Contents of this issue:
- DPS board member charged with assault
- Grand Rapids Public Schools to open prep academy
- Schools want money for buses after state examination
- Saginaw charter school enrollment four times national average
- Bangor schools considers election consolidation
- Comment and win an iPod
DPS BOARD MEMBER CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
DETROIT — The Detroit Board of Education is determining whether
it will take any action against board member Marie Thornton
after she was charged with assault for a confrontation at a
September school board meeting, according to The Detroit News.
Thornton received a misdemeanor assault and battery charge and a
charge for disorderly conduct after engaging in a confrontation
with Rev. Loyce Lester, 60, of Detroit. The assault charge
carries a maximum 93-day jail sentence and/or a $500 fine. Disorderly conduct carries a maximum 90 days in jail and/or a
$500 fine. In addition to these charges, the board of education
is also considering sanctions, a censure or removal from the
board entirely.
According to Lester, Thornton called him names and spilled food
on him. He reports having a scratch on his chin from the
incident. Thornton reports that Lester called her a derogatory
name and shoved her, forcing an act of self defense. Thornton
now believes she is being targeted by the board for her
outspoken behavior and dissenting opinions, according to The
News.
"I believe they are trying to silence me because I don't vote
the way they vote," she told The News. "Being a good member
doesn't mean you rubber stamp; it means you research." She noted
her votes against school closures and contracting, The News
reported.
Board President Jimmy Womack said her behavior is regularly
inappropriate.
"Marie Thornton, at least one time in her life, needs to take
responsibility for her own actions and stop pointing the finger
of blame," Womack told The News, adding that the board is also
investigating Lester's role in the incident. "Marie Thornton has
called people names while sitting at the board table and given
people the (middle) finger. She has continued to be a disruptive
element to this board."
Parent Chris White is concerned with the lack of professionalism
among board members in general, and does not want to see
Thornton ousted, according to The News.
"The climate needs to be addressed when a board meeting ends up
in court because of arguing," White told The News. "The real
onus falls back on the president."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "DPS board investigates member charged in
scuffle," Oct. 17, 2007
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/SCHOOLS/710170370/1026
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Privatization Report, "Education Management
Organizations: Managing Competition," Aug. 13, 1999
https://www.mackinac.org/2140
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO OPEN PREP ACADEMY
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Grand Rapids Public Schools, in
partnership with private companies, is planning to open a
university preparatory academy in the fall of 2008, according to
The Grand Rapids Press.
The Grand Rapids University Prep Academy is modeled after a
charter school in Detroit that graduated 95 percent of its first
class, while 93 percent of graduates continued on to post-secondary education. The school will start as a middle school
and will seek to provide rigor and support for underachieving
students, The Press reported.
The pilot school will be governed by the GRPS Board of Education
and receive some funding from donations made by private
companies and individuals. These donations are expected to pay
for the building and equipment, while taxpayer money will go
towards creating small class sizes, according to The Press. The
school also has an advisory board of business leaders who will
make recommendations to GRPS Superintendent Bernard Taylor
regarding policies and staffing. Members of the school's
advisory board include Brian Cloyd of Steelcase, Inc., Steelcase
CEO James Hackett, Autocam CEO John Kennedy and others.
"The best way to make improvements in a community is to find
something that works and try and replicate it, so I'm really
enthused about this idea," said Milton Rohwer, president of the
Frey Foundation and a member of a group that worked with Taylor
to develop the idea of a public-private partnership, according
to The Press.
SOURCE:
The Grand Rapids Press, "GR Prep Academy to open in 2008,"
Oct. 17, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-38/119262872082090.xml&coll=6&thispage=1
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Dearborn: A Traditional
Public School District Accepts the Charter School Challenge," in
"The Impact of Limited School Choice on Public School
Districts," July 24, 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2977
SCHOOLS WANT MONEY FOR BUSES AFTER STATE EXAMINATION
MONROE, Mich. — After a recent statewide examination of school
buses, some districts are looking for ways to finance new buses
and repairs, according to the Monroe News.
In Monroe County, many districts passed the exam without
concern. Every bus in the Airport, Gibraltar, Ida and Milan
school districts passed state safety standards. Seven out of 16
buses were marked for repairs in the Summerfield Schools, and
the district has now adopted a maintenance plan that includes
checking the buses after every 1,500 miles instead of ever 2,500
miles. District Superintendent Jack Hewitt says the schools are
taking responsibility but that the roads really cause a lot of
the damages, the News reported.
"Our roads really beat up our buses," Hewitt told the News. "But
we don't want people to think that our buses are not safe
because they are. For the most part, the repairs were quick."
Within the Monroe Public Schools there has been a push for
setting aside funds for new buses. Last year, the district
purchased five buses, but according to the district's
transportation director, Ron Smith, that wasn't enough to
maintain a quality fleet of buses, according to the News.
Examinations are completed by inspectors from the Michigan State
Police School Bus Safety Inspection Program and score the buses
on a 198-point scale. Buses that don't pass the inspection are
given either a red or yellow tag, based on the severity of the
problem, the News reported.
SOURCE:
Monroe News, "Schools get better with bus safety," Oct. 17, 2007
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/NEWS01/110170077/-1/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A School Privatization
Primer," June 26, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8691
SAGINAW CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT FOUR TIMES NATIONAL AVERAGE
SAGINAW, Mich. — A national study found that charter school
enrollment in Saginaw is four times the national average, with
one out of every seven students attending one, according to The
Saginaw News.
Saginaw fell within a group of 28 cities in 12 states, including
Washington, D.C., that had at least 13 percent of students
enrolled in charter schools during the last school year. Four
other Michigan cities were on the list, including Detroit,
Pontiac, Southfield and Dearborn. More than 500 students
assigned to the Saginaw school district have enrolled in other
schools since the fall of 2006.
"The question for me is not that we can keep up with charter
schools. It's that we're providing the best education that we
can," Superintendent Gerald D. Dawkins told The News. "We hope
that their parents select us on our merits."
About 6 percent of Michigan students attend charter schools,
placing the state third in total charter enrollment. About
100,000 students are enrolled in charters, according to Todd M.
Ziebarth, a policy analyst for the National Alliance for Public
Charter Schools, The News reported.
"It doesn't surprise us," Dan Quisenberry, executive director of
the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, told The
News. "Parents are looking for quality schools. When they don't
find them, they'll look for alternatives."
SOURCE:
The Saginaw News, "Charter schools thriving," Oct. 18, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1192717327149250.xml&coll=9
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 24, 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
BANGOR SCHOOLS CONSIDERS ELECTION CONSOLIDATION
BANGOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Bangor Township Schools could save
between $10,000 and $11,000 each election if it moved the date
from May to November, according to The Bay City Times.
Since 2004, Michigan schools have had the option to consolidate
their elections, typically held in May, with municipal elections
in November. If districts take advantage of this, they pay
nothing to place an issue on the ballot. However, districts do
have to pay full election costs if its issues are the only ones
being voted on. Since the election consolidation law was passed,
about 70 districts have switched dates, The Times reported.
Although the district is interested in saving money, board
Trustee Tim Allen is concerned that important education issues
will be overlooked.
"My concern is that school issues are really vital," Allen told
The Times. "Schools really are a major focus in many of our
communities. It loses something if we say we're going to put
them on a long ballot with 65 other names and 65 other issues."
Janet Santos, Bangor Township clerk, finds that argument invalid
and thinks election consolidation will actually help voters.
"We find that Bangor voters are educated voters," Santos told
The Times. "They know what's on their ballots ... I have faith
in our voters that they're not going to miss anything. And they
care what happens in their school system. And when the township
and schools can save that much money in one year, it's a no
brainer."
The school board will likely vote on the issue at its Nov. 19
meeting.
SOURCE:
The Bay City Times, "Bangor schools may switch to November
elections," Oct. 22, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1193066245134330.xml&coll=4&thispage=1
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Secret Ballot?" May 22, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7708
COMMENT AND WIN AN IPOD
MIDLAND, Mich. — Go to
https://educationreport.org and post a comment for a chance to win one of three iPods.
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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