Contents of this issue:
Ironwood board implements new contract
Houghton Lake to privatize substitute teachers
MEAP scores down for grads
Shepherd contract ends two years of talks
Garden City schools save money with competitive contracting
State releases second list of school convicts
IRONWOOD BOARD IMPLEMENTS NEW CONTRACT
IRONWOOD, Mich. — Ironwood Area Schools voted 4-3 last week to
implement a new contract, including a cap on how much the
district will pay for teacher health insurance, according to the
Ironwood Daily Globe.
The district and teachers union have been in negotiations since
the previous contract expired June 30, 2005. The district will
now pay a maximum of $975 a month toward each teacher's health
insurance, the Daily Globe reported. The newspaper previously
reported that the district was paying $1,385 a month per teacher
for insurance offered through the Michigan Education Special
Services Association. MESSA is a third-party administrator
affiliated with the Michigan Education Association union.
The district called the higher amount "extravagant" in a fact
finding brief, the Daily Globe previously reported.
The two sides will continue with contract talks, according to the
Daily Globe.
"One way to look at this implementation is it changes the terms
of the expired contract," Superintendent James Rayner told the
Daily Globe. "It becomes the new status quo until a successor
agreement is reached."
SOURCES:
Ironwood Daily Globe, "Ironwood school board imposes teacher
contract," July 18, 2006
http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0718iasd.htm
Ironwood Daily Globe, "Negotiations in deadlock," Feb. 17, 2006
http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0217scho.htm
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "MESSA at heart of Ironwood deadlock,"
Feb. 28, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7606
Michigan Education Digest, "List of student names causes concern
in Ironwood," June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Irony in Ironwood,"
March 23, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7654
HOUGHTON LAKE TO PRIVATIZE SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
HOUGHTON LAKE, Mich. — Houghton Lake schools could save more than
$25,000 a year by hiring a private firm to oversee its substitute
teachers, according to The Houghton Lake Resorter.
The school board voted unanimously on July 17 to hire Caledonia-based Professional Educational Services Group. The private firm
will make the necessary phone calls when subs are needed, as well
as handle payroll operations for them, The Resorter reported.
Because the substitutes will not be school employees, the
district will no longer have to pay into the state teachers
retirement system for them.
SOURCE:
The Houghton Lake Resorter, "Vote privatizes substitute
services," July 20, 2006
http://www.houghtonlakeresorter.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16947324&BRD=2053&PAG=461& dept_id=398174&rfi=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Substitute teachers privatized in
Grand Rapids," May 9, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7701
Michigan Education Digest, "Privatized subs can save schools
money," April 11, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7677
Michigan Education Digest, "Fennville district to outsource
substitute teachers," March 23, 2004
https://www.educationreport.org/6465
MEAP SCORES DOWN FOR GRADS
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's 2006 high school seniors scored lower
on four out of five MEAP subjects than the class of 2005,
according to Booth Newspapers.
Reading scores fell from 78 percent to 70 percent proficient,
after having increased the previous two years. Math scores were
down to 52 percent, dropping yearly since hitting 68 percent
proficient in 2001. In science, nearly 57 percent of seniors were
proficient, compared to just over 58 percent last year, while
writing scores slipped from 57 percent proficient to 55 percent.
The lone increase was social studies, where 37 percent of seniors
scored proficient, up from 34 percent in 2005, Booth reported.
Ed Roeber, who is in charge of the state's assessment office,
said more students are taking the MEAP, which in turn may lead to
lower scores, according to Booth. Officials report that 112,000
students took the series of tests last fall, compared to 102,000
in 2003. The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that 95
percent of students must take a standardized test for a school to
achieve "Adequate Yearly Progress."
SOURCE:
Booth Newspapers, "Grads' MEAP scores drop in 4 of 5 areas,"
July 14, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/115290781580540.xml?news/statewide?NE&coll=1
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Markets, not MEAP, best way to
measure school quality," May 12, 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2872
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan's Public Charter
Schools See MEAP Scores Rise Faster Than Regular Public Schools,"
Sept. 4, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4581
SHEPHERD CONTRACT ENDS TWO YEARS OF TALKS
SHEPHERD, Mich. — Teachers in the Shepherd Public Schools agreed
to forgo two years of pay raises and accept a less costly version
of union-affiliated health insurance to settle a two-year-old
contract dispute, according to the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.
The new contract is in effect through June 2008, and includes a
provision for teachers to pay more for prescriptions while
keeping health insurance offered through the Michigan Education
Special Services Association, the Morning Sun reported. MESSA is
a third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan
Education Association union.
The contract includes a provision that says the district and the
teachers will split any increase in premiums if the next contract
is not in place by July 1, 2008, the Morning Sun reported.
There are no retroactive pay raises dating back to 2004, although
teachers will get a 1.5 percent increase for 2006-2007 and 2.5
percent more for 2007-2008, according to the Morning Sun.
SOURCE:
Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, "Shepherd Schools ratifies new
contract with district's teachers," July 19, 2006
https://www.themorningsun.com/stories/071906/loc_shepherd001.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Teachers union upset school district
published bargaining positions," Oct. 11, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7380
Michigan Education Report, "Growing number of districts seek
solutions to costly health insurance," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7479
GARDEN CITY SCHOOLS SAVE MONEY WITH COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING
GARDEN CITY, Mich. — Garden City schools could save about $2
million over the next three years through privatizing custodial
and food services, according to The Detroit News. The district also voted last month to lay off 29 janitors and food service workers, a move that prompted their union to sue the district in Wayne County circuit court, The News reported.
Circuit Court Judge Isidore Torres ordered the two sides to come
to an agreement. Before the decision to contract for the
services, the district was facing a $2.7 million deficit.
The five school board members who voted to reduce costs are now
the targets of a recall effort, according to The News.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Union, schools spar over jobs," July 20, 2006
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060720/SCHOOLS/607200362/1026
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Competitive contracting continues,"
May 25, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7723
Michigan Education Digest, "Hartland schools to save $5 million
with competitive contract," May 16, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7704
STATE RELEASES SECOND LIST OF CONVICTS
LANSING, Mich. — More than 190 public school employees convicted
of serious misdemeanors are named on a list released by the state
last week, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The offenses include a conviction of fourth-degree criminal
sexual conduct and another conviction of child abuse, as well as
domestic violence and assault, the Free Press reported. Although
the crimes involve misdemeanors, some dating back to the 1960s,
some of the offenses are serious enough that they could require
school board or superintendent approval for employees to keep
their jobs.
The list comes as a result of a state law that took effect in
January aimed at protecting students from criminals, particularly
those convicted of sex offenses, who are working in schools,
according to the Free Press.
"Those with serious misdemeanors should not be working around our
children," Carol Summers, grandmother of a Detroit Public Schools
student, told the Free Press.
Ann Arbor Public Schools chose not to fire a janitor who was
convicted in 2005 of fourth-degree child abuse, the Free Press
reported. District spokeswoman Liz Margolis told the newspaper
"these people have paid their dues to society."
A list of more than 450 school employees convicted of felonies
was released earlier this year.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "List of convicted school workers is
released," July 21, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060721/NEWS06/607210403/1008/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Some convicted felons still working
in schools," July 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7807
Michigan Education Digest, "List of felons forwarded to schools,"
May 16, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7704
The Detroit News, "Felons keep school jobs," June 29, 2006
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/SCHOOLS/606290377
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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