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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
August 7, 2007

Contents of this issue:
  • Granholm wants state to pay college costs for the unemployed
  • Petoskey schools contract for food services
  • MEA sues Harrison schools for contracting teachers' aides
  • Three Michigan universities probed for student loan misconduct
  • Comment and win book money
GRANHOLM WANTS STATE TO PAY COLLEGE COSTS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has unveiled a plan that would provide two years of free education for 100,000 unemployed Michigan residents, according to WLNS News.

The plan will allow those who are unemployed, over 18 years of age and who have a family income of $40,000 or less to receive up to two years of free tuition at a community college or technical school. Twenty-eight community colleges have already signed up for the program, WLNS reported.

Granholm will use $37 million of federal funds for the program and is also looking to take another $40 million from the state's general fund. State officials say securing this money could be difficult, but Granholm believes the program could serve as a long-term solution for improving the economy.

"Making sure that our workforce is trained for the jobs that are available is a key to our economic recovery," Press Secretary Elizabeth Boyd said, according to WLNS.

SOURCE:
WLNS, "Governor Announces Free Education for Jobless Workers," Aug. 2, 2007
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=6875658

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan Can't Afford Tuition Grant Program," March 10, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6456

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Scholarships: A New Beginning for Detroit's Kids," Aug. 25, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/7322

PETOSKEY SCHOOLS CONTRACT FOR FOOD SERVICE
PETOSKEY, Mich. — The Petoskey board of education voted 5-0 to competitively contract for its food services and are expecting $250,000 in savings, according to the Petoskey News-Review.

Petoskey contracted with Chartwells for food service management last year, and is expanding the contract to include hourly employees. Last school year, the schools paid Chartwells an administrative fee of $110 per day and 3.5 cents per meal. If the district kept its hourly employees this year, the costs would increase to 4 cents per meal and include an administrative fee of $115, the News-Review reported.

Through Chartwells, the district will pay 4.5 cents per meal, an administrative fee of $130, and a refundable $65,000 for initial payroll costs. The company is still expecting to save the district $250,000. If Petoskey had kept its food service employees, it would see a loss of $52,000, according to the News-Review.

The company plans to hire locally, and is required by contract to interview any former district food service employee. Chartwells also offers single benefits for employees who work at least 28.75 hours a week, the News-Review reported.

"I hope when we get through all this, we're protecting education as best we can," board member Tom Rellinger said at the board meeting, according to the News-Review.

SOURCE:
Petoskey News-Review, "Privatizing Petoskey school food services will cost local jobs," Aug. 1, 2007
http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/08/01/news/news03.txt

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Support Service Privatization: Getting it Right," Aug. 6, 2007
http://www.mackinac.org/8810

Michigan Education Report, "Profit has a role in public schools," Feb. 23, 2007
http://www.educationreport.org/8250

Michigan Education Report, "Map: School contracting continues to grow," Feb. 23, 2007
http://www.educationreport.org/archives/2007/mer2007-01maps.pdf

MEA SUES HARRISON SCHOOLS FOR CONTRACTING TEACHERS' AIDES
HARRISON, Mich. — The Harrison school district's plan to contract for teacher assistants was halted when a Clare County court granted a temporary restraining order while reviewing the Michigan Education Association and Harrison Educational Support Professionals Association's request for an injunction, according to the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun.

Harrison is the first district to consider contracting for teachers' aides and the union believes it is illegal. Under state law, districts are not allowed to contract for teaching positions, but can contract for support services, the Morning Sun reported.

The Harrison board voted in favor of competitive contracting and would save $249,782 in 2007-2008 by doing so. Contracting for teachers' aides is one of the many ways the schools have attempted to cut costs over the past five years, according to the Morning Sun.

A hearing date for the injunction has not been set, the Morning Sun reported.

