Contents of this issue:
- Granholm wants state to pay college costs for the unemployed
- Petoskey schools contract for food services
- MEA sues Harrison schools for contracting teachers' aides
- Three Michigan universities probed for student loan misconduct
- Comment and win book money
GRANHOLM WANTS STATE TO PAY COLLEGE COSTS FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has unveiled a plan that
would provide two years of free education for 100,000 unemployed
Michigan residents, according to WLNS News.
The plan will allow those who are unemployed, over 18 years of
age and who have a family income of $40,000 or less to receive up
to two years of free tuition at a community college or technical
school. Twenty-eight community colleges have already signed up
for the program, WLNS reported.
Granholm will use $37 million of federal funds for the program
and is also looking to take another $40 million from the state's
general fund. State officials say securing this money could be
difficult, but Granholm believes the program could serve as a
long-term solution for improving the economy.
"Making sure that our workforce is trained for the jobs that are
available is a key to our economic recovery," Press Secretary
Elizabeth Boyd said, according to WLNS.
SOURCE:
WLNS, "Governor Announces Free Education for Jobless Workers,"
Aug. 2, 2007
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=6875658
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Michigan Can't Afford Tuition
Grant Program," March 10, 2004
https://www.mackinac.org/6456
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private Scholarships: A New
Beginning for Detroit's Kids," Aug. 25, 2005
https://www.mackinac.org/7322
PETOSKEY SCHOOLS CONTRACT FOR FOOD SERVICE
PETOSKEY, Mich. — The Petoskey board of education voted 5-0 to
competitively contract for its food services and are expecting
$250,000 in savings, according to the Petoskey News-Review.
Petoskey contracted with Chartwells for food service management
last year, and is expanding the contract to include hourly
employees. Last school year, the schools paid Chartwells an
administrative fee of $110 per day and 3.5 cents per meal. If the
district kept its hourly employees this year, the costs would
increase to 4 cents per meal and include an administrative fee of
$115, the News-Review reported.
Through Chartwells, the district will pay 4.5 cents per meal, an
administrative fee of $130, and a refundable $65,000 for initial
payroll costs. The company is still expecting to save the
district $250,000. If Petoskey had kept its food service
employees, it would see a loss of $52,000, according to the News-Review.
The company plans to hire locally, and is required by contract to
interview any former district food service employee. Chartwells
also offers single benefits for employees who work at least 28.75
hours a week, the News-Review reported.
"I hope when we get through all this, we're protecting education
as best we can," board member Tom Rellinger said at the board
meeting, according to the News-Review.
SOURCE:
Petoskey News-Review, "Privatizing Petoskey school food services
will cost local jobs," Aug. 1, 2007
https://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/08/01/news/news03.txt
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Support Service
Privatization: Getting it Right," Aug. 6, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8810
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
MEA SUES HARRISON SCHOOLS FOR CONTRACTING TEACHERS' AIDES
HARRISON, Mich. — The Harrison school district's plan to contract
for teacher assistants was halted when a Clare County court
granted a temporary restraining order while reviewing the
Michigan Education Association and Harrison Educational Support
Professionals Association's request for an injunction, according
to the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun.
Harrison is the first district to consider contracting for
teachers' aides and the union believes it is illegal. Under state
law, districts are not allowed to contract for teaching
positions, but can contract for support services, the Morning Sun
reported.
The Harrison board voted in favor of competitive contracting and
would save $249,782 in 2007-2008 by doing so. Contracting for
teachers' aides is one of the many ways the schools have
attempted to cut costs over the past five years, according to the
Morning Sun.
A hearing date for the injunction has not been set, the Morning
Sun reported.
SOURCE:
Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, "Teacher's aide change leads to suit,"
Aug. 2, 2007
https://www.themorningsun.com/stories/080207/loc_aide.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A School Privatization
Primer," June 26, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8691
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
THREE MICHIGAN UNIVERSITIES PROBED FOR STUDENT LOAN MISCONDUCT
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's attorney general is conducting an
investigation of 39 universities, including three from Michigan,
over whether the schools' athletic departments promoted a certain
student loan company in return for financial incentives,
according to WXYZ News.
Central Michigan University, the University of Detroit Mercy and
Wayne State University are the three Michigan schools under
investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. All of
the schools being examined in Michigan have allegedly favored
Student Financial Services Inc. because of its perks and
incentives. Cuomo started this investigation after looking at the
relationships between loan providers and school administrators,
WXYZ reported.
In his first investigation he found that schools were more likely
to promote a certain loan company if they offered administrators
"revenue sharing" plans, trips or other perks, according to WXYZ.
"Students trust their university's athletic departments because
so much of campus life at Division I schools centers around
supporting the home team," Cuomo said, according to WXYZ. "To
betray this trust by promoting loans in exchange for money is a
serious issue, especially when Division I schools already
generate tremendous revenue from their student athletes."
Central Michigan University spokesman Steve Smith said CMU has
received the request for information and is studying it. Smith
noted that there are some questions as to whether the case
violates legal jurisdiction.
SOURCE:
WXYZ News, "Student Loan Probe Hits 3 Michigan Schools,"
Aug. 2, 2007
http://www.wxyz.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=6ab85c78-6d74-4864-a9a9-8b837ebe14d4
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "House Republicans introduce plan to
regulate lenders' profit on student loans," April 27, 2004
https://www.educationreport.org/6515
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Student Loans and the High
Cost of College," November 1997
https://www.mackinac.org/675
COMMENT AND WIN BOOK MONEY
MIDLAND, Mich. — Go to
https://educationreport.org and post a comment for a chance to win a $50 book gift certificate.
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
(
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan
research and educational institute.
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