Contents of this issue:
State superintendent resigns post after political scuffle
Detroit Public Schools does not renew CEO's contract
Shelby district ponders cost-saving "trimester" system
School boards organization urges hiring superintendents from within
Granholm, legislators may propose increase in state school aid
State may drop most MEAP essay questions in effort to save millions
Walled Lake achieves federal AYP after state corrects computations
STATE SUPERINTENDENT RESIGNS POST AFTER POLITICAL SCUFFLE
DETROIT — Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Watkins
resigned last weekend following public pressure from Gov. Jennifer
Granholm, according to The Detroit News.
The state Board of Education was expected to fire Watkins in a meeting
scheduled for Saturday, but Board President Kathleen Straus announced
Watkins' resignation before the meeting took place. Board Member John
Austin told The News that the state did not buy out Watkins' contract,
and that "we have a tangible commitment from Tom to resign on a date
certain."
The board will probably name an interim superintendent as early as this
week. Gov. Granholm has not indicated publicly whom she would prefer as
Watkins' successor. "The governor realizes that's the responsibility of
the board," said Straus.
Granholm and Watkins exchanged pointed public comments earlier this
month over Watkins' job performance, though the state Board of
Education, not the governor, holds the power to hire and fire the state
superintendent.
SOURCES:
The Detroit News, "Watkins quits schools post," Jan. 30, 2005
https://www.detroitnews.com/2005/schools/0501/30/B01-73952.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Lansing Must Embrace Basic Reform
Following the Watkins Debacle," January 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6951
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Watkins Gets It Right,"
January 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6939
DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS DOES NOT RENEW CEO'S CONTRACT
DETROIT — The board of the Detroit Public Schools last week decided not
to extend district Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Burnley's contract,
the Detroit Free Press reported.
Nevertheless, Burnley is being considered as a candidate for an interim
CEO position to lead the transition from the current state-imposed,
mayor-appointed school board to a traditional, elected board. Burnley
has indicated he would consider the interim position, a reversal of his
earlier unwillingness to submit to a public interview to keep his post.
Board President Bill Brooks said the decision not to extend Burnley's
current contract beyond June 30 was not a reflection on Burnley
himself. "This was about the contract. We weren't voting on Burnley
tonight," Brooks asserted, according to the Free Press. Board Attorney
Jerome Watson reportedly advised the board that because any CEO
employed in the coming school year would have to navigate the
transition between two different school boards with different sets of
powers, a new CEO contract should be "crafted to fit this new
position."
The district currently faces a $150 million deficit and a $48 million
shortfall left over from last year, according to the Free Press. The
district has until Feb. 4 to file a financial plan to eliminate its
deficit.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Contract's not extended but Burnley is not out,"
Jan. 26, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/burnley26e_20050126.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The $200 Million Question,"
January 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6947
Michigan Education Report, "Compromise Gives Archer Control of Detroit
Schools," Spring 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/1678
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Choice in Michigan: A Primer
for Freedom in Education: Lack of Incentives Produces Poor Results and
Exacerbates Problems," July 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2049
SHELBY DISTRICT PONDERS COST-SAVING "TRIMESTER" SYSTEM
MUSKEGON, Mich. — School officials in the Shelby school district are
considering switching the district's high school to a "trimester"
system in order to cut costs in the 2005-2006 school year, according to
the Muskegon Chronicle.
A trimester plan would involve three 12-week academic sessions, instead
of two 18-week semesters. The trimester system typically involves a
longer school day, and according to the Chronicle, Shelby
Superintendent Dana McGrew said teachers would be responsible for four
to five course sections under the system, instead of the current three
to four. McGrew told the Chronicle that this increase in the
instruction load would mean fewer teachers would be needed, helping
decrease the district's payroll.
The Shelby district has a budget of about $17 million, and McGrew said
he plans to trim expenses by $1.4 million next year, an amount roughly
equal to the district's projected budget shortfall this year. To cover
this shortfall, the district will draw down part of its current fund
equity of $5.5 million.
The Chronicle attributed the district's need for cutbacks to "stagnant
state aid and increasing costs, especially those related to retirement
and insurance."
SOURCES:
Muskegon Chronicle, "School district considers 'trimester' for cost
savings," Jan. 25, 2005
https://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-6/110667152316840.xml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible 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
SCHOOL BOARDS ORGANIZATION URGES HIRING SUPERINTENDENTS FROM WITHIN
DETROIT — The Michigan Association of School Boards is recommending
that school districts forgo wide-ranging searches for new
superintendents and instead consider hiring qualified administrators
within their own district, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Free Press noted that promoting staff from inside a district to the
superintendent's position is a "means of eliminating costly searches
and keeping quality administrators from leaving" the district. Carl
Hartman, head of local superintendent searches for the MASB, told the
Free Press: "What we're saying is if you have a quality internal
candidate that knows the district, knows the community and knows the
staff — and if they are qualified — then I hire them. I say that to
every board I work with."
The Lake Orion school board recently decided to promote its
superintendent from within the district to save money and retain local
talent. Similarly, Fitzgerald Public Schools in Warren reportedly
always hires its new superintendents from within its district. "What's
worked out very well for most of them is that they started off as
teachers and worked their way up the ranks," Fitzgerald Board President
Jack Kennedy told the Free Press.
Michigan school districts had to replace almost 60 superintendents in
the 2003-2004 school year, and at least 50 superintendents have
announced their intention to retire this year. "We're definitely in a
leadership void right now, and I think people are definitely looking
for the best candidate, and if they're internal, then so be it,"
Hartman told the Free Press.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "School districts urged to try something new: Hire
leader from within," Jan. 31, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/nosearch31e_20050131.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Minneapolis Public Schools Teach a
Lesson in Privatization," November 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/794
GRANHOLM, LEGISLATORS MAY PROPOSE INCREASE IN STATE SCHOOL AID
LANSING, Mich. — The Lansing State Journal reported that state
legislators and Gov. Jennifer Granholm may increase the minimum per-pupil state school grant in fiscal 2006, given state predictions of
higher state tax revenues for education.
State fiscal experts reportedly expect a $400 million increase in state
tax revenue for education in the upcoming budget year, and this growth
could permit an increase of $34 to $200 in the state per-pupil grant,
depending on how much of the revenue the state Legislature actually
allots to schools. Gov. Granholm will present her state budget
recommendations Feb. 10, and she is considering preliminary proposals
to increase per-pupil funding by $100 to $150, according to The
Journal.
Technically, the minimum per-pupil grant from the state has been $6,700
for the past three years, but The Journal reported that schools
actually received less than that amount until this year. School
districts have reportedly said they will need a $150 per-student
increase next year to cover the mounting costs of teacher retirement
and health benefits.
SOURCES:
The Lansing State Journal, "State considers school aid increase,"
Jan. 31, 2005
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050131/NEWS05/501310316/1006/news05
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan at the Crossroads,"
Jan. 31, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6957
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan's Budget Challenge"
https://www.mackinac.org/4964
STATE MAY DROP MOST MEAP ESSAY QUESTIONS IN EFFORT TO SAVE MILLIONS
PONTIAC, Mich. — The Oakland Press reported that the Michigan
Department of Education may drop most essay questions from the Michigan
Educational Assessment Program tests in an effort to cut millions of
dollars from the state's testing administration budget.
Removing essays from the MEAP tests in subjects other than writing
would reduce the cost of administering the tests by about $7 million,
according to The Press. The department must cut $10 million from its
$20 million testing administration budget.
Some Oakland County school officials told The Press that such a move
would encourage teachers to spend less time on writing skills. "If the
MEAP is like the Super Bowl or the World Series of a kid's education —
and I think that's a fair way of looking at it — this would be like
running the World Series without a center fielder," Derrick Fries, an
assistant superintendent in the Avondale School District, told The
Press.
State Board of Education Member Liz Bauer of Birmingham also criticized
the move, telling The Press, "The essay question is what gives the test
some integrity. That's what colleges are looking for — to have people
be able to express themselves in writing." The state education
department is still formulating its spending proposals, but it will
forward them to Gov. Jennifer Granholm before she presents her state
budget recommendations on Feb. 10.
SOURCE:
The Oakland Press, "State may trim MEAP essays to cut costs,"
Jan. 31, 2005
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/013105/edu_20050131025.shtml
WALLED LAKE ACHIEVES FEDERAL AYP AFTER STATE CORRECTS COMPUTATIONS
Walled Lake, Mich. — The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools reported
earlier this month that the Michigan Department of Education had
corrected state computational errors that had erroneously indicated the
district had failed to achieve "Adequate Yearly Progress" under the
federal government's No Child Left Behind Act.
According to a Jan. 19 Walled Lake district news release, the error
came in the state's "calculation of the data for the middle school
English Language Learners (ELL) English Language Arts (ELA)." The
corrected statistics mean that the district attained AYP not just at
the elementary school level, but the middle school level, as well.
The district's news release quoted Walled Lake Superintendent James
Geisler as saying: "We are elated with the confirmation that Walled
Lake Schools made AYP as a district. We hope that the parents and
community realize that the reams of data that is calculated for the new
state and federal AYP and No Child Left Behind initiatives are
extremely complicated. More importantly, we want our community to know
that Walled Lake Schools has a staff second to none and that we have
always worked to provide the best instruction possible for every child
and family we serve."
SOURCE:
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools news release, "State Department of
Education confirms Walled Lake Consolidated Schools made AYP,"
Jan. 19, 2005
http://walledlake.k12.mi.us/chsms/AYP%20approval%20press%20release1-05.pdf
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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