Contents of this issue:
- Georgia governor signs special needs voucher program into law
- Detroit Public Schools establishes recruitment plan
- Gladwin schools cuts staff, switches health insurance
- Spring Lake union, school board finalize contract
- Saline considers contracting, schools of choice
- New issue of Michigan Education Report
GEORGIA GOV. SIGNS SPECIAL NEEDS VOUCHER PROGRAM INTO LAW
ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed a bill to
create a scholarship program for students with disabilities. The
Georgia Special Needs Scholarship will allow students with
disabilities to attend a public or private school to meet their
educational needs, according to the Alliance for School Choice.
Parents of students with special needs will be allowed to send
their children to a public school outside of their assigned
district or enroll them at a private school. The state will pay
for the total cost of tuition at a private school or the amount
used to pay for the child's education in the assigned district,
whichever is less. Parents can pick a private school, as long as
it meets the state's nondiscrimination and safety requirements,
the Alliance for School Choice reported.
"I applaud Gov. Perdue and the Georgia General Assembly for
recognizing that parents deserve the right to choose the best
education for their children, particularly when those children
have special needs," said Lori Drummer, director of state
projects for the Alliance for School Choice. "It shouldn't matter
where you live or how much money your parents make, every child
deserves to go to a great school."
SOURCE:
Alliance for School Choice, "Gov. Sonny Perdue signs Georgia
Special Needs Scholarship into law," May 18, 2007
http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/more.aspx?IITypeID=3&IIID=3347
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "School vouchers in the news,"
May 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8500
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Thou Shalt Have No Other
School System Before Me," June 16, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/7139
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Sun Sets on 'Opportunity
Scholarships' in the Sunshine State," Jan. 6, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7528
DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS ESTABLISHES RECRUITMENT PLAN
DETROIT — In response to the massive enrollment loss the Detroit
Public Schools has seen over the past decade, school officials
have announced the beginning of "Operation Gain and Retain," a
plan to enroll new students as well as keep current students
enrolled in the district, according to The Detroit News.
The plan will involve having community members walk door-to-door,
having representatives from DPS present information at community
gatherings, increasing the district's advertising budget, and
using two buses as portable enrollment offices, The News
reported.
School officials hope that this will ease the expected enrollment
loss of 10,000 students for the upcoming school year. The parents
of about 60,000 students assigned to DPS have chosen other
education avenues for their students over the last decade,
according to The News.
"The loss of one student is unacceptable," Interim Superintendent
Lamont Satchel told The News. "To our critics I say, 'If you want
it better, come work with us to make it better.'"
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Detroit Public Schools launches plan to gain,
retain students," May 23, 2007
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070523/UPDATE/705230450/1003
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Advertising for students: Schools use
radio, TV, billboards to lure 'customers,'" May 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8499
Michigan Education Digest, "Ypsilanti schools compete for Ann
Arbor students," Jan. 16, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8174
GLADWIN SCHOOLS CUTS STAFF, SWITCHES HEALTH INSURANCE
GLADWIN, Mich. — Officials from the Gladwin Community Schools are
expecting to cut staff and freshman sports, and switch
administrators from the Michigan Education Special Services
Association to Flexible Blue Insurance, according to the Gladwin
County Record. MESSA is a third-party administrator affiliated
with the Michigan Education Association school employees union.
Specifically, the district is looking to cut 8.4 full time
equivalent positions, including teachers and social workers.
Additionally, one custodial and one maintenance position will be
eliminated, building secretaries will have their time reduced,
and three paraprofessional positions will be cut, the County
Record reported.
"The reality is that I have to balance the budget,"
Superintendent Rick Seebeck told the County Record. "I was told
to stop deficit spending and increase the fund balance. I have to
listen to the community."
The district expects to save about $800,000, the County Record
reported.
