Contents of this issue:
Detroit Public Schools CEO outlines deficit solution
Benzie contract talks stall over health insurance costs
Study: Families' costs at Michigan public universities down since 1998
Congress reauthorizes federal special education law
Survey: Parents question MEAP's value
Two state universities reach record enrollment numbers
DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS CEO OUTLINES DEFICIT SOLUTION
DETROIT — During an annual "State of the Schools" address last
Thursday, Detroit Public Schools CEO Kenneth Burnley requested patience
while the district straightens out its finances, according to the
Detroit Free Press.
The district is facing a combined deficit from last year and this year
of $198 million, which Burnley said could be alleviated through a $200
million bond sale, to be repaid over the next 15 years at $20 million
per year. The bond sale would have to be approved by the state
Legislature. According to Mike Griffith, a policy analyst with the
Denver-based Education Commission of the States, a nonpartisan think
tank, no other district in the country faces such a proportionally
large deficit.
Without the bond sale, said Burnley, the district may have to cut
nearly 5,000 jobs and close up to 40 schools. "In my opinion, that
would destroy the district," he said. "This is the best choice
available."
Some Detroiters were skeptical of Burnley's plan after his
announcement. "Burnley created this deficit. Lansing's takeover is what
created the deficit. We went from a $100 million surplus to a $250
million deficit," Detroiter Shanta Driver told the Detroit Free Press.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Be patient, Detroit school chief asks,"
Nov. 19, 2004
https://www.freep.com/news/education/dps19e_20041119.htm
Detroit News, "Burnley wants to lean on state," Nov. 18, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0411/18/C01-8826.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money or
Lack of Money Management?" August 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
BENZIE CONTRACT TALKS STALL OVER HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The Traverse City Record Eagle reports that
contract talks between Benzie Central employees and district
administrators have stalled over the issue of sharing the cost of
health insurance.
According to the Record Eagle, the cost of health insurance "has been a
big issue in contract talks throughout the region, which continue for
teachers in Bear Lake, Bellaire, Buckley, Central Lake, Harbor Springs,
Forest Area, Gaylord, Kaleva Norman Dickson, Kalkaska, Leland,
Mancelona, Manistee, Mesick, Onekama and Suttons Bay."
In Benzie, administrators have agreed to pay insurance costs of $13,056
per teacher annually. To maintain their current coverage under this
proposal, teachers would have to pay an annual premium of $920.
Alternatively, they could switch to another plan with fewer benefits
that would cost them $80 annually.
The district's proposed spending cap is not unusual given the current
health care market, according to David Hershey, a negotiator with the
Michigan Association of School Boards. "This is a legitimate trend
statewide and nationwide that employees share in the responsibility of
health care and fringe benefits," Hershey told the Record Eagle.
Kathleen Betts, a representative of the Michigan Education Association,
countered his claim, telling the Record Eagle, "I've seen it on a lot
of tables, but we haven't agreed to it." The MEA reports that only two
districts in the area have agreed to such caps.
Both administrators and union members in the Benzie district say they
will not compromise. "The board of education is not asking for
concessions," Superintendent David Micinski said, according to the
Record Eagle. "We want a partnership with members of our staff to share
the cost of health care."
SOURCES:
Traverse City Record Eagle, "Benzie teachers, schools lock horns over
health insurance," Nov. 18, 2004
http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/nov/18edhc.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Collective Bargaining: Bringing
Education to the Table," August 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/791
Michigan Privatization Report, "Ensuring Insurance Competition,"
September 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/667
STUDY: FAMILIES' COSTS AT MICHIGAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES DOWN SINCE 1998
LANSING, Mich. — Booth Newspapers reports that a study released last
week found that the real cost to families of higher education at
Michigan's 15 public universities has decreased since 1998.
The study, published by the Presidents Council, State Universities of
Michigan, found that families, on average, pay about 45 percent of the
official price of a college education at Michigan's public
universities. "The cost students and families actually pay is
significantly less than the state tuition figures would seem to
indicate," Mike Boulus, executive director of the Council, told Booth.
According to the study, a 22 percent real hike in the schools' own
grants and scholarships since 1998 is the major reason families now pay
less in inflation-adjusted terms for their children's college
education. (Loans were not included in the analysis.) University
officials say they hope the report will encourage students who believe
they cannot afford college to start applying again.
SOURCES:
Booth Newspapers, "Surprise — families' costs for higher ed has gone
down," Nov. 16, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-5/110063760065080.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Prepaid Tuition Programs
Can Help Make College Affordable," September 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3685
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Competition Among Professors Would
Help Parents Afford College," August 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2105
CONGRESS REAUTHORIZES FEDERAL SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW
DETROIT — Congress last Friday passed a bill reauthorizing part of the
federal government's special education law. It is the first major
legislative revision to the federal program in seven years, according
to The Associated Press.
The federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act passed the U.S.
House and Senate with overwhelming majorities. President Bush was
expected to sign the bill, according to the AP.
The proposed revisions to the act are attempts to make it easier for
schools to take disorderly disabled children out of the classroom; to
allow new teachers more flexibility in showing they are "highly
qualified"; to identify disabled students more accurately; to
discourage frivolous lawsuits against school districts; and to more
forcefully ensure states' compliance with the act.
The AP quoted U.S. Rep. John Boehner, an Ohio Republican who chairs the
House Education and the Workforce Committee: "We set out with one
fundamental goal in mind. That was to improve the educational results
for students with disabilities, and I believe we have accomplished that
goal with the bill that we have before us today."
The bill also committed Congress by 2011 to pay for up to 40 percent of
the additional costs of providing special education programs. The
federal government currently pays less than 19 percent.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Congress approves update of special education rules,"
Nov. 20, 2004
https://www.detroitnews.com/2004/schools/0411/21/schools-11064.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Do Private Schools Serve
Difficult-to-Educate Students?" October 1997
https://www.mackinac.org/361
SURVEY: PARENTS QUESTION MEAP'S VALUE
DETROIT — The Detroit Free Press reports that a survey of Midwestern
parents released last week found that only 5 percent of those in
Michigan said they understood the purpose of the state's Michigan
Educational Assessment Program tests. Just 1 percent of Michigan
parents believed that standardized tests were important measures of a
student's education.
The survey was sponsored by the Lansing-based Great Lakes Center for
Education Research and Practice, whose members include National
Education Association state affiliates. The survey included 639
Michigan parents and informed a larger study of parental attitudes in
Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. The
results, Center director Teri Moblo told the Free Press, are not "'an
indictment against high-stakes testing,' but they do indicate that
'parents do not understand the purpose of the MEAP.'"
Jeremy Hughes, chief academic officer for the Michigan Department of
Education, told the Free Press that his department would like to
improve its communications with parents and change MEAP reports so that
parents receive more detailed information about their child's progress.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Parents are skeptical about MEAP, survey
concludes," Nov. 17, 2004
https://www.freep.com/news/education/meap17e_20041117.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "How Does the MEAP Measure Up?"
December 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3919
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which Educational
Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4382
TWO STATE UNIVERSITIES REACH RECORD ENROLLMENT NUMBERS
SAGINAW, Mich. — Saginaw Valley State University and Central Michigan
University report that their fall enrollment numbers and freshman class
sizes reached record levels for their respective schools this year,
according to The Saginaw News.
SVSU now has 1,200 first-year students, while CMU has 3,741. "We do a
lot more recruiting across the state than we did just seven years ago,"
Robert Maurovich, SVSU vice president for student services and
enrollment, told The News. CMU Executive Vice President and Provost
Thomas A. Storch cited successful recruiting of transfer students,
saying, "We are building partnerships with community colleges through
agreements that encourage students to continue their education (at CMU)
once they complete their (two-year) programs."
The University of Michigan and Michigan State University reported
enrollment increases of several hundred students this year. In
contrast, many state universities saw enrollment declines from 2002 to
2003, according to The News.
SOURCES:
Saginaw News, "University enrollments reach record levels,"
Nov. 21, 2004
https://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-13/110103604459850.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Prepaid Tuition Programs
Can Help Make College Affordable," September 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3685
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Competition among Professors Would
Help Parents Afford College," August 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2105
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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