Contents of this issue:
Pledge of Allegiance bill passes state Senate committee
More Detroit parents choose charters, fill enrollment capacity
Gaylord, Vanderbilt districts discuss annexation
Proposals aim to allow governor to select state superintendent
Audit finds school officials embezzled $11.2 million
Granholm promises curriculum reform at meeting in Washington, D.C.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BILL PASSES STATE SENATE COMMITTEE
LANSING, Mich. — The Senate Education Committee last week unanimously
approved a bill that would require Michigan public school students to
recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day, reported Booth Newspapers.
The bill includes language making it impossible for a school to compel
any student to say the pledge if they refuse, according to a
description on
MichiganVotes.org, a Web site providing neutral
summaries of proposed legislation. Sen. Patricia Birkholz, R-Saugatuck,
said the recitation would be a patriotic reminder to students. "We have
a great deal to be thankful for," Birkholz said. "It's a 30-second
reminder of the founding of our country and what our country stands for
today."
But attorney Brad Banasik, a representative for the Michigan
Association of School Boards, said most schools already allow for a
daily recitation of the pledge and that the legislation is unnecessary.
"We're never in favor of the Legislature handing a school district a
new mandate," Banasik told Booth. "Clearly, we think that's a local
decision."
SOURCES:
Booth Newspapers, "Senate panel OKs Pledge of Allegiance mandate for
schools," Mar. 4, 2005
https://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1109891401260440.xml
MichiganVotes.org, 2005 Senate Bill 72
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2005-SB-72
MORE DETROIT PARENTS CHOOSE CHARTERS, FILL ENROLLMENT CAPACITY
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — The amount of interest in Metro Detroit charter
schools has skyrocketed in the wake of a recent announcement by the
Detroit school district that it intends to close 33 schools this
summer, reported the Detroit News.
Officials at Metro Detroit charter schools say enrollment is nearly at
capacity and few schools will be able to significantly expand their
facilities by the start of the next school year, according to the News.
Additionally, many charters lack the space to expand and accept all
interested students. "We don't have any space," said Jessie Kilgore
Jr., an administrator for the Plymouth Educational Center in Detroit.
"People are probably going to put applications in at multiple places,
playing the lottery game."
According to the News, about 3,400 students left the Detroit district
in favor of charter schools, but charter expansion will be limited this
year, as the number of schools opening next fall is expected to be less
than in past years. "Demand is very high because I think parents are
looking for schools that are safe, customer friendly and rigorous ...
now add to that, stable," said University Preparatory Academy
Superintendent Doug Ross, reported the News.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "More parents pull kids out of Detroit schools, try
charters," Mar. 4, 2005
https://www.detroitnews.com/2005/schools/0503/04/D01-107451.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Government Encouragement,"
February 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6988
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The $200 Million Question,"
January 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6947
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Ironic Choices," November 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6895
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Playing Monopoly With Detroit's
Kids," July 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6688
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "When Will Conventional Public
Schools Be As Accountable as Charters?" July 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6684
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on Charter
Schools," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4864
GAYLORD, VANDERBILT DISTRICTS DISCUSS ANNEXATION
GAYLORD, Mich. — District officials from Gaylord Community Schools and
Vanderbilt Area Schools were to meet last Wednesday to discuss the
possibility of annexation in an effort to save the districts money and
relieve financial stress, reported the Gaylord Herald-Times.
Officials said the closed meeting would be purely for informational
purposes and would not make any official decisions. "This is just
investigatory. There is no commitment attached at all," explained
Gaylord Board Secretary Ernie Grocock. "This is about what's best for
the children in Vanderbilt — not the parents; not the taxpayers; but
about the children in Vanderbilt."
Vanderbilt Superintendent Ellen Bonter said annexation is only one
possibility to alleviate financial problems in the district; district
officials have also discussed the possibility of a sinking fund
millage. "We need to explore all of our options and I think these
discussions are the avenue we need to help answer questions such as the
pros and cons of using a millage to raise revenues," Bonter told the
Herald-Times.
