Contents of this issue:
- DPS fights union to keep at-risk program
- Lansing schools may save by cutting teachers' stipend
- Report: Charters have higher teacher certification
- School safety drill angers parents
- Merrill schools move to alternative fuel
DPS FIGHTS UNION TO KEEP AT-RISK PROGRAM
DETROIT — The Detroit Federation of Teachers union is refusing to
sign a waiver exempting those who teach in Last Chance, a program
for at-risk students, from DFT's collective bargaining agreement,
according to the Detroit Free Press.
Detroit Public Schools receive state funding for the program,
which is run by private organizations. DFT will only sign the
exemption waiver if DPS uses half of its share of the state
funding to give union members pay raises, the Free Press
reported.
Janna Garrison, president of the DFT, said that the union has
granted waivers for the past two years and was told by the
district that it would try to "work something out," the Free
Press reported.
DPS, in exchange for signing the waiver, has offered to pay the
union's $100,000 in legal fees the DFT accrued during a recent
strike, the Free Press reported. The teachers union conducted an
illegal strike that denied instruction to students for several
days in September.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "In Detroit, schools and union dispute money
again," Oct. 31, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS02/610310403/1004
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS teachers union strikes,"
Aug. 29, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7882
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit teachers union wants more
money," June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit dropout programs encourage
kids to go back to school," Sept. 27, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7364
LANSING SCHOOLS MAY SAVE BY CUTTING TEACHERS' STIPEND
LANSING, Mich. — The Lansing school district will save $2.5
million a year by ending a $166 monthly health care stipend for
teachers, according to the Lansing State Journal.
District officials said the stipend was offered on a temporary
basis for teachers who chose a less costly version of union-affiliated health insurance. The monthly bonus was used as an
incentive for teachers who opted for Tri-MED, under which they
agree to pay a portion of their own doctor visits and
prescriptions, the State Journal reported.
"For some of our teachers, this stop in payment is 10 percent of
their income," union President Jerry Swartz told the Lansing
State Journal.
The stipend was included in a contract that expired in August,
according to the State Journal.
"We can't allow these inherent expenditures to take place because
our surplus is simply not going to be there," board member Jack
Davis told the State Journal.
The Michigan Education Association school employee union said it
will file an unfair labor practice charge, as well as a wage and
hour violation, against the district, the State Journal reported.
SOURCES:
Lansing State Journal, "District, teachers clash on insurance,"
Nov. 3, 2006
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061103/NEWS05/611030349/1006/news05
Lansing State Journal, "Loss of stipends angers teachers: Lansing
schools' move cuts income of about 1,000 staff," Oct. 31, 2006
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/NEWS05/610310326/1006/news05
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Lansing public school board decides
to close five schools," Feb. 22, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/6987
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Budgets: A Crisis of
Management, Not Finance," Feb. 11, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/6980
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," Dec. 3, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
REPORT: CHARTERS HAVE HIGHER TEACHER CERTIFICATION
LANSING, Mich. — Charter public schools have a higher percentage
of certified teachers than their "host" conventional public
school districts, according to a new report issued by the
Michigan Association of Public School Academies.
According to The Detroit News, the report states 95 percent of
teachers in charter schools are certified, compared to 87 percent
of teachers in conventional public schools.
Dan Quisenberry, president of MAPSA, said the data shows charter
public schools attract quality teachers.
"It's due to the diligence by the school to ensure they hire
certified teachers," Quisenberry told The News.
Michigan Department of Education officials are concerned about
the validity of the statistics because the information was self-reported by districts and could be inaccurate, according to The News.
"A school district cannot employ a teacher that is not certified
or permitted," Martin Ackley, spokesman for the MDE, told The
News, "And districts know that."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "More charter teachers certified,"
Oct. 27, 2006
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006610270368
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Governor's letter calls on
authorizers to improve charter performance," Sept. 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7364
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Teaching by Example,"
Oct. 24, 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6867
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Does Teacher Certification
Matter?" Sept. 14, 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6831
SCHOOL SAFETY DRILL ANGERS PARENTS
WYOMING, Mich. — Parents and students were caught off guard by
"lock-down" drills held in the Godfrey Lee school district middle
and high schools, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
Local police officers in riot gear stormed into two separate
classrooms, took students into the hall and patted them down.
Students were given no reason to believe they were participating
in a drill, according to The Press.
Many parents were outraged and believed the drill went too far.
"Some of these kids were so scared, they just about wet their
pants," Marge Bradshaw, a parent of four children who attend the
schools told The Press. "I think it's pure wrong that the
students and parents were not informed of this."
Despite concern from many parents, the Godfrey Lee school board
is standing by its decision, according to The Press.
"How are you going to know if you're prepared or not if you don't
go 100 percent?" board member Doug Alspaugh told The Press.
SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "School board members approve of tactics
in drill," Oct. 31, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-32/116230981721780.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6
The Grand Rapids Press, "Realistic school drill riles parents,"
Oct. 28, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1162017602317690.xml?grpress?NEG&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "The three P's of school safety,"
Nov. 1, 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/3134
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Protection: A Growing
Industry Could Enhance School Safety," Nov. 16, 1998
https://www.mackinac.org/802
MERRILL SCHOOLS MOVE TO ALTERNATIVE FUEL
MERRILL, Mich. — Merrill Community Schools has partnered with
private industry in an attempt to reduce heating costs, according
to the Midland Daily News.
The district recently purchased a $70,000 corn-fed furnace from
Best Burns, prompted in part by an increase in natural gas
prices. The boiler, along with other energy-saving changes, is
expected to save the district $30,000 per year, the Daily News
reported.
The system currently is tied in to the middle school's hot water
heating system, and can be upgraded to heat the high school,
according to the Daily News.
SOURCE:
Midland Daily News, "Merrill Schools a state leader for
alternative energy," Oct. 31, 2006
https://www.ourmidland.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17400922&BRD=2289& PAG=461&dept_id=578054&rfi=8
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Private firm helps Battle Creek
schools cut energy costs," July 19, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7817
Michigan Education Digest, "Walled Lake implements program to
save on energy," Nov. 1, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7417
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible School Districts," Dec. 3, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4891
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 150,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
Font size:
