Contents of this issue:
- New charter plan expands cap, public oversight
- Timing of school tax votes questioned
- Public school graduates not prepared for college, says report
- Oakland ISD spent thousands on catered food
- STUDY: Girls moving past boys in academics
- Detroit charter school closes
- ANNOUNCEMENT: The Mackinac Center for Public Policy's 16th Annual High School Debate Workshops
NEW CHARTER LAW EXPANDS CAP, PUBLIC OVERSIGHT
LANSING, Mich. — A plan to allow new charter schools around the
state was agreed upon last week by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and
several Republican lawmakers pushing the idea.
The plan would allow 150 more charters to open over the next 10
years, including 10 university-authorized high schools and 15
authorized by the Thompson Foundation, headed by philanthropist
Robert Thompson, which plans to give up to $200 million to open
charter high schools in the Detroit area. In addition, the
Detroit Public Schools Reform Board would revert to an elected
board instead of the currently appointed board.
Under the plan, new charters would also have governing boards
that include at least one member from the community where they
are established.
But the bill still is not in its final form, and House Democrats,
who disapprove of charters, were withholding approval Tuesday.
"I don't think there's any consensus on this issue in the
caucus," said House Democratic spokesman Mark Fisk. "We didn't
negotiate this. We need to see more details. Depending on the
details, the caucus could very well be split."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "State school deal sets 150 charters,"
Sept. 17, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/chart17_20030917.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
TIMING OF SCHOOL TAX VOTES QUESTIONED
DETROIT, Mich. — Six school districts in metro Detroit are
holding multimillion-dollar bond elections this month, raising
suspicion that the elections are purposely held at times when
voter turnout would be low.
Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton, who has introduced legislation to
consolidate all municipal and school-related elections to four
dates per year, told the Detroit Free Press, "If you're not a
person that follows local media, or is involved in the school
district directly, chances are there's no way you're going to
know there's an election going on."
Some districts say the reason they are holding the elections is
because officials prefer fall votes, others say they missed the
deadline for a June election, when the bond could have coincided
with school board races.
"Why would they have two elections? To hold down the number of
voters who turn out, especially seniors," commented former
Detroit School Board member Jerry O'Neill. "They're trying to
sneak it through -- past the voters."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "SCHOOL TAX PROPOSALS: Votes' timing
questioned," Sept. 19, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/nselex19_20030919.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Consolidate School Elections
with General Elections," June 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5441
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Is there a case for election
consolidation across the state or should such matters be decided
at the local level?" June 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4409
PUBLIC SCHOOL GRADUATES NOT PREPARED FOR COLLEGE, SAYS REPORT
NEW YORK, N.Y. — A new report says students graduating from
public high schools are increasingly unprepared for college in
academics.
According to the report, released by the Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research in New York, less than half of the nation's
public school graduates are academically prepared to go to
college due to their choice of classes in high school. Among
minorities, less than 20 percent of students graduate prepared
for college.
"Counseling students what courses to take could be a good idea,"
Jay P. Greene, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "At the very least, high schools have to
make available courses needed to go on to a four-year college."
SOURCES:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Many public school graduates aren't
college-ready, report says," Sept. 16, 2003
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/9D5DFF8D5A16E3A686256DA4001270EF?OpenDocument&Headline=Many+public+school+graduates+aren't+college-ready,+report+says+
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Declining Standards at
Michigan Universities," November 1996
https://www.mackinac.org/236
OAKLAND ISD SPENT THOUSANDS ON CATERED FOOD
WATERFORD, Mich. — New allegations of overspending in the Oakland
Intermediate School District (OISD) have arisen amid accounts of
financial scandals over the last several months.
The OISD reported that it spent over $26,000 on catered meals
during the month of June alone. District officials claim this
money was spent on teachers' meals at conferences, but records
show that $3,200 was spent on meals given to 80 staffers while
moving into the district's new $30 million headquarters. Then,
the district spent $650 on bagels for a welcoming party in the
building.
"Once again, we see a district that just doesn't get it," Rep.
Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, told the Detroit Free Press. "This is
supposed to be money that goes to kids, and time and again, you
see the people running this district spending money on themselves
in ways that are just completely unacceptable."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "District's 1-month food tab: $26,000,"
Sept. 19, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/ois19_20030919.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Eliminate Intermediate School
Districts," August 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5678
Michigan Education Report, "What Are Intermediate School
Districts?" Winter 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2709
STUDY: GIRLS MOVING PAST BOYS IN ACADEMICS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An international study of reading scores found
that girls are better readers than boys in industrialized
nations, surprising some education experts.
"It just blows you away," said Barry McGaw, director for
education at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, which released the study. "Fifteen years ago, we
were saying that girls don't stay in school and don't go on to
post-secondary education. Look what they've done in 15 years."
Girls are outperforming boys because of the differing social
atmospheres that the sexes are brought up in, says Kaye Peters, a
high school English teacher in St. Paul, Minn. "Girls can
negotiate the fine line between what peers want of them and
excelling at school. Boys have a harder time balancing being
socially accepted and academically focused," says Peters.
Except for students in Switzerland, Japan and Turkey, women earn
more university degrees than men; and except for Austria and
Iceland, girls have a higher job expectation than men. Fourth-
grade and 15-year-old girls outscored boys in reading tests in
every industrialized country, according to the study.
SOURCE:
Seattle Times, "Girls surging past boys academically, new study
says," Sept. 20, 2003
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2001737939_read20.html
DETROIT CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSES
DETROIT, Mich. — Ferris State University revoked its charter for
the Beacon International Academy in Detroit last week due to
excessive rent costs.
The university notified the school this time last year that it
would revoke the charter if it did not try to lower rent costs
with its lessee, the East Lake Missionary Baptist Church, which
houses the school. "Taxpayers' money is supposed to be going to
education -- and we feel those funds weren't being used for those
purposes," Marc Sheehan, Ferris State spokesman, told the Detroit
Free Press.
Some parents say they were unaware of the closing, even though
the school held meetings last year to explain the situation and
were given a year to rectify the situation. "We feel very badly
for students, parents and employees . . . but this is not
something that is a surprise," said Sheehan.
At the time of termination, the lease was $55,000 per month
because of new construction projects authorized by the church.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Detroit school loses charter,"
Sept. 19, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/dfsu19_20030919.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is
Key to Academic Achievement and Accountability," October 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3786
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
THE MACKINAC CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY'S 16th ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL
DEBATE WORKSHOPS 2003
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is proud to sponsor the 16th
annual High School Debate Workshops designed to equip students
for the debate season through informative speakers, free
materials, and a vigorous exchange of ideas.
View the debate poster at:
https://www.mackinac.org/media/images/2003/DebatePoster.jpg
Over 7,500 students and teachers have honed their forensic skills
at our Debate Workshops. This comprehensive one-day program
informs debaters on the current debate resolution through expert
speakers, hard-to-find resource materials, and in-depth
discussions. Schools may send as many participants as they wish.
Space is limited, however, and reservations are taken on a first-
come, first-served basis.
The workshops are being held this week in four locations: One was
held in Livonia on Monday. Today, another is being held in
Jackson at the Commonwealth Commerce Center, 209 East Washington;
tomorrow another will be held in Grand Rapids at Eberhard Center,
Grand Valley State University; and on Thursday the final workshop
will be held in Traverse City at the Park Place Hotel, 300 East
State St.
This year's debate resolution: That the United States federal
government should establish an ocean policy substantially
increasing protection of marine natural resources.
Speakers include Gregory Rehmke, former director of the
Foundation for Economic Education's High School Speech and Debate
Program, Michael Alessi, director of natural resource policy for
the Reason Public Policy Institute, and Don Leal, a senior
associate with the Political Research Economy Center, who has
written extensively on fisheries, water, outdoor recreation, oil
and gas, as well as timber and federal land-use policy.
Cost is $5.00 per student, lunch included. For more information
contact Mackinac Center Director of Fiscal Policy Michael LaFaive
at (989) 631-0900, fax (989) 631-0964, or E-mail:
lafaive@mackinac.org.
Greetings and registration for all seminars begins at 8:30 a.m.
Sessions begin promptly at 9 a.m. and close by 2:00 p.m.
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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