Michigan Populist Blog

Governor Snyder recently released his 2013-14 budget.  School districts breathed a sigh of relief when they heard they would be getting a 2% increase instead of the rumored funding cut.  Schools are getting used to funding cuts.  After all, the per-pupil foundation allowance was actually less this year than it was during the 2006-7 school year according to a Senate Fiscal Agency report.   So the news was a pleasant surprise even though 2% is likely less than the cost of inflation.

There is a catch though.  Schools in Michigan that receive the minimum foundation allowance will get an increase of $34.  That brings the minimum foundation allowance to $7,000.  That is actually only a 1/2 percent increase.  Districts that already receive more than the $7,000 per-pupil foundation allowance will not receive an increase at all.  It appears that the much of the missing 1 1/2% promised amounts to retirement costs that the state is not passing onto schools.  It is a bit like saying something is on sale because you did not raise the price.  At the current rate of funding increases, public schools will reach the funding level of Governor Snyder’s daughter’s private school in the year 2068.

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Legislators have the means to make Michigan schools safer.  Since Republicans have  control of the House, the Senate, and the Governorship, they will need to lead the initiative.  Here are three relatively uncontroversial ways they can help us protect school children.

1. Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) should be put in charge of school safety.  ISDs are supposed to serve the needs of local school districts.  However, many ISDs have millions of dollars in their fund balances that they could be using to help local school districts.  Republicans should pass a law putting each ISD in charge of school safety for the districts they serve.  ISDs should be required to hire at least one school liaison officer for every five school districts they serve so that each school has an officer in their district at least once a week.  These officers should do more than just provide an armed presence in schools.  They should be in charge of making sure safety protocol are being followed by school personnel.  They should lead professional development sessions on school safety in every district at least once a year.  They should be in charge of making sure that all safety drills (fire, tornado, lock-down, etc.) are carried out as required by state law.  The ISDs have the money, they just need the directive.  Every school district in the state should have at least a part time school liaison officer by next school year.

2. Every school in the state should have their front entrance upgraded to the latest safety standards.  Schools should have a waiting area where visitors can talk to school personnel without actually entering the building.  Only those people who have permission, and a valid reason, should be buzzed into the building during school hours.  The State of Michigan has 500 million dollars in its rainy day fund.  Michigan Budget Director John Nix wants to keep the money in the fund to protect our credit rating.  Forget credit ratings.  Let’s protect our kids from having bullets rain down on them, or from being abducted by parents who have lost their custodial rights.

3.  There is a lot of disagreement about how to stop school violence, especially when it comes to guns.  However, there seems to be a consensus that we need to do a better job of providing help for the mentally ill.  However, Michigan schools are failing miserably at providing those mental health services to students.  The school counselor-to-student ratio before many of the most recent budget cuts was at 638 to 1, 6th worst in the nation according to Bridge Magazine.  Unlike many states, Michigan does not have a law dictating the minimum counselor-to-student ratio so it is easy to cut counselors out when budgets get tight.  The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 to 1.   The legislature should immediately pass a law that sets a ratio at no more than 450 to 1, which is around the national average.  School districts should also free counselors of clerical work and administrative work so that they can perform the counseling services for which they are trained.  The funding for this initiative could be obtained by recapturing money originally meant for K-12 schools that is now being spend elsewhere.  Republicans should immediately pass a law that explicitly states that the school aid fund can only be used for K-12 education.  Dipping into it for any other use is literally stealing from our children future and jeopardizing their safety.

Everyone agrees that we cannot stop all school violence.  Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”   I encourage you to sign this petition to encourage our state government to pass these safeguards into law.   Our children do not have a voice or a vote in Lansing.  Let yours speak for them.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They’ve compared teachers to whiny children who haven’t earned their allowance.  They are making them pay an additional 6% or more for benefits they were already promised.  They have raided the school aid fund causing their employers to freeze their wages and charge them more for health insurance.  The fiscal chaos they unnecessarily created has increased their work load and eliminated opportunities for their students.  Some of them have lost their jobs, and some of the best new teachers are being forced to leave the state.  Their school districts have been bogged down with more regulations while new competition with very little oversight has been created.  Republicans have done all this and more over the past two years.  Now they say they want to support teachers.

The House Republicans just released their 2013-14 “Action Plan.”  The Action Plan is a follow up to last year’s Guiding Principles.  The Action Plan plan lists the Republican’s goals for the upcoming year, and their self-defined successes for the past year.  It was not a surprise to find the usual Republican mumbo jumbo about reducing taxes and regulations on businesses.  What was surprising was that one of their goals was to “support Michigan’s teachers.”  The goal says “Michigan’s teachers need the support of their state and their community to make the most of their abilities and help our children thrive. We will explore new ways to reach out to the education community for ideas, give underperforming educators the support they need, and recognize our state’s best teachers for the amazing work they do.”  Last year’s tone was a lot different.  The Guiding Principle publication said “the education system should not be about the adults and their careers.”  It also stated that “teachers, administrators, parents, and students all agree that the (education) system needs significant reforms.”  Not only did teachers, administrators, and parent associations not “agree” about the need for these reforms, their input into the reform process went largely ignored.

Here is why Republicans have changed their tone.  They are using a tactic that can best be described as a domestic violence approach.  First, Republicans beat up teachers with faulty information in attempt to shatter their confidence.  Then they tried to isolate them by breaking their unions via right-to-work laws and other harmful legislation.  Now they want to be nice to teachers hoping they will forget about the last two years so they won’t challenge their control of Lansing and of our government.  Just like the perpetrator of domestic violence, Republican’s primary goal is to maintain control.  Let’s hope teachers, administrators, and parents are all wise enough to avoid that cycle of violence.  If Republicans maintain control beyond 2014, there is no doubt they will start attacking teachers again.  Teachers should remember what George Washington said: “It’s better to be alone than in bad company.”

President Lyndon B. Johnson and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. meet at the White House, 1966 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you remember the movie Indecent Proposal?  The movie, released in 1993, starred on-screen couple Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson.  It also starred Robert Redford as a handsome billionaire.  Redford’s character becomes so smitten with Moore’s character after meeting her in a casino that he offers the couple, who just lost their life savings, a million dollars for one night alone with her.  That dilemma left moviegoers asking the question how much money would it take for you to compromise your values?  Today, Michigan public school districts are facing that same dilemma.

Recently, Michigan schools have been struggling financially because of stagnant or reduced funding created initially because of a poor economy, and more recently because Republicans favor business tax cuts over adequately funded public schools.  So knowing that schools have been struggling, wealthy entities have been offering up money with strings attached, much like Redford’s character did.  The first to do it was the Federal government who offered states a chance, not a guarantee, of extra money if they adopted Race to the Top legislation.  Michigan made the reforms yet received no money.  The next entity to take advantage of the dire financial times was the State of Michigan itself.  Newly empowered Republicans offered extra money for adopting their “best practices” including taking steps down the path toward privatizing district services.  Quite a few districts adopted those “best practices” whether they agreed with them or not.  Now, local intermediate school districts (ISDs) are employing the same tactic.  Since ISDs are funded in a different manner than local school districts, their funding has been more stable.  In fact, some have enough in their fund equity (rainy day fund) that they could operate for an entire year without any new revenue!

The Wexford-Missaukee ISD, located in the Northwestern portion of the lower peninsula, decided to use some of their fund equity to incentivize local schools to adopt their common calendar.  Michigan law already requires that schools follow the ISD’s calendar for things like Christmas break and spring break.  However, this ISD wants districts to follow their schedule without any variance.  The reason they want a common calendar is logical.  Local school districts send about 15% of their K-12  students to the ISD for trade skills and some special education services.  When school districts have differing days off for professional development or for other events, it causes some disruptions in the ISD classes.  The problem is that the school districts also have unique needs and priorities of their own.

The Pine River Area Schools (PRAS) is one of the schools that was offered money to adopt the common calendar, and they were willing to do so save one day.  In 2012, thanks to collective bargaining, PRAS became the first in the area to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by closing school so that students and staff could conduct acts of community service.  Around the Pine River school district community projects like shoveling snow and making dresses for women in Haiti were undertaken.  The day was a great success and the PRAS decided that they were going to celebrate the day again in 2013.  Pine River Area Schools suggested that the ISD could follow their lead and celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a day of service instead of classes.  That would allow Pine River to continue its day of service and still receive $57,000 for adopting the common calendar.  However, the ISD leadership said they were “not interested.”  Yet, the ISD did schedule the day off for the opening day of deer hunting season.

Pine River Area Schools was offered an indecent proposal and they said no.  So Pine River students and staff will once again take to improving their community by performing service projects on MLK Day.  Meanwhile, the ISD’s $57,000 will sit in a bank account providing zero impact on the education of the kids in the communities they serve.  It is pretty easy to see who is staying true to their values in this scenario.

Update: Wexford-Missaukee ISD Superintendent Scott Crosby contacted me (and my employer) to express his opinion about the value and accuracy of this post.  He took issue with the post because it was a “public attack on a local public education provider coming from a local public education employee. ”  He did not feel the post was accurate because “The calendar was set unanimously by a vote of the seven local school district superintendents.”  While I respect Mr. Crosby’s opinions, I stand by my post.  The point of the post was to criticize the tactic of paying districts to make changes rather than advocating for those changes based on their merit, especially in a time where these entities have excess money and the local school districts do not.  I also feel it is well within my right as someone who pays taxes to this ISD to criticize them for not providing unconditional support for local school districts.  I do not believe that because I am a public employee that I should be forced silent on matters in the public domain.  In fact, protection of such criticism, known as whistleblowing, has been protected by federal law since 1863.