SPECIAL UPDATE: MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST October 15, 2002

SPECIAL UPDATE FROM MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST
October 15, 2002
www.educationreport.org/pubs/med

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GR BOARD VOTES TO PART WAYS WITH STATE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Grand Rapids board members voted last week
not to pay $7,986 in dues to the Michigan Association of School
Boards (MASB), with some members saying they can't justify
spending tax money on an organization they contend isn't helpful.

The 5-4 vote was prefaced by much debate, with some board members
saying it is important to be a part of a greater school board
community, and that the members would have benefited from MASB
training and legal expertise.

Treasurer Jeff Steinport led the charge against paying dues,
telling the Grand Rapids Press it is wrong for the district to
spend money on such memberships while crying poverty.

Board member David Allen cast the deciding vote.

"This comes out to about 0.0003 percent of the budget, so it's
not about the money," Allen told the Grand Rapids Press. "It's
the principle, and it's about sending a message."

The MASB is one of many such resource organizations available to
school board members around the state, such as the Michigan
School Board Leaders Association (MSBLA).

MSBLA dues are $25 per school board member.
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SOURCES:
Grand Rapids Press, "GR district votes to part ways with state
association of school boards," Oct. 8, 2002
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard
.xsl?/base/news-4/1034088339200990.xml

Michigan Association of School Boards
www.masb.org

Michigan School Board Leaders Association
www.msbla.org



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MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.

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