroit Public Schools to recall all teachers from layoff and hire up to 300 more to fill staffing gaps." >>
Thu., August 26, 2010
"Inland Lakes Schools is considering hiring a private firm to provide custodial services as a way to save money, but a union representative says that new federal funding makes such a move unnecessary." >>
User Comments
carol peterson
education is an all around development for a child
he should be mentally and physically strong


<a href="http://rescueyoursavings.com" rel="dofollow">Savings</a> >>
carol peterson
education is an all around development for a child
he should be mentally and physically strong >>
johnstfu
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Aarowman
Public servants like Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Judges, Secretaries of Various Departments and the like should be first to be compensated for performance.
The idea that the playing field for students is level everywhere is as Quixotic as thinking all politicians are honest and competent.
There are neighborhoods where only Portugese or gang sign language is spoken, where the parents both work two jobs to pay rent, where getting to school and back is more dangerous than Iraq and Afghanastan.
This Secretary of Education has to remove the silver spoon, roll up his sleeves and take his superior intellect attitude into the trenches and show the poor slobs that are taking their teachers jobs for granted how he would do it. Just because his mommy used to help out in Chicago doesn't give him the Congression Medal of Honor. Actually he's a stuffed shirt pretending to know it all.
How much do you want to bet that he wouldn't attempt entering these neighborhoods let alone these schools without security. >>
verdemont resident
This article is tucked away yet is profoundly correct. Parents are pseudo parenting little objects of consumption. Teens, professionals, working moms like the "idea" of a child but are not in for the long haul and everyone loses.

Schools are enabling parents to do precious little. The time parents spend with their children is the only thing that matters. Bussing needs to be cut, school breakfast, lunch, and afterschool care needs to be stopped. Parents will grow that bond by sacrificing the nails, hair, parties, drugs, quads, vacations, etc. and making a lunch for their child and arrangements to be home when the child is out of school. No one is that poor that they can't provide a boloney sandwich, a baggie of pretzels, an apple, 50 cents for a milk, and two cookies each day.

Please respond!

>>
JackI
Is it true that young ones today are losing interest on these subjects? Obviously, the White House is promoting programs that will help students on coping up with math and science subjects. But, The federal government thinks that the quality of math and science education can repair credit with the scientific community and improve US education with a few <a rev="vote for" title="U.S. Government Spends $250 Million on Science and Math" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/Payday-Loans/ ">payday loans</a> of sorts. In reality, it will take far longer to accomplish than they might think – US educators can't even get students to accept that "irregardless" isn't a word, and the difference between their, they're, and there – our students can't even learn their own language! It's a noble aim, to be sure, but throwing money at it may not work in the long run. >>
beggarsall
I am a teacher in the same county who is presently trying to quit the union. Like Caldwell, I strongly disagree with the MEA.

This article was timely.

Rob Olson
Pittsford Area Schools

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rickolson
I agree this is a change worth making. I describe some of the uneven effects of the idea on my blog at http://rickolson.blogspot.com/2009/08/statewide-health-insurance-plan-for.html which you may also wish to read.

The devil will be in the details, so this is one we will need to monitor closely.

Rick Olson from Saline, former school Business Manager >>
MichelleO

Nowadays, saving money is very crucial and properly investing the money can keep you and your family away from the effect of the financial crisis. The sad news is that a lot of the options for short term funding have been drying up. Short term funding is a necessary thing to have around, and going through traditional channels such as banks isn't an option for a lot of people anymore – basically it's only open to Ken Lewis. Installment loans are an option, but some people, including senior citizens, have been thinking about raiding their retirement fund. Getting into your pension retirement plan or 401(k) funds is the last thing you want to do if you don't qualify for any withdrawals yet. The penalties are substantial, and you'll end up needing installments loans to pay them if you use retirement funds for <a rev="vote for" title="Installment Loans Reliable Option As 401(k)s are Dwindling" href="http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/17/installment-loans-reliable-option-401ks-dwindling/">short term funding</a>.


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QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>