SOURCE:
Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, "Teacher's aide change leads to suit," Aug. 2, 2007
http://www.themorningsun.com/stories/080207/loc_aide.shtml

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A School Privatization Primer," June 26, 2007
http://www.mackinac.org/8691

Michigan Education Digest, "Substitute teachers privatized in Grand Rapids," May 9, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7701

Michigan Education Digest, "Privatized subs can save schools money," April 11, 2006
http://www.educationreport.org/7677

THREE MICHIGAN UNIVERSITIES PROBED FOR STUDENT LOAN MISCONDUCT
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's attorney general is conducting an investigation of 39 universities, including three from Michigan, over whether the schools' athletic departments promoted a certain student loan company in return for financial incentives, according to WXYZ News.

Central Michigan University, the University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University are the three Michigan schools under investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. All of the schools being examined in Michigan have allegedly favored Student Financial Services Inc. because of its perks and incentives. Cuomo started this investigation after looking at the relationships between loan providers and school administrators, WXYZ reported.

In his first investigation he found that schools were more likely to promote a certain loan company if they offered administrators "revenue sharing" plans, trips or other perks, according to WXYZ.

"Students trust their university's athletic departments because so much of campus life at Division I schools centers around supporting the home team," Cuomo said, according to WXYZ. "To betray this trust by promoting loans in exchange for money is a serious issue, especially when Division I schools already generate tremendous revenue from their student athletes."

Central Michigan University spokesman Steve Smith said CMU has received the request for information and is studying it. Smith noted that there are some questions as to whether the case violates legal jurisdiction.

SOURCE:
WXYZ News, "Student Loan Probe Hits 3 Michigan Schools," Aug. 2, 2007
http://www.wxyz.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=6ab85c78-6d74-4864-a9a9-8b837ebe14d4

FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "House Republicans introduce plan to regulate lenders' profit on student loans," April 27, 2004
http://www.educationreport.org/6515

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Student Loans and the High Cost of College," November 1997
http://www.mackinac.org/675

COMMENT AND WIN BOOK MONEY
MIDLAND, Mich. — Go to http://forum.educationreport.org and post a comment for a chance to win a $50 book gift certificate.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education Report (http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org), a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

Contact Managing Editor Sarah Grether at
mailto:med@educationreport.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to
http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/listserver.aspx?Source=wwwMED
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User Comments
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

>>
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>.


>>
QUEEN_BEE_09
I AGREE >>
colonelb
Godfrey-Lee on the west side of the state has been running all-day, every-day kindergarten for several years. >>
BenjaminY
We have a problem in Detroit Public School, their system had cash flow problem for years now. And honestly it getting worst in terms in progression with more children leaving to charter their schools almost every year. The state decided to give the Detroit school districts cash advance of $70 million so they would meet the schools expenses, as well as payment for teachers. Robert Bobb, the newly appointed emergency financial manager, requested the funds early in order for him to get the house in order before he had to start panicking. President Obama has been giving out large sums of money for troubled school districts, perhaps that’s where a generous portion of the aid came from. Getting Detroit Public Schools in working order is a worthy cause.

LINK TO READ FOR MORE INFO:
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/03/10/state-advance-detroit-public-schools-70m/


>>
colonelb
I am all for school choice and think its great that charters are finally moving forward. However, I'm wondering if the research accounts for a playing field that is not level. I can't take my school buildings and move them anywhere I want, nor can I simply slap up a pole building and make it a school. If anything, public schools need less state regulation and oversight so we can play by the same minimal rules charters do. If you want public schools to compete to improve, remove the barriers to doing so. I will gladly except less funding per pupil if the playing field is level.
>>
karen
The purpose is to encourage non excercising children to excercise but my daughter's highschool gave her an improper body fat percentage and made my healthy daughter who trains 20 hours a week in tap jazz and ballet believe she was overweaghit instead of a person with muscles.
I believe the public schools do not have the right to make the diagnoses with these kids because they are using one measurement and recording it from their arms that they have a certain percetnage of body fat with one arm caliper test.
Does any one have feed back?
>>
deepakp9
Specifically, 81 percent of students in religiously affiliated schools and 82 percent of students in other private schools have parents who report being "very satisfied" with their schools, compared to 55 percent of students in assigned public schools and 63 percent of students in chosen public schools.

High levels of satisfaction among private school parents also extend to opinions about their children's teachers, academic standards of the school, order and discipline at the school, the amount of homework assigned, and interactions with school personnel.

http://fitt.in >>