Contents of this issue:
- Ex-DPS superintendent pleads guilty, board wants answers
- Holly schools move toward food service contracting
- Alma schools consider competitive contracting
- Comstock Park custodian charged in eBay scheme
- Missed deadline equals higher union fees
EX-DPS SUPERINTENDENT PLEADS GUILTY, BOARD WANTS ANSWERS
DETROIT — The former superintendent of Detroit Public Schools
pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a grand jury while on
trial for an assortment of charges, including money laundering
and bribery, according to The Detroit News.
The charges date back to William F. Coleman III's tenure as
deputy superintendent and COO of the Dallas Independent School
District. Coleman was accused of taking hundreds of thousands of
dollars in bribes for contracts, and was also tied to a $39
million bribery and conspiracy case, The News reported.
Detroit Public Schools board member Marie Thornton wishes to use
the board's power of subpoena to bring Coleman to testify
regarding major budget problems stemming from his time as DPS
superintendent, The News reported. Current Superintendent Connie
Calloway uncovered that the district was paying millions of
dollars in salaries and benefits for teachers who were not
included in the budget. This helped contribute to the district's
$45 million deficit.
"In order to balance our budget, we as a board for the school
district need to know about the unbudgeted accounts," Thornton
told The News. She also wants a copy of the independent review
by The Council of the Great City Schools, which led to the
discovery of the deficit, The News reported. "There are a lot of
unanswered questions related to budget that we need to know
before we move forth. We need to have the public have confidence
that we are doing our job and being responsible for their tax
dollars."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Detroit school board member wants Coleman
inquiry," May 29, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/METRO/ 805290458/1020/NATION
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Parents Should Have More
Options When Schools Commit Academic Fraud," Feb. 2, 2008
https://www.mackinac.org/3315
HOLLY SCHOOLS MOVE TOWARD FOOD SERVICE CONTRACTING
HOLLY, Mich. — Holly Public Schools is examining the possibility
of contracting for its food services, according to The Flint
Journal.
The district currently contracts with Chartwells for the
management of its food services and is examining the possibility
of having the company provide the labor, too. The move would
save the district an estimated $200,000, according to The
Journal.
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Holly schools expect $200K savings with
privatization plan," June 2, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/06/holly_schools_expect_200k_savi.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Food Service Privatization,"
in "Survey 2007: More Growth in School Support Service
Privatization," Aug. 16, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8891
ALMA SCHOOLS CONSIDER COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING
ALMA, Mich. — Alma Public Schools is considering competitively
contracting for custodial services, according to the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun.
The district will overspend its budget by $176,000 this year and
an estimated $400,000 next year without cuts. The board has
sought bids for custodial services and expects to receive
estimates from between five and seven companies. The district is
following the suit of nearby Midland and Bullock Creek,
according to the Morning Sun.
"We have certainly expressed the possibility but it's all part
of our budget review," Superintendent Don Pavlik told the
Morning Sun. "We are looking at all different ways (of cutting
costs)."
The Alma Education Support Personnel Association union has
planned rallies and has also purchased a billboard in town which
reads, "Don't Privatize. Do you really want a stranger cleaning
Alma Public Schools? Call a school board member today," The
Morning Sun reported.
Pavlik told the Morning Sun that when the district outsourced
lawn mowing three years ago it also looked into doing the same
with custodial services.
"When we looked at it before, (privatization) was substantially
cheaper," he said.
SOURCE:
Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, "Alma schools may privatize custodial
services," May 29, 2008
https://www.themorningsun.com/stories/052908/loc_privatize.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A School Privatization
Primer," June 26, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8691
COMSTOCK PARK CUSTODIAN CHARGED IN EBAY SCHEME
COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — A custodian at Comstock Park High School
is facing charges for allegedly stealing items from the school
and selling them on eBay, according to WOOD TV.
Ricky Wright, 43, of Sparta was arrested after he was caught on
surveillance tapes, stealing a teacher's calculator and seven
students' baseball gloves. Wright admitted to selling stolen
goods for about two years, WOOD TV reported.
Wright was fired by the district, and his preliminary hearing
was set for June 6. He faces up to 10 years in prison if
convicted, according to WOOD TV.
SOURCES:
WOOD TV, "Stolen ball glove found on eBay; school custodian
arrested," May 21, 2008
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?s=8361505
WOOD TV, "Accused eBay thief faces charges," May 28, 2008
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8389109&nav=0Rce
FURTHER READING:
Michigan School Databases, "Contract Agreement between the
Comstock Park School Board and the Comstock Park Educational
Employees Association," March 3, 2008
https://www.mackinac.org/archives/epi/contracts/41/41080_2010-06-30_CPEEA_KCEA_MEA_C_O_F_T_X.PDF
Michigan Education Digest, "Comstock Park teacher still
teaching; suspended but not fired," May 27, 2008
https://www.educationreport.org/9484
MISSED DEADLINE EQUALS HIGHER UNION FEES
HILLSDALE, Mich. — An English teacher in the Reading Community
Schools in Hillsdale County is unhappily paying $200 more to the
Michigan Education Association and National Education
Association unions than she expected to this year.
Corrie Caldwell has not been a member of either association for
more than a year, electing instead to become a fee-payer,
someone who works in a bargaining unit represented by the MEA
but who chooses not to join the union. Caldwell said she filled
out paperwork in December 2007 to renew her fee-payer status for
2007-2008, and mailed it through her school district, but the
items missed the Jan. 3, 2008, postmark deadline.
Now Caldwell is paying about $620 to the MEA and $150 to the NEA
in 2007-2008. Her reduced service fees would have been about
$491 and $80, respectively.
"I am definitely interested in getting the word out so this
doesn't happen to others," Caldwell told Michigan Education
Report. "It's an expensive lesson."
SOURCE:
Michigan Education Report, "Missed deadline costs teacher more
in union fees," June 2, 2008
https://www.educationreport.org/9488
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Compulsory Union Membership
Issues: Fee-Payers," in "A Collective Bargaining Primer,"
Feb. 28, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8293
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Workers' Paychecks Need
Further Protection," Aug. 6, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/2007
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
an online 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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