Contents of this issue:
Detroit schools chief may be replaced by two or three administrators
Bill calls for steroid prohibition in high school sports
Percentage of college grads up since 1990, but national rank falls
EDITORIAL: Proposed changes to Proposal "A" bad economics
Oakland Intermediate District chief reorganizes staff
Declining enrollment at Roman Catholic schools continues
DETROIT SCHOOLS CHIEF MAY BE REPLACED BY TWO OR THREE ADMINISTRATORS
DETROIT — Officials for the Detroit Public Schools announced last
Thursday that current schools CEO Kenneth Burnley would not be a
candidate for the district's interim CEO position, and speculated that
the post could be split into two or three separate positions, reported
the Detroit Free Press.
School Board Chairman Bill Brooks said the board is considering an
"Office of the CEO" to fill the interim position, which will last for
one year beginning on July 1. Under this scenario, the post would be
filled by two or three administrators, according to the Free Press.
"It's one of the options being discussed," said Brooks.
Burnley decided in January to interview for the interim job, which will
exist during the district's transition from an appointed school board
to a traditional, elected school board system. The appointed board was
installed by a 1999 state-imposed reform of the district; last
November, Detroit residents voted to restore the district's previous
governance structure. "Announcing this decision today will give the
board ample time to identify a qualified individual to lead the
district during the transition period," said Burnley.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "No clear choice to lead Detroit schools,"
Apr. 1, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/burnley1e_20050401.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
BILL CALLS FOR STEROID PROHIBITION IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — State Rep. Daniel Acciavatti introduced a bill in
February that would require school districts to suspend the athletic
eligibility of students who take steroids or other performance
enhancing drugs.
Under the bill, the Department of Community Health would compile a list
of prohibited substances and distribute that list to school districts,
charter schools and nonpublic schools around the state, according to
the Kalamazoo Gazette. "I want to see every high school in the state of
Michigan have a policy dealing with performance-enhancing drugs," said
Acciavatti.
According to the Gazette, reports of high school steroid use have
nearly doubled from 1991 to 2003. But Kevin Langs, athletic director at
Climax-Scotts High School, expressed concern about the bill. "I think
there's a little apprehension whenever the government gets involved,"
said Langs. "Is it a political thing where someone is just trying to
get their name out there, or is it actually good for the kids?"
SOURCES:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "GOP bill would require school steroid policies,"
Mar. 31, 2005
https://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-13/11122806013320.xml
MichiganVotes.org, 2005 House Bill 4118
https://www.michiganvotes.org/2005-HB-4118
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Seven Principles of Sound Public
Policy," October 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3832
PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGE GRADS UP SINCE 1990, BUT NATIONAL RANK FALLS
DETROIT — The percentage of Michigan's population with a college degree
has increased since 1990, reported the Detroit Free Press, but other
states have experienced larger increases; Michigan's national ranking
among the states has dropped from 35th to 37th since 2000.
Though the percentage of Michigan residents over the age of 25 who are
college graduates has increased — from 17.4 percent in 1990 to 24.4
percent last year — the state is below the 27.7 percent national
average, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Kurt Metzger, research director for the Center for Urban Studies at
Wayne State University, said many college-educated Michiganians have
been seeking employment elsewhere in the country. "They are looking at
a 7.5-percent unemployment rate, snow in late March and a state that
can't figure out what to do about public transportation. They say to
themselves, 'Why should I stay?'" said Metzger.
Though a recent report from a statewide task force that studied higher
education in Michigan recommended doubling the number of college
graduates in the next 10 years, Michael Boulus, executive director of
the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, identified
obstacles to reaching that goal. "We need to raise expectations among
high school students," he said. "We must change the culture. ... They
need to understand that a postsecondary credential is important to
their success in life."