SOURCE:
Gladwin County Record, "Gladwin schools to cut staff, freshman
sports," May 22, 2007
http://www.gladwinmi.com/record/?sect_rank=2§ion_id=1&story_id=47859
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Shelby schools pink slip 20
teachers," April 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8480
Michigan Education Digest, "Detroit Public Schools to lay off 555
teachers," May 1, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8483
SPRING LAKE UNION, SCHOOL BOARD FINALIZE CONTRACT
SPRING LAKE, Mich. — The Spring Lake Education Association union
and the Spring Lake Board of Education agreed to a 3-year
contract which includes pay increases in exchange for a less-expensive health plan, according to the Grand Haven Tribune.
Teachers will receive a 1.5 percent pay increase for the current
school year and an additional 2 percent pay increase for the next
two school years, the Tribune reported.
"I think it is a reasonable contract, given the financial
situation in our district specifically and the state in general,"
Superintendent Larry Mason told the Tribune.
The district will also see savings of between $175,000 and
$180,000 annually — or at least $72 per pupil — after switching
to a less expensive health plan from the Michigan Education
Special Services Association. MESSA is a third-party
administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association
school employees union.
Under the new plan, teachers will pay more of a share of the cost
for their own prescription drugs, according to the Tribune.
"I'm certainly glad it's over," Mason told the Tribune. "We have
some repair work to do as a district to get back to where we
were, but we can do that and I know that we will do that."
SOURCES:
Grand Haven Tribune, "Teachers, SLPS agree to 3-year contract,"
May 25, 2007
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/290745140858975.bsp
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Potential Per-Pupil savings
Resulting from Health Benefits Changes Made in Michigan School
Districts," March 6, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8337
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Spring Lake board, union at impasse
over health benefits," March 27, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8362
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Collective Bargaining
Primer For Michigan School Board Members," Feb. 28, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8258
Michigan Education Report, "Growing number of districts seek
solutions to costly health insurance," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7479
SALINE CONSIDERS CONTRACTING, SCHOOLS OF CHOICE
SALINE, Mich. — Saline Public Schools needs to cut $700,000 from
next year's budget and is considering an array of options to
reach that goal, including contracting for noninstructional
services and opening the district's enrollment through the
Schools of Choice program, according to The Ann Arbor News.
The board has not finalized budget cuts, but the majority of
cost-saving suggestions will be investigated, The News reported.
These include participating in the Schools of Choice program,
contracting for services and increasing pay-to-participate fees
for extra-curricular activities.
SOURCE:
The Ann Arbor News, "Saline board considers schools of choice to
help budget," May 23, 2007
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2007/05/saline_board_considers_schools.html
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Goodrich schools to expand Schools of
Choice program," May 1, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8483
Michigan Education Report, "Profit has a role in public schools,"
Feb. 23, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8250
Michigan Education Report, "Map: School contracting continues to
grow," Feb. 23, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/archives/2007/mer2007-01maps.pdf
NEW ISSUE OF MICHIGAN EDUCATION REPORT
MIDLAND, Mich. — As reported in the new issue of Michigan
Education Report, education in Detroit is not defined by Detroit
Public Schools, said Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. In talks
this spring with charter school students and the media,
Kilpatrick made it clear he would welcome more schools like
Detroit's University Preparatory Academy, a public school academy
with a 90 percent graduation rate. University Prep Superintendent
Doug Ross talks about his first graduating class in an article in
the summer 2007 edition of Michigan Education Report, published
by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Also in this issue,
readers will find articles about:
a new study finds that consolidating school districts is
not the best way to save money in education;
the first year at one of Michigan's newest private
schools, Trinitas Classical School in Grand Rapids;
incentive pay programs for teachers in Michigan
districts;
how schools are using radio, television and billboards to
market themselves;
an update on the country's first statewide school voucher
program, in Utah.
In this issue's commentary section, two Michigan career technical
education advisers explain why a four-year college degree is not
the best choice for every student, while two more educators take
opposite sides in responding to the question, "Should Michigan
raise the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18?"
Michigan Education Report is available online at
https://www.educationreport.org.
Also with this issue, Michigan Education Report introduces a new
online forum dedicated to discussing Michigan education issues.
Available at
https://educationreport.org, the
site features
timely news about Michigan schools, a variety of open forums, and
the chance to participate in an opinion survey on a current
education issue.
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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