Contents of this issue:
- Grand Rapids school board votes against Proposal 5
- Detroit enrollment could fall 25,000
- Saginaw board president: schools could offer merit pay
- Flint-area charter public schools growing
- Home-schooled student gets academic scholarship
- School bond faces lawsuit
- Public school employees disciplined for bus incident
GRAND RAPIDS SCHOOL BOARD VOTES AGAINST PROPOSAL 5
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Public Schools board of
education voted 6-2 against supporting a ballot measure that
would mandate funding increases for public schools, according to
The Grand Rapids Press.
Proposal 5, which will be on the November ballot, would require
the Legislature to spend an extra $567 million on K-12, in
addition to the $400 million already budgeted, The Press
reported. It also would shift increases in retirement costs for
school personnel to the state, with no connection to student
performance or school accountability.
The Press also pointed out that by voting against supporting the
plan, the coalition supporting Proposal 5 is denied a "back door"
way of advertising the issue in Grand Rapids. The law prevents
schools from spending public dollars to support ballot issues,
but they can mention how the board voted in its publications,
including explanations from board members on why they voted the
way they did.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "School board blasted for not backing
ballot issue," Sept. 20, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-32/115876390545780.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6 &thispage=1
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "An Analysis of Proposal 5:
The "K-16" Michigan Ballot Measure," Sept. 12, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7924
Michigan Education Report, "Mandatory expenditure increase faces
uphill battle," May 25, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7722
DETROIT ENROLLMENT COULD FALL 25,000
DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools is expecting an enrollment drop
of 25,000 students, according to The Detroit News.
An illegal strike by the Detroit Federation of Teachers union
delayed the start of school for 16 days, and is the cause of the
enrollment drop, district officials have said. If the drop in
enrollment is as large as officials predict, it would mean $190
million less in state funding for DPS, The News reported.
The state's "count day" is Sept. 27. Enrollment on that day is
partly used to determine how much tax money is given to public
schools.
The district conducted its own count on Sept. 20 and found more
than 99,000 students were in school, according to The News. That
was up from 89,000 a day before. Enrollment last year was about
129,000, and the district was projecting 9,400 fewer students
before the strike.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Detroit Public Schools predicts loss of 25,000
this fall," Sept. 21, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060921/UPDATE/609210440
The Detroit News, "DPS loses 25,000 students," Sept. 22, 2006
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060922/SCHOOLS/609220386
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Classes resume after Detroit teachers
end illegal strike," Sept. 19, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7934
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
SAGINAW BOARD PRESIDENT: SCHOOLS COULD OFFER MERIT PAY
SAGINAW, Mich. — The president of the Saginaw schools board of
education said the next teacher contract talks should include a
discussion of merit pay, according to The Saginaw News.
A recently approved contract gives teachers a 1 percent raise,
with pay increases based on seniority and education level.
"I'm sure there's people who deserve more (than 1 percent),"
board President Norman C. Braddock told The News. "I don't
believe in giving people raises just to give them a raise. You
have to earn it."
Mary Ann Dupuis, president of the Saginaw teachers union, said
she will listen to ideas, but does not think the members will be
supportive. Dupuis told The News that teachers already have to
meet state and federal standards, thereby proving themselves
before entering the classroom.
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "School board president floats merit pay
increases, Sept. 15, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-20/115832663589900.xml?sanews?NECN&coll=9
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Teachers accept incentives in new
contracts," Aug. 15, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7871
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
FLINT-AREA CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS GROWING
FLINT, Mich. — Parents of almost 6,000 students in the Flint area
have chosen to send their children to charter public schools,
rather than the conventional public schools to which they have
been assigned, according to The Flint Journal.
Some 5,900 students are enrolled in 12 Flint-area charter public
schools, up from 5,682 last year, The Journal reported. One of
the biggest increases was seen at International Academy of Flint,
which has more than 150 new students, and about 875 overall.
Many parents are choosing charters because they are unhappy with
Flint schools, including a plan to move ninth graders out of one
high school, according to The Journal.
"That whole ninth-grade thing is just a fiasco," parent Tameka
Thompson told The Journal. "They really don't have a home for
these kids, and I don't know if this plan is solid."
Thompson decided to send two of her three children to the
International Academy. A third child will remain in Flint Public
Schools because she did not meet the academic standards for the
charter school, The Journal reported.
Flint Superintendent Walter Milton Jr. told The Journal the
district expects enrollment to be down less than the 800 students
originally projected.
Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public
School Academies, told The Journal that charter school enrollment
has been growing 9 to 12 percent a year statewide. Total
enrollment across Michigan is expected to top 100,000 this year,
with about 12,000 students on waiting lists.
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Charters grow," Sept. 14, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-39/1158241964133900.xml?fljournal?NEF&coll=5
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Public Schools Can Provide a
Choice to Every Parent," Sept. 12, 2006
http://www.mackinac.org/7923
Michigan Education Digest, "Flint schools prepare for enrollment
drop," May 2, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7696
HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENT GETS ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
SAGINAW, Mich. — A home-schooled student has received an Award of
Excellence Scholarship at Saginaw Valley State University, which
covers all of her tuition and some costs for four years,
according to The Saginaw News.
Jillian Bourbina, home-schooled since seventh grade, maintained a
3.9 grade point average during her high school years and scored a
29 on the ACT, The News reported.
Bourbina's older sister, Bethany, also received the scholarship,
according to The News. She is now a third-year nursing student at
SVSU.
"We welcome home-schoolers to the university," Jim Dwyer,
assistant vice president of enrollment and admission at SVSU,
told The News. "They have been good stewards."
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Home school grad nets tuition award,"
Aug. 31, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/magazine-0/1157469603115570.xml?sanews?SMGG&coll=9
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Pioneering new methods in education;
Jackson home schoolers share resources, knowledge," Sept. 6, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7911
Michigan Education Report, "Home schooling in Detroit;
responsibility and unique preparation," Dec. 15, 2005
http://www.educationreport.org/7492
SCHOOL BOND FACES LAWSUIT
COOPERSVILLE, Mich. — A $41 million school bond in Coopersville
is in question as residents accuse school officials of misleading
voters, according to The Muskegon Chronicle.
Ottawa County Circuit Court Judge Jon Van Allsburg scheduled a
Sept. 27 trial after finding there are "disputed facts" in the
case, The Chronicle reported. Resident Shirley Draft has accused
the district of misleading voters through a newsletter and other
statements.
Van Allsburg dismissed other counts, including claims of
misleading ballot language and an improper recount, according to
The Chronicle. The bond originally passed by three votes in May,
and was up by four votes after a partial recount.
Draft has alleged that school officials misled voters by saying
the bond would cost 0.54 mill over 30 years, but did not fully
explain that the new debt would be combined with older debt, The
Chronicle reported. Stephen Corwin, Draft's attorney, said the
bond itself would carry a 4.5 mill levy for 30 years.
Kirk Herald, the district's attorney, denies the claims, and told
The Chronicle that school officials set up a hotline to help
answer voters' questions.
The district planned to use the bond to build a middle school and
bus garage.
SOURCE:
The Muskegon Chronicle, "Lawsuit puts school improvements on
hold," Sept. 12, 2006
http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1158074233201850.xml?muchronicle?NETR&coll=8
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Current Problems in School
Bonding," May 1, 1998
http://www.mackinac.org/479
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Bonded to Privatization,"
March 1, 1998
http://www.mackinac.org/626
PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES SUSPENDED FOR BUS INCIDENT
HOWELL, Mich. — A bus driver and bus aide who work for the
Livingston Educational Service Agency have been suspended without
pay for three days after a student was dropped off at the wrong
location, according to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
A 6-year-old nonverbal student could not tell the two school
employees he was at the wrong stop, and the mistake was not
discovered until after the bus had left, the Press & Argus
reported.
"Essentially, it was a matter of not performing their functions
in the way they should have," Mike Hubert, assistant
superintendent for LESA, told the Press & Argus. "They're
definitely caring people, well intentioned, but in that instance
they did not perform the job the way it should have been done."
The union representing the bus driver has 10 days to file a
grievance against the suspension, according to the Press & Argus.
SOURCE:
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, "Bus driver, aide suspended,"
Sept. 20, 2006
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060920/NEWS01/609200313/1002
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Driver fired for abandoning
students," June 13, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7782
Michigan Education Report, "Competitive contracting grows despite
myths," Sept. 6, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7900
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
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a quarterly newspaper
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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
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