MUSKEGON —Superintendent Joseph Schulze’s plans to have the Edison Project manage two elementary schools in Muskegon were torpedoed in late February by the Muskegon City Teachers Education Association.
Schulze argued that hiring Edison would improve student test scores and make Muskegon more appealing to students from outside the district. Under his plan, Edison would have spent $1.5 million to provide 900 students at the two elementary schools with home computers and to retrain teachers. No Muskegon teachers or support staff would have lost their jobs if Edison were hired.
The plan hinged, however, on the willingness of the teachers union to approve changes in their existing contract with the district. Those changes would have permitted more flexibility in assigning teachers within the district, and a 15% increase in work hours in exchange for a 10% boost in pay. The union rejected the plan, effectively ending further consideration of employing the Edison Project in Muskegon.