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's college graduate rate sinks to 37th in
nation," Mar. 29, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/grad29e_20050329.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Cost of Remedial Education,"
August 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/3025
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Graduation Rates an Imperfect
Measure of School Excellence," January 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/3932
EDITORIAL: PROPOSED CHANGES TO PROPOSAL "A" BAD ECONOMICS
PONTIAC, Mich. — An Oakland Press editorial published yesterday called
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plans to attempt legislative changes to
Proposal "A" bad economics and "an act born of a desperate desire to
increase taxes instead of reducing government spending."
Proposal "A," a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 1994,
shifted a large portion of Michigan's school funding from property
taxes to an increased state sales tax. According to The Press, Gov.
Granholm's proposed change to the amendment "would link payments on
commercial property to the occupancy rate." Increases in property tax
would be limited to 5 percent or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is
lower.
Municipalities that have seen decreased funding from the state are
"ravenous" for more tax money, said The Press, but "The good news is
that it's beginning to force them to seek cost-saving through
cooperation and consolidation of operations with neighboring cities,
villages and townships." Reversing that trend would be
counterproductive, according to The Press, in part because "almost
without exception, a high-tax municipality is a depressed
municipality."
SOURCES:
The Oakland Press, "Fiddling with Proposal A won't solve state's
problems," Apr. 4, 2005
https://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/040405/opi_20050404012.shtml
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "'Proposal A,' 10 Years Later,"
February 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6112
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding, Proposal A, and
Property Taxes,"
November 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3838
Michigan Education Report, "Proposal A provided more money, but better
management needed," Fall 2001
https://www.educationreport.org/3908
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Finance Reform Lessons from
Michigan," October 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3802
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," December 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
OAKLAND INTERMEDIATE DISTRICT CHIEF REORGANIZES STAFF
DETROIT — Oakland Intermediate Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch
has made a number of changes to the structure of her district's
administrative organization by reducing the number of top
administrators and moving other jobs, according to the Detroit Free
Press.
Before the changes, the district operated with four assistant
superintendents and one deputy superintendent. Markavitch's
reorganization, which she announced late last month, changed the top
staff to two deputies and one associate superintendent, reported the
Free Press. "There were some areas of redundancy," she said. "And I
wanted to flatten the bureaucracy. I'm not used to so many layers."
Additionally, the changes include assigning in-house council duties to
the current director of human resources and creating several director-level positions. Though some of the assistant superintendents will move
to director-level positions, "No one was demoted for demotion's sake,"
Markavitch said. "I offered them the work and they accepted."
Former Oakland Intermediate Schools Superintendent James Redmond is
currently serving a 6-month prison term for misconduct and conflict of
interest while in office.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Oakland Schools trims top ranks," Mar. 30, 2005
https://www.freep.com/news/education/ois30n_20050330.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
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Less Government, Not More, Is Key
to Academic Achievement and Accountability," Oct. 3, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3786
DECLINING ENROLLMENT AT ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CONTINUES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Catholic Education Association
announced last week that nationwide enrollment in Roman Catholic
schools declined more than 2 percent from the 2003-2004 school year to
2004-2005, reported CNN.
According to CNN, the total student population in Catholic schools has
decreased from 2.6 million in 2000 to 2.4 million in the 2004-2005
school year. Additionally, 173 schools closed or merged, while just 37
new schools opened. "Sustaining (the schools) has been a struggle, but
in the last four or five years it has become a very difficult
struggle," said Association President Michael J. Guerra. "We don't want
to lose these folks. We don't want to serve only those who can afford
the bill."
Yet, there are positive signs for the schools as well. Over one-third
of the Catholic schools around the country have waiting lists even as
schools in many large cities close, according to the NCEA. Additionally, businesses and charitable organizations continue
fundraising efforts to help low- and moderate-income families afford
tuition at Catholic schools. "Because other funding is drying up," said
Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools Executive Director
Gregory P. Ciminera, "Businesses are going to have to step up."
SOURCES:
CNN, "Catholic schools' enrollment drops again," Mar. 30, 2005
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/03/30/catholic.schools.ap/index.html
Michigan Education Report, "Painting the private school picture,"
Spring 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2890
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in Schooling:
Restoring Parental Control of Education," January 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Forging Consensus," April 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6517
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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