Contents of this issue:
- Jackson schools save by contracting for substitute teachers
- Shepherd looks at moving election dates
- Schools offer incentives for enrollment increases
- Lansing teachers vote down board's proposal
JACKSON SCHOOLS SAVE BY CONTRACTING FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS
JACKSON, Mich. — The Jackson Public Schools will save about
$163,000 a year by hiring a private company to provide substitute
teachers, according to The Jackson Citizen Patriot.
The contract with Caledonia-based Professional Educational
Service Group begins March 1. The company will manage, hire and
pay the district's 277 substitutes. The employees will be able to
purchase health insurance and 401(k) plans through PESG, The
Citizen Patriot reported.
JPS may also save an additional $108,000 because it would not be
required to follow a state law requiring the district to offer
full-time employment to subs who teach more than 150 school days,
according to The Citizen Patriot.
SOURCE:
The Jackson Citizen Patriot, "JPS to privatize teaching subs,"
Jan. 17, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1169051813210720.xml?jacitpat?NEJ&coll=3
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland contracts for substitute
teachers," Dec. 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8104
Michigan Education Digest, "West Michigan schools contract for
substitute teachers," Nov. 21, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8087
Michigan Education Digest, "Jackson schools will privatize again
to save money," May 9, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7701
SHEPHERD LOOKS AT MOVING ELECTION DATES
SHEPHERD, Mich. — Although no decision has been made, the
Shepherd schools are considering, like many other districts,
moving its elections to November, according to the Mt. Pleasant
Morning Sun.
The switch is being debated because of the affect it will have on
board positions. With biennial elections, more seats would be up
for re-election and the terms would be lengthened to six years,
the Morning Sun reported.
Holding elections in November can reduce costs for schools
because other local elections are normally held then, too,
according to the Morning Sun.
"We know there would be some savings to the district," Shepherd
Superintendent Terry Baker told the Morning Sun.
SOURCE:
Morning Sun, "Shepherd schools consider fall vote," Jan. 22, 2007
https://www.themorningsun.com/stories/012207/loc_shepherd001.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Metro Detroit schools move elections
to fall," Jan. 23, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8179
Michigan Education Digest, "Lansing area school districts could
move election dates," Jan. 9, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8167
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Secret Ballot?" May 22, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7708
SCHOOLS OFFER INCENTIVES FOR ENROLLMENT INCREASES
DETROIT — The Bellevue and Grand Rapids schools are offering
incentives for increased or sustained enrollment, and other
districts may follow suit, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Scott Belt, Bellevue's new superintendent, was offered $300 for
each new student he brings into the district. One of his primary
goals is to run a publicity campaign to bring students back to
their assigned schools in the Bellevue district. Enrollment in
the district is down nearly 300 students since 2000, according to
the Free Press.
"If we can get the word out, get some good positive promotion
going on, maybe we can gain enrollment," Belt told the Free
Press.
In the Grand Rapids Public Schools, the board of education and
several unions in the district agreed to a new contract that
includes incentive-based pay raises for teachers and other
personnel. GRPS enrollment has been declining between 800 and 900
students a year and employees will receive varying salary
increases based on a sliding scale of how many students choose to
leave the district, the Free Press reported.
Although the Royal Oak Public Schools do not offer incentives,
Superintendent Thomas Moline agrees that they may be useful.
"I think it stimulates the system," he told the Free Press. "But
the bottom line is, you'd better have better quality and better
outcomes because parents are very savvy shoppers these days."
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "More students, more cash," Jan. 28, 2007
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/NEWS06/701280602/1026/FEATURES
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Grand Rapids teachers agree to
incentive-based pay," June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
Michigan Education Report, "Incentives for Teacher Performance in
Government Schools: An Idea Whose Time Has Come," May 30, 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4373
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 16, 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2049
LANSING TEACHERS VOTE DOWN BOARD'S PROPOSAL
LANSING, Mich. — Ninety-five percent of teachers in the Lansing
School District voted against a proposed contract that would have
helped the district relieve some of its budget problems,
according to the Lansing State Journal.
The proposal called for slower pay increases for the next two
years and would have required teachers to contribute 5 percent to
their own monthly health insurance premiums in 2007-08 and 8
percent in 2008-09. The union is planning to picket and has
passed out surveys to teachers regarding other action. Teachers
were asked if they'd be willing to withhold tutoring and bus
duty, hold sick-outs, or even participate in a strike, the State
Journal reported. Teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan.
The board believes its proposal was fair and necessary.
"It's not like we're asking them to do something different than
most school districts in the state," Human Resources Director Sue
Dumala said. "It seems like it's falling on deaf ears."
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, "Lansing teachers say no to proposal,"
Jan. 29, 2007
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20070129&Kategori=NEWS05&Lopenr=701290333
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Lansing schools may save by cutting
teachers' stipend," Nov. 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/8059
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
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of approximately 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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