The Vanderbilt district plans a series of public forums in the next
several weeks to discuss its options.
SOURCES:
Gaylord Herald-Times, "Schools explore annexation," Mar. 2, 2005
http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2005/03/02/news/top_stories/top_stories01.txt
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Districts: Is Less More?"
July 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3544
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
PROPOSALS AIM TO ALLOW GOVERNOR TO SELECT STATE SUPERINTENDENT
HOLLAND, Mich. — Legislators in the state House and Senate have
introduced proposals to amend the Michigan Constitution to give the
governor the power to appoint the state superintendent of public
instruction, reported the Holland Sentinel.
A public disagreement over the future of reform in Michigan schools
between former Superintendent Tom Watkins and Gov. Jennifer Granholm
earlier this year led some legislators to devise what they say is a
more efficient way to run the state education system, according to the
Sentinel. "The governor has very little say," noted Sen. Wayne Kuipers,
R-Holland. "The time has come for us to re-evaluate that."
Critics of the plans include many Democrats in the Legislature and
members of the State Board of Education, which currently holds the
power to appoint the superintendent. Republican Board Member Nancy
Danhof said that by removing the board's power to appoint the state
schools chief, "There's no way to hold (the superintendent)
accountable."
An amendment to the state constitution would require a two-thirds
majority in both legislative chambers and a majority approval of
Michigan voters.
SOURCES:
Holland Sentinel, "Legislators debate letting governor pick schools
chief," Mar. 7, 2005
http://hollandsentinel.com/stories/030705/news_20050307005.shtml
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
AUDIT FINDS SCHOOL OFFICIALS EMBEZZLED $11.2 MILLION
NEW YORK — State auditors uncovered an embezzlement scheme in a Long
Island school district last year, through which district officials
allegedly misappropriated a total of $11.2 million since 1996,
according to a report in the Detroit News.
Several employees of the Roslyn school district allegedly spent
district funds on such items as Concorde plane tickets, bills for
personal BMW and Jaguar vehicles, mortgage payments, a Rolex watch, and
over $1 million in cash advances, according to the audit. "Certain
senior officials with the keys to the cash register went on a spending
spree of massive proportions," said New York State Comptroller Alan G.
Hevesi. "The variety of methods used was breathtaking."
The Associated Press reported that the superintendent and two other
district employees were arrested last year in connection with the
missing funds and are currently awaiting trial. Hevesi has referred 26
people who were connected with benefits from the alleged embezzlement
to the District Attorney's office.
SOURCES:
Detroit News, "Audit: School employees embezzled $11.2M," Mar. 2, 2005
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCHOOL_SCANDAL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=SOUTHEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money or
Lack of Money Management?" August 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
Michigan Education Report, "Financial scandals exposed in Michigan
school districts," Fall 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4835
GRANHOLM PROMISES CURRICULUM REFORM AT MEETING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
DETROIT — Gov. Jennifer Granholm last month promised, along with
officials from 12 other states, to reform high school curriculum
standards to better prepare students for higher education and the
workforce, reported the Detroit Free Press.
Granholm and other state leaders met to endorse and agree to the
American Diploma Project, which urges member states to require that all
high school students take rigorous math and English courses. "This is
the biggest step states can take to restore the value of the high
school diploma," said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, co-chair of Achieve, Inc., a
Washington-based nonprofit that works to help states raise educational
standards.
Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Granholm, said many of the plans decided by
Achieve and the member states were similar to recommendations made in
the December, 2004 report by the Michigan Commission on Higher
Education and Economic Growth. Michigan's high schools "really need to
be preparing students for the jobs of the 21st Century," Boyd told the
Free Press. "We need to be expecting more of students, not less,
regardless of what type of work they're going to be pursuing."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Granholm promises to reform education,"
Feb. 28, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/schools28e_20050228.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "With Clear Eyes, Sincere
Hearts and Open Minds," July 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4447
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Cost of Remedial Education,"
August 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/3025
Michigan Privatization Report, "The 'Privatized' Cost of Remedial
Education in Michigan," August 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/3012
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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