Citizens and schools speak out on RTTT flaws

Here is an interesting view on the Race To The Top that I found in today's Lansing State Journal. Moran makes the point that "racing to the top" doesn't ensure quality educational experiences for our students.

Greenville schools didn't sign an MOU to be eligible for RTTT funds. Their belief is that there is no plan established that they could review.

When an athlete competes in a race, they know the course ahead of time. They have a chance to study it to see what will be the challenging portions and where they can excel. If school districts and the state is planning on Racing To The Top, shouldn't they be more concerned that they are racing a course that will change at any moment?

How the jobs crisis creates an education crisis

I ran across this article by Richard Rothstein discussing how stimulus money should be used to create jobs. Interesting, considering that Fund Surpluses in individual Michigan school districts now total $1.6 billion. Yep, that would be $1,000 per student. Or to continue programing for students that will employ more workers.

Read the article at http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/how_the_jobs_crisis_creates_an_education_crisis/

Nothing better to do on a Friday night

If you are still up on a Friday night, call your legislator. They are still in session and will be considering the RTTT bills. As soon as I get an update, I will post again

RTTT bills? Results from late night legislative bargaining

While a conceptual framework was reached at 4 AM, it is considered to be fragile. Our lobbyists have stated that they are cautiously optimistic after discussions with legislative leadership. However, when the bill is printed, Don Noble and our other lobbyists will be studying the RTTT bills to ensure that our members are protected.

Here is the latest from the legislative news service MIRS

Here's the good news. The Legislative Service Bureau (LSB) is drafting the Race To The Top (RTTT) education reform bills that reflect the compromise negotiators reached at 4 a.m. this morning and conferees are already fly-specking parts of the drafts.
"We want to make sure that the intent of what we did is in the language," said Rep. Tim MELTON (D-Pontiac), chair of two of the four conference committees scheduled today.
But here's the bad news. It looks like it's shaping up to be another late night. Although the Senate and House are due in at 1:30 p.m., sources in both chambers said not to expect any action with House members being informed the attendance board will be kept open until 3:30 p.m.
It's rumored that LSB will be done printing around 4 p.m. Assuming there are no major hang-ups in reviewing the bills, conference committees will meet afterward. The reports are expected to have the votes in conference and then both chambers will need to caucus.
That means that floor votes probably won't start until this evening.
Sources say the agreement reached at 4 a.m., as broken by MIRS (See "Deal Reached On Race To The Top," 12/17/09) is still fragile. There were still talks this morning and a Senate GOP source still referred to it as the "framework" for an agreement.
Sen. Buzz THOMAS (D-Detroit), one of the conferees, said he's been communicating with others in negotiations via text message since the wee hours of the morning. Thomas, who sponsored the charter school expansion part of the package, said he "thought things were wrapped up," but there's uncertainty on the House side.
When asked if