South County Democratic Club |
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Posted 9/24/2012 Cook: 'The purpose of Prop 2 is to restore--not extend union power.'
In their latest attempt to discredit Proposal 2, critics claim that passage of the amendment would mean school employees could strike and not face any fines if they did. MEA President Cook dismisses the idea, "Proposal 2 has within it for the first time a constitutional prohibition on school employee strikes. The right of the Legislature to determine penalties for school employee strikes is untouched by Proposal 2."Opponents have also falsely said that Proposal 2 would undo laws such as those requiring school bus drivers to receive safety training, protecting students from sexual predators, and requiring school districts to fire employees with criminal backgrounds. It's obvious that the opposition will resort to lies and fake scenarios to undermine the real purpose of Proposal 2--to restore the collective bargaining rights the Legislature stole from us in a power grab designed to destroy unions and the middle class. Proposal 2 would give us the opportunity to bargain and have a voice in issues such as evaluation, seniority, the cost of insurance and layoff and recall. |
Posted 5/24/2012 Public School Retirement:Officials concerned about bill A proposal to phase out Michigan's school employee retirement pool would only widen the plan's current $45 billion funding gap, Livingston County education officials said. On Thursday, the state Senate passed a bill that would place all new school employees into 401(k) plans for both retirement and retiree health-care benefits starting next year. The new employees would no longer be eligible for the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System, or MPSERS, which currently provides pension benefits and retiree health-care benefits at a roughly $45 billion deficit. MPSERS is run by the state, and it is funded largely through a determined percentage of payroll for all school districts — a figure that continues to climb each year. Current employees pay 3.9 percent of their salaries toward the benefits, and retirees pay a percentage of the health benefits. Among a host of proposed revisions, Senate Bill 1040 — passed by a two-vote margin in the Senate — would no longer fund MPSERS through new-employee contributions effective in 2013. |
Posted 5/22/2012 Michigan Republicans at odds over some teacher pension changes:Republican lawmakers are at odds over whether to end pensions for new public school employees in Michigan and move them into solely a 401(k)-style retirement plan. While the state Senate last week approved a bill that would implement such a switch, it was stripped from the legislation by House Republicans on Monday. "Those costs come right away," he said after a 2 ½ hour hearing during which retired teachers and others packed inside a committee room to give impassioned testimony against the bill. "You have to turn your employee force over to get the benefit, and we think prefunding (retirees' health care) gives us a real bang for the buck." The House – like Gov. Rick Snyder's administration – is interested in moving away from the current pay-as-you-go model for covering the health costs of current retirees. The House version of the legislation, unlike the Senate's, calls for setting aside money that can be put into the stock market or other investments to help pay future health expenses. |
Posted 5/22/2012 From the MEA:
House Committee approves SB 1040 sub; hears testimony Last week, the Senate passed SB 1040 with changes, and this morning the House Appropriations Committee took up the legislation in an “emergency” Monday meeting. After making their own modifications to the bill, the Committee heard testimony from retirees and current and future school employees who described the devastating financial impact SB 1040 would have. In another change, H-1 would allow longevity and tax-sheltered annuities to be considered part of final average compensation. The Senate version was amended to allow merit pay to be included, but left in a ban on longevity and annuities. |
Posted 3/5/2012 MEA New Web Site - Protect Your Job
Protect your job, your voice, your future Here's something every MEA member knows all too well when it comes to protecting our jobs, our wages and our benefits--collective bargaining works. It gives every one of our members a voice and the ability to come together to negotiate a fair contract. But Lansing politicians don’t know or care about this. They have introduced more than 100 anti-worker bills over the past year. And none of them have put Michigan back to work. It's time to take action! Visit www.ProtectOurJobs.com to sign our online petition and help take on the politicians and corporate special interests who continue to assault collective bargaining rights.
Remember--together we can protect our work, our voice and our future. |
From the MEA - Posted 2/10/2012 Moved 3/5/2012 New budget proposal no real investment in education Gov. Snyder presented his 2013 budget today, but while schools will see more money--there are strings attached. And it still isn't enough of a boost to make up for the $1 billion cut schools saw last year. In a news release today, MEA President Steve Cook said, "Putting a fraction of that $1 billion back into schools doesn't fix the problems that such a massive cut caused last year--it only continues to enrich the corporate special interests who benefitted from the $1.8 billion tax cut that the education cuts enabled." The 3 percent increase translates into approximately $200 more per pupil. Other budget highlights include:
After seeing a 15 percent cut to their funding last year, community colleges and universities will see a 3 percent increase—but they too will have to meet certain criteria. For community colleges, their funding will depend on degrees and certification completed in critical skill areas. For universities, growth in undergrad degrees in academic and critical areas, the number of Pell Grant recipients and tuition restraints will determine their funding level. Finally, the Governor is offering $179 million to sustain the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) so “money can be kept in the classroom.” Don’t let what appears to be a funding boost fool you. With the coming expansion of for-profit charter and cyber schools, the only ones benefitting from a funding increase will be corporations running those programs at the expense of traditional public schools. Last year, corporations enjoyed a $1.8 billion tax cut. Recent legislation and this new budget won’t hurt the CEOs and it won’t help kids or public education. Only a full restoration of school funding for our students will change that scenario. |
From the MEA Web Site - Posted 2/27/2012
This week, the House Appropriations School Aid Subcommittee outlined how schools would qualify for Gov. Snyder’s funding bonuses and then got an earful from traditional and charter school representatives concerned that they might miss out on the extra money. According to the Department of Education, schools could earn up to three points per child, depending on whether the child scored proficient on a prior MEAP test and whether the score improved or not on a current year’s test—no points if a child’s score declined; two points if the child maintained or improved a prior proficient score; and three points if a child went from not proficient to proficient. Scores would then be averaged for each district. Averages of at least 1.5 points in the MME subject and grade level areas would qualify for additional funding--$30 per elementary student and $40 for each high school student. Putting a price on student performance raised concerns. Charter school advocates worried that since charter schools aren’t like traditional K-12 schools, they would automatically be shut out of a portion of the performance money. Traditional school officials don’t’ see the MEAP or MME as reliable measures of student growth. They recommend developing a new test that will measure student growth or district tests. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan offered his own funding advice to superintendents and members of the Gratiot-Isabella Regional Education Service District at an informal meeting. “Disliking change and being defensive doesn’t help. Take the money and run. Otherwise, it looks like you’re afraid of performance evaluations. Don’t you want to know how the students and your district are achieving?” |
From the MEA Web Site - Posted 2/27/2012
The Senate acted quickly on Wednesday to make sure graduate student research assistants wouldn’t have a say in whether they could unionize or not. SB 971 was introduced last week, passed on a party-line vote by the Government Operations Committee on Tuesday and passed on the Senate floor on a 26-12 party line vote on Wednesday. Currently, graduate assistants at the University of Michigan are trying to unionize and have applied to the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) to hold a union vote. If they’re successful, they will overturn a 1981 MERC ruling that says graduate research assistants are students. MERC has yet to rule on the application. Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) sponsored SB 971, noting that the Legislature needed to move on the issue, regardless of what MERC does. Republicans claim that research assistants are students—not employees. SB 971 would amend PERA’s definition of a “public employee” to exclude the research assistants. But, this proposed legislation does more than that. These individuals would be stripped of their right to vote for a union and ultimately deprived of any collective bargaining rights. U of M Board of Regents voted to oppose SB 971. Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) compared the bill to the Emergency Manager law and said, “This continues a theme from the majority party. If you don’t like the outcome of an election, change the rules.” |
Posted 1/29/2012 Moved 2/22/2012 Town Hall on Education |
From the MEA - Posted 2/10/2012
New budget proposal no real investment in education Gov. Snyder presented his 2013 budget today, but while schools will see more money--there are strings attached. And it still isn't enough of a boost to make up for the $1 billion cut schools saw last year. In a news release today, MEA President Steve Cook said, "Putting a fraction of that $1 billion back into The 3 percent increase translates into approximately $200 more per pupil. Other budget highlights include:
After seeing a 15 percent cut to their funding last year, community colleges and universities will see a 3 percent increase—but they too will have to meet certain criteria. For community colleges, their funding will depend on degrees and certification completed in critical skill areas. For universities, growth in undergrad degrees in academic and critical areas, the number of Pell Grant recipients and tuition restraints will determine their funding level. Finally, the Governor is offering $179 million to sustain the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) so “money can be kept in the classroom.” Don’t let what appears to be a funding boost fool you. With the coming expansion of for-profit charter and cyber schools, the only ones benefitting from a funding increase will be corporations running those programs at the expense of traditional public schools. Last year, corporations enjoyed a $1.8 billion tax cut. Recent legislation and this new budget won’t hurt the CEOs and it won’t help kids or public education. Only a full restoration of school funding for our students will change that scenario. |
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House committee passes more anti-union bills--Call your state representative! On a party line vote, the House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee passed on Tuesday House Bills 5023-5026, a package of anti-union bills meant to curtail the powers of labor unions:
The most draconian of these bills, HB 5025, even drew opposition from the Michigan Association of School Boards. MASB lobbyist Peter Spadafore testified against that bill, saying that payroll deductions are bargained in contracts, and requiring an annual check-off goes around the process that is already in place. During testimony, the roomful of union supporters changed Committee Chair Tim McMillin’s (R-Rochester) mind about disallowing committee member questions after testimony from union representatives. Audience protests gave committee member Rep. Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe) the opportunity to ask his question. These bills now go to the full state House for consideration. Contact your state representative today and tell him or her to stop these attacks on your rights as a union member and start focusing on putting more people back to work. These bills are an attempt to legislate problems that don't really exist and impose stricter punishment when there already are significant consequences for an action. It's just another round of attacks on unions and the middle class families we represent. |
Posted 1/29/2012 Panel Raps Education Reform Effort
Panelists at Saturday’s Education Town Hall Meeting in Niles took the time to rally against the current set of education reform bills making their way through Lansing. The panelists were particularly critical of a bill signed into law in December by Gov. Rick Snyder that lifts the cap on the amount of charter schools allowed in the state. |
From the MEA - Posted 1/30/2012
Debate continues on cyber school expansion With a committee room packed with cyber school supporters in yellow scarves in honor of National School While the lineup of those testifying may change, the arguments don’t. Supporters continue to claim that cyber schools will provide more and better choices for a child’s education than a traditional school can. Critics aren’t necessarily condemning cyber schools, but they point to the lack of data to warrant the unlimited expansion of what is really an education experiment. They want the Legislature to wait until the two Michigan cyber schools have been in place for two years to study the effectiveness. The state Department of Education and the Governor agree. Speaking in support of the bill this week were Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, and former State Superintendent Tom Watkins. Quisenberry defended the success of the two Michigan cyber schools, “The schools have waiting lists that are five, six times the enrollment allowed and 98 percent of the parents at the schools are saying their children are doing a better job in these schools.” Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) asked Quisenberry where his evidence was to support his claims since her research shows the opposite. He promised to get it to her. Watkins told the Committee that students now need to compete in a global world and cyber schools provided a way of preparing them to do that. But, he too cautioned opening the door to unlimited cyber schools without adequate research, “The idea is to encourage the quality schools and let the good become great and weed out the bad ones. Talk with students, teachers and parents at the current cyber schools.” Watkins told the Committee that students now need to compete in a global world and cyber schools provided a way of preparing them to do that. But, he too cautioned opening the door to unlimited cyber schools without adequate research, “The idea is to encourage the quality schools and let the good become great and weed out the bad ones. Talk with students, teachers and parents at the current cyber schools.” Jerry Johnson, Executive Director of Communications and Development at Genesee ISD, provided compelling testimony in opposition to SB 619. The ISD established and uses the Genesee Network for Education Telecommunications (GenNet) for a blended K-12 learning experience. He worries that lifting the cap on cyber schools will be a welcome mat for for-profit management companies that care more about profits than the quality of education. “This shows public schools are interested in providing options to students, Johnson said. “We negotiated the market landscape to meet our needs, not the other way around. SB 619 presents the potential to Wal-Mart public education.” |
From the Detroit Free Press - Posted 1/30/2012 Poll: Michigan residents divided on Snyder's education policies Michigan residents are divided over Gov. Rick Snyder’s education policies, with 48% of those responding in a recent poll saying they oppose his decisions to cut funding for schools and OK legislation that change the way teachers are evaluated and gives districts incentive money if they do things such as reduce teacher benefits. The poll found 36% favored his policies. Among the respondents who oppose Snyder’s education policies is Mary Getschman, 51, of Northville Township. “I think he’s overly aggressive,” Getschman said. “The schools have problems with funding and all of that kind of stuff. But I don’t like the government stepping in and kind of taking over.” Paul Sweda, 67, of Rochester Hills, said Snyder policies are representative of efforts to destroy the public school system and privatize public schools. “If you think about it, he cut the taxes for all the rich folks who send their kids to private schools,” said Sweda, a semi-retired physician. Business taxes were cut sharply in 2011, but many individuals, especially higher income taxpayers, lost deductions for retirement income and charitable deductions. Gayle Shields, 76, of Troy, said she supports Snyder’s efforts to strengthen the teacher evaluation process. “I think there are excellent teachers,” Shields said. But, “I think some teachers are just sliding by. “ Opposition to Snyder’s policies was consistent across the state: 46% of respondents in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties oppose his education choices, compared to 49 out state. Snyder’s support was higher in Macomb (42%) and Oakland (42%) counties than it was in Wayne County (23%). |
Posted 1/1/12 New web site to fight school cuts (click on graphic): This site has an interesting interactive map of Michigan detailing all the cuts to our community schools -- district by district.
One of the stories posted on this site: I am a teacher and the cuts that the district is making and has made are hurting our students. I am blessed to work for a district that puts the kids first but after $80 million in cuts, there is nothing left to cut. The class sizes are huge. Kindergarten and first grade have 29 students in their classes. Fourth and fifth grade go to 35 students. There is not enough paraprofessional support to help all the students in these classrooms. Busing has been reduced both in stops at the middle and high school level and for sports. Electives are being cut at the middle and high school levels. — Kim, Chesterfield |
From the Michigan Educational Association - Posted 1/8/2012 More changes to public education in Snyder's new proposals Last year’s legislative onslaught of so-called education reform proposals shouldn’t have come as a surprise. In his April 2011 special message on education reform, Gov. Snyder gave marching orders to legislators to lift the charter school cap, overhaul teacher tenure, tie teacher evaluation to student performance, encourage unchecked growth of cyber schools and tie funding to student achievement. Now, eight months later, Snyder has updated his list of education reform proposals to reflect legislative changes. He’s also added some new initiatives which give us a glimpse into this year’s political agenda. His emphasis is still on alternative forms of education—especially cyber schools—which dismantle public education and sell it off to private companies. With the goal of creating a “public school system that reaches higher and seeks to compete in the global economy,” some of Snyder’s new proposals call for:
Just as in his first message, the Governor doesn’t provide many specifics on how these projects will be funded other than to say school aid funds will be used—that’s the same school aid fund that was slashed so CEOs could have their tax breaks. The State Board of Education is recommending that any budget surpluses—hundreds of millions for the School Aid and General Fund—be used to help school districts meet the new set of reforms. Snyder has hinted that there may be no cuts to education funding in his new budget. Last spring, Snyder’s proposals formed the playbook for the Legislature’s agenda. Will it happen again? |
From the Michigan Education Association - Posted 1/8/2012 Moved 1/22/12 Changes to school retirement among legislative goals Changing the retirement health benefits of school employees is one of the legislative goals House Republicans have set for this year. House Speaker Jase Bolger has said that the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System has a huge unfunded obligation that needs to be capped so more dollars can be put into classrooms. Bolger is looking at the changes made to the state employee’s retirement system as a model. Bolger would also like to reduce school districts’ contributions into the system. For fiscal year 2011, the retirement contribution rate for employees hired before July 201 is 20.66 percent and 19.16 percent for those hired after July 2010, but Bolger would like to see that rate below 20 percent. |
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Did you know that for many school districts hiring substitue teachers have been privatized? Professional Education Services Group, also known as PESG, a Grand Rapids-based company that coordinates a pool of 20,000 to 25,000 substitute teachers for more than 300 school districts in Michigan and Indiana. Below is an article about the failure of discipline in one school district, Pattengill. School district defends new system for substitutes Officials say a series of substitute teachers over a period of weeks contributed to a breach of discipline at Lansing's Pattengill Middle School last month that resulted in letters to parents of 175 art students in seven different classes. But they also say the system for hiring substitute teachers — privatized into a countywide system in 2008 to save money — usually works well. Difficulties sometimes arise when a district is seeking a teacher for a specialized class, said Jim Davis, deputy superintendent for the Lansing School District. "If you have a sub for a band teacher who doesn't know music, you're dead in the water," he said. "Art is not cutting and pasting. It's conceptual, it has theory and it has good practice, so someone walking in off the street who does not have an art background is going to struggle with the content." Prior to 2008, local school districts were responsible for hiring their own substitute teachers. As district employees, subs were eligible for the state's school retirement plan. Private contractorThis year, school districts must pay an amount equal to almost 25 percent of each employee's salary into the state school employees' retirement system. But they don't have to do that for substitute teachers because they work for a private contractor. Districts in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties contract with Professional Education Services Group, also known as PESG, a Grand Rapids-based company that coordinates a pool of 20,000 to 25,000 substitute teachers for more than 300 school districts in Michigan and Indiana, said Troy Ruger, regional director for the group. Substitutes — who earn about $75 a day — tell PESG which districts they want to work in. When teachers create an absence in the company's automated system, the system begins dialing qualified subs, continuing until one of them accepts the job. "The system allows for many, many different parameters," Ruger said. Making requestsFor example, teachers who have worked with a specific substitute before can request the system contact that person first. Building principals can do the same. Substitute teacher requests also can be for people with specific certification or skills or a handful of subs who are known in the building where the absence will occur. "What we always ask for is certification, especially in core subjects," Davis said. Ruger said school principals also can work with the system to seek a long-term sub with specialized skills. "They have a lot of access to the right people for any assignment," he said. "They just have to let us know." Patti Seidl is president of the Lansing Schools Education Association, which represents about 1,000 Lansing teachers. She said a district could turn to idled teachers. "If the human resources department knew that someone was going to be on leave long-term, they could go to the people who are still laid off to see if somebody would be willing to come in," she said. But that type of move comes with a financial implication: The teachers' contract requires 30 days notice of layoff. |
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From the Kalamazoo Gazette: Poll: What is the top Michigan education story for 2011? By Julie Mack | Kalamazoo Gazette No question, it was a year of upheaval for Michigan K-12 public schools. A new governor and Legislator signed off on a series of changes, such as tenure reform and expansion of charter schools, that have been debated for years. They also took some unexpected steps, such as using the School Aid Fund to balance the state budget -- crossing a line that some argued was a violation of the public trust. Let's take a quick rundown of the year's events: 1. State balances General Fund budget by using the School Aid Fund. After several years of stagnant funding, the K-12 school community was banking on an increase in the per-student foundation grant for 2011-12, based on a surplus in the School Aid Fund. But ignoring long-standing tradition -- and what many said was voter intent in passing Proposal A in 1994 -- Gov. Rick Snyder and the GOP legislation tapped the SAF to fund higher education, helping to close a gap in the General Fund budget. The K-12 community was outraged, and there were weeks and months of public protests. In the end, the K-12 cuts weren't as severe as originally proposed, but public educators and Democrats are still furious about the financial manuever. 2. Changes in the tenure law. A package of four bills signed in the summer makes it easier to dismiss incompetent teachers; removes seniority as the primary basis for layoffs; extends the probation period for new teachers, and requires schools to overhaul their evaluation system for teachers and administrators, using student test scores as part of the basis for the evaluations. 3. New limits on collective bargaining. Changes in Michigan's Public Employees Relations Act mean unions can no longer seek retroactive pay increases if a contract is settled after the old contract expires; employees have to pay any increases in insurance if their contract expires without a new contract in place, and unions also have less input on matters such as teacher evaluations. 4. Snyder signs law allowing for unlimited expansion of charter schools. The GOP introduced a series of bills to expand school choice, and Snyder recently signed perhaps the most controversial: One that would lift the state cap on charter schools. Supporters say it will expand options for parents. Detractors say it's a GOP strategy to privatize public education. 5. Public-sector employees forced to contribute more towards health insurance. Under a law signed in August, public-sector employees must contribute either 20 percent towards their insurance premiums or the employer's contribution is limited to $15,000 per employee for family coverage. This change affects all state and local employees, not just school districts. 6. Recall of Paul Scott, chairman of the House Education Committee. Public ire towards Republican moves on K-12 education spurred a series of recall efforts, but the only one to come to fruition was that involving Scott, a Republican from Grand Blanc. In November by a margin of a few hundred votes, Scott became the first Michigan lawmaker to be recalled in 28 years. For the MEA, which championed the recall, it was the one solid victory in a year of punishing blows. 7. State Board of Education raises MEAP and MME cut scores. Acknowledging that it had become too easy to pass the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests -- in 2010, it was possible on some tests to get two-thirds of the answers wrong and still pass -- the state board raised the cut scores dramatically, starting with tests administered in fall 2011. Scores have yet to be released for tests taken in October. 8. Uproar over state Senate's anti-bullying law. Even satirist Stephen Colbert took note of a Michigan Senate bill that required schools to enact an anti-bullying policy, but mandated an exemption for "a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction." Even Snyder and House Republicans denounced the exemption, and it was removed. So what do you think was the top education story of the year? CLICK HERE TO VOTE. |
Posted 12/13/11 Moved 12/21/11 From Mother Jones: Michigan's Radical Assault on Public Education The state's GOP leaders are at the forefront of a national movement to eviscerate teachers' unions and privatize public schools.
Welcome to education reform in the state of Michigan, where a Republican-dominated Legislature and a GOP governor are pushing one of the broadest anti-union, pro-privatization agendas in the country. Michigan is grappling with budget shortfalls like other states including Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Jersey—all places where GOP leaders (and occasionally Democrats) are exploiting the economic downturn to launch an ideological assault on teachers' unions and public school systems. Although some of Michigan's legislative attempts to overhaul public education have met resistance, state lawmakers have made an unprecedented push toward for-profit schools, dubious online curricula, and budget cuts and anti-union measures that would make the public teaching profession ever more insecure. Michigan GOPers have gotten help from outside organizations, including Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst group (made famous by the documentary Waiting for Superman) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market-centric think tank. So extreme is their agenda that one recent bill even tried to justify bullying in schools on ideological and religious grounds, drawing outrage and national media attention. Michigan is at the forefront of a badly misguided reform movement sweeping the country, says Diane Ravitch, a preeminent education historian and a former Education Department official under President George H.W. Bush. "They want to save money on education, and the best way for them to do it is by cutting the number of teachers, getting rid of higher-paid teachers—and to do that they must eliminate tenure and seniority," she says. "The unions are an obstacle to almost everything they want to do, so they have to neutralize them." ------- I dare not post more of the article because of copyright concerns -- but you can click below to read the whole article. http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/michigan-privatize-public-education |
Critics of Proposal 2 to protect collective bargaining and middle class families may have lost their court challenges to keep the issue off the November ballot, but they haven't given up the fight. They're flooding the media with interviews and ads designed to scare people into voting NO on Proposal 2 with questionable and inflammatory information.
Choice Week, the debate over SB 619—whether unlimited cyber schools is an element of sound education reform—continued in the House Education Committee.
The list of initiatives reads like a grand plan to dismantle public education as we know it: