Contents of this issue:
Schools reel from mandatory pension increase
Superintendent salary, perk offers remain competitive
COMMENTARY: Analyst says much school work is below grade level
Colorado bill would expand vouchers to college students
Florida legislators earmark funding boost to limit class size
Testimony begins in case against former Oakland ISD chief
SCHOOLS REEL FROM MANDATORY PENSION INCREASE
DETROIT, Mich. — A state-mandated increase in schools' payments
to the teacher pension fund is causing many districts to make
cuts elsewhere in their budgets.
Several Metro Detroit districts are grappling with multi-million dollar
deficits on top of the required increase for the pension fund,
which will cost large districts up to $2.9 million this year.
State law allows officials to mandate extra payments into the
pension fund to make up for bad investments up to five years
prior. The fund is managed by the state.
Schools' contribution rates in the 1990s decreased as the pension
fund earned money from stock market growth, said Christopher
DeRose, director of Michigan's Office of Retirement Services.
"But 2000 through 2002 has not been as good, so we have begun to
see an increase in what the school districts have to pay. It is
the way the system is supposed to work."
The extra pension expense is a challenge for school district
officials around the state, they say, as other financial problems
are negatively affecting budgets. "When you put the increase
pension cost on top of step increases for wages, and longevity,
and health insurance, it puts many school districts in a tough
position," Bob Cipriano, director of business services at
Dearborn Public Schools, told the Detroit News.
Some districts are laying off teachers as part of budget
balancing efforts. Others are saving money by contracting out
for bus, janitorial, and cafeteria services instead of
maintaining highly paid non-instructional staffs on their
payrolls. Still others are bidding out teacher health insurance
to find lower cost providers.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Pension hike wallops schools," Apr. 27, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0404/27/a01-134803.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Government Pension System
Needs Reform," June 1991
https://www.mackinac.org/194
Michigan Privatization Report, "Contract Out School Services
Before Laying Off Teachers," Fall 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5948
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Clare Schools Using
Privatization to Keep Teachers," September 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5734
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "MESSA: Keeping School
Districts from Saving Money on Health Care," November 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5924
SUPERINTENDENT SALARY, PERK OFFERS REMAIN COMPETITIVE
LANSING, Mich. — Budget problems in school districts around the
state are not having a negative effect on superintendent salaries
and perks, as the demand for superintendents remains high while a
dearth of candidates exists in many districts.
The Lansing State Journal reports that many districts are still
offering $100,000-plus salaries with additional perks including
car leases and monetary incentives. Maria Bolen, finance director
at East Lansing Public Schools, said her district is looking for
a qualified candidate and must offer competitive compensation
packages. "We'll have to," she said. "It is difficult to attract
qualified candidates."
Applications for superintendent positions statewide have fallen
by half in the last two years according to the Michigan
Association of School Boards, necessitating larger salary
packages to entice candidates to stay in Michigan. Tim Quinn of
the Michigan Leadership Institute is assisting the East Lansing
district in its search for a new superintendent. "The investment
that they're making in the superintendent will hopefully serve
the district for some time," he said.
SOURCES:
Lansing State Journal, "Superintendents' pay must top $100K,
school districts say," May 3, 2004
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/news/schools/040503_twobanksside_1a-4adtxt.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Minneapolis Public Schools
Teach a Lesson in Privatization," November 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/794
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money
or Lack of Money Management?," August 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
COMMENTARY: ANALYST SAYS MUCH SCHOOL WORK IS "BELOW GRADE LEVEL"
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An educational consultant expressed concern in
a Washington Post commentary over lax standards in the nation's
high schools, where she says, "much of the classroom work is
below grade level."
Ruth Mitchell wrote last week that much of the high school class
work she's seen is at an elementary or middle school level. "On
one trip to a Midwestern city, I found one out of eight
assignments at grade level in two high schools," she wrote. The
problem with this lack of instruction creates students that are
unable to pass basic standardized tests and move out of high
school, wrote Mitchell.
Lax teaching standards are largely an undocumented and unseen
problem, according to Mitchell. Most experts and policy makers
come from good schools with fond memories of teachers that turned
them on to certain subjects, she wrote. "Students in the schools
we visit are not turned on. ...They are seen as needing
elementary instruction in secondary school; as capable only of
drawing and coloring; as in need of discipline rather than
encouragement."
The solution, wrote Mitchell, lies in training teachers to deal
with students in need of remedial help instead of referring them
to other classes and continuing the cycle of failure. For many
current teachers, "Their training was simply not adequate to the
new demands of standards-based accountability. ... The most
pressing need in education for kindergarten through 12th grade
today is massive teacher retraining."
SOURCES:
Washington Post, "Dumbing Down Our Schools," Apr. 27, 2004
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A45015-2004Apr26
Michigan Education Report, "Michigan lagging in teacher quality
says federal agency," Sept. 8, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4603
Viewpoint on Public Issues, "Must Teachers Be Certified to Be
Qualified?," Feb. 1, 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/1651
Mackinac Center for Public Policy study, "The Cost of Remedial
Education," September 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/3025
COLORADO BILL WOULD EXPAND VOUCHERS TO COLLEGE STUDENTS
DENVER, Colo. — The Colorado state legislature approved a plan
last week that would alter the way public higher education in
that state is funded, creating a voucher system for college
students.
The new plan would move some taxpayer money from funding the
state's public universities to providing tuition vouchers
directly to students who choose colleges in the state. The bill
would provide students with $2,400 for the first year at public
schools, and low-income private school students would receive
$1,200. "It's the first in the nation. I think it's a giant step
for changing the incentive so more kids will go to college," said
Rick O'Donnell, executive director of the Colorado Commission on
Higher Education.
Opponents of the legislation say the shift in funding would be
directly reflected in higher tuition rates at in-state
institutions, as funding would be redirected to tuition income
rather than state grants. Colorado State Rep. Greg Brophy voted
against the bill. "I think tuition rates in this state will just
be bonkers," he told the Denver Post.
Michigan does not grant college tuition vouchers, but for years
it has operated a popular college tuition tax-credit program that
was tied to limiting tuition increases.
SOURCES:
Denver Post, "Higher-ed voucher bill goes to Owens,"
Apr. 28, 2004
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2112362,00.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Education Reform, School
Choice, and Tax Credits," April 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4191
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Friedman Says Vouchers and
Tax Credits Useful Route to Greater School Choice," March 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4117
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education," January 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
FLORIDA LEGISLATORS EARMARK FUNDING BOOST TO LIMIT CLASS SIZE
TALAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida state Constitutional amendment
requiring small class sizes will cost more than half of a funding
increase earmarked for education, raising concerns about the need
for such an amendment.
The Florida legislature approved a budget that expands school
funding by another $970 million, a 7.1% increase. More than half
of the increase must be used for lower class sizes. Between
covering the expense of 55,000 expected new students and rising
costs for teacher salaries and inflation, some education
officials say spending more to lower class sizes will harm
education in the long run.
Repealing the small-class-size amendment "might be something that
has to be done," said Wayne Blanton, director of the Florida
School Boards Association. "More and more money is going into
class size. It's getting worse every year."
Lee Constantine, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, said,
"I have never heard any administrator of a school district say
they got enough money."
The amendment requires that by 2010, grades prekindergarten
through three must have fewer than 19 students, no more than 22
in grades four through eight and 25 in high school. Until then,
schools must reduce class sizes by an average of two pupils per
year. Cost estimates range from $8 to $27.5 billion while the
academic benefits are disputed.
SOURCES:
St. Petersburg Times, "School fund boost goes to class size,"
Apr. 29, 2004
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/29/State/School_fund_boost_goe.shtml
Viewpoint on Public Issues, "Class Size Reduction Is Expensive,"
October 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/1282
TESTIMONY BEGINS IN CASE AGAINST FORMER OAKLAND ISD CHIEF
DETROIT, Mich. — Several former employees of the Oakland
Intermediate School District (OISD) testified last week against
former OISD superintendent James Redmond to help the prosecution
prove that Redmond should go to trial for charges including
felony embezzlement.
The preliminary hearing will help determine whether enough
evidence exists to begin a criminal trial against Redmond.
Formally, Redmond is being charged with felony embezzlement and a
misdemeanor of conflict of interest. During his tenure as head of
the OISD, a number of financial transactions occurred that
prosecutors are attempting to prove were illegal.
Defense attorneys countered the prosecution's witnesses with
evidence that other officials in the OISD had full awareness of
what was occurring and should have taken action if they thought
the misappropriations were illegal. Redmond's attorneys say he is
innocent of all charges.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Court ordeal begins for ex-Oakland Schools
chief," Apr. 27, 2004
https://www.freep.com/news/education/ois27_20040427.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
Michigan Education Report, "Group files complaints against
districts," Spring 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2882
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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