Contents of this issue:
- MESSA delays school insurance savings
- More students attending charters in Flint area
- New Haven custodian charged with fifth DUI
- Willow Run teachers agree to contract, drop grievances
- DPS spends $1.5 million for travel, catering expenses
- Comment and win an iPod
MESSA DELAYS SCHOOL INSURANCE SAVINGS
LEELANAU COUNTY, Mich. — Three Leelanau County school districts
will have to wait at least a year to see any savings under a new
state law requiring insurance companies to release claims data
so that schools can seek competitive bids for health benefits,
according to the Leelanau Enterprise.
Leland, Northport and Suttons Bay superintendents have all
requested claims data from the Michigan Education Special
Services Association to help collect competitive bids from
insurance providers, but MESSA claims it does not have data for
individual districts — only for the seven pools of districts
into which it divides local Michigan Education Association
members, the Enterprise reported. MESSA is a third-party
administrator affiliated with the MEA school employees union.
According to Gary Fralick, MESSA's director of communications
and government relations, the insurance arm of the MEA began
collecting claims data for individual districts on Dec. 1, and
districts will have access to four months worth of data in
March. This data will not be useful for bidding and district
superintendents expect to wait at least a year before there is
any chance of switching insurance coverage, according to the
Enterprise.
"I expect to hear they don't have it," Leland Superintendent
Mike Hartigan told the Enterprise. "It will be hung up until at
least the 2009-2010 school year ... There's only so much money in
the pot ... MESSA tries to convince folks that nobody provides a
product like theirs. But it's not that much better to justify
the cost ... We need to make sure to keep this money as close as
possible to kids."
State Sen. Michelle McManus of Lake Leelanau finds this
unacceptable and is working to close this loophole.
"They should have this information when the law becomes
effective (60 days after Dec. 27)," McManus told the Enterprise.
"There shouldn't be any hesitation on the part of MESSA ... it's
another example of trying to hold on to the advantage they've
had over the school districts."
The yearly cost of insurance for these three districts ranged
from $405,159 in Northport (about $2,594 per state aid member),
the smallest of the three, to $840,000 in Suttons Bay (about
$954 per state aid member).
SOURCE:
Leelanau Enterprise, "Schools hopes for insurance savings
delayed" Jan. 14, 2008
http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/01/14/schools-hopes-for-insurance-savings-delayed/
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Selective Moral Outrage,"
Sept. 24, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/9003
MORE STUDENTS ATTENDING CHARTERS IN FLINT AREA
FLINT, Mich. — According to a study published by a charter
school advocacy group, an increasing number of students in the
Flint area are attending charter public schools, according to
The Flint Journal.
The report, released by The National Alliance for Public Charter
Schools, found that about 10 percent of Flint area students
attend charter schools. This comes at a time when Genesee County
districts have seen steep declines in enrollment, while local
charter schools have had large gains, The Journal reported.
Some critics argue that there is no relationship between charter
schools and the declining enrollment of conventional public
schools.
"With the Michigan economy the way it is, I believe that may be
driving the decline in enrollment (in public schools)," Doug
Pratt, communications director for the Michigan Education
Association school employees union, told The Journal. However, the experience at local charter public schools has been
different.
"We're getting a lot of inquiries for next year, and we still
have wait lists in some grades," Traci Cormier, director of the
International Academy.
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Flint-area charter schools gain in
popularity," Jan. 17, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2008/01/flintarea_charter_schools_gain.html
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
NEW HAVEN CUSTODIAN CHARGED WITH FIFTH DUI
NEW HAVEN, Mich. — A New Haven school custodian was recently
arrested for his fifth drunk driving charge since 1986, and
second since 2002, according to the Macomb Daily.
Brett Harris, also the New Haven Village president, was pulled
over for driving 82 mph in a 55 mph zone and was found to have a
blood alcohol level of .206, more than twice the legal limit,
the Daily reported. Harris is free on a $5,000 bond and is
planning on taking a 30-day leave from his post as village
president to enter into a rehabilitation program, the Daily
reported.
Many residents are calling for his removal from public office
and scolded him at a recent meeting for endangering the safety
of their children and for his performance as a community leader,
according to the Daily.
"This guy has totally lost control and the people who have
suffered the most is us," Paul Hea, vice president of the
Amherst Subdivision Association in New Haven, told the Daily.
SOURCE:
Macomb Daily, "Embattled village boss won't quit," Jan. 14, 2008
https://www.macombdaily.com/stories/011008/loc_n2001.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Competitive contracting grows
despite myths," Sept. 6, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7900
WILLOW RUN TEACHERS AGREE TO CONTRACT, DROP GRIEVANCES
WILLOW RUN, Mich. — The Willow Run teachers union agreed to a
contract after two and a half years of negotiation and has
decided to keep the insurance plan implemented by the board of
education last August, according to The Ann Arbor News.
The contract does not include a pay increase for this year, but
includes a 1 percent raise for the 2008-2009 school year. The
health plan includes a $1,250 deductible contribution for
individuals and a $2,500 deductible per family. The district is
also offering options for HMO or PPO coverage. Additionally, as
a part of the contract, the district will give each teacher
$500, which could be applied to the cost of health insurance,
The News reported.
The union, which approved the contract 73 percent to 27 percent,
also agreed to drop the 20 grievances it filed against the
district since the school year began, according to The News.
"I am most pleased that this has finally come to an end, and
hopefully our focus will now be all about the kids,"
Superintendent Doris Hope-Jackson told The News."
SOURCE:
The Ann Arbor News, "Willow Run teachers approve four year
contract," Jan. 17, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/01/willow_run_teachers_approve_ne.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Collective Bargaining
Primer," Feb. 28, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8258
DPS SPENDS $1.5 MILLION FOR TRAVEL, CATERING EXPENSES
DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools spent more than $1.5
million in travel and catering expenditures over the last fiscal
year, similar to what it has reported spending the past few
years, according to the Associated Press.
After reports of excessive spending in 2005 and 2006, the
district agreed to take measures to reduce such spending. Superintendent Connie Calloway refused to comment, but district
spokesman Steve Wasko said the expenditures primarily took place
before Calloway took over the position in July, the Associated
Press reported.
SOURCE:
The Associated Press, "Detroit Public Schools spent $1.5M on
trips, catering," Jan. 20, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-50/1200871245324110.xml& storylist=newsmichigan
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Expenditures" in "A Michigan
School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8564
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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