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
https://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
https://www.educationreport.org/7866
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Schools continue to
privatize," July 26, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7827
Michigan Education Digest, "Hartland schools to save $5 million
with competitive contract," May 16, 2006
https://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
https://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
https://www.educationreport.org/7817
Michigan Education Digest, "Grand Rapids teachers agree to
incentive-based pay," June 27, 2006
https://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
https://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
https://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
https://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
https://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
https://www.educationreport.org/7624
Michigan Education Digest, "Charters, independent schools not
worried about K-Promise," Nov. 29, 2005
https://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
https://www.educationreport.org/7866
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Schools continue to
privatize," July 26, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7827
Michigan Education Digest, "Hartland schools to save $5 million
with competitive contract," May 16, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7704
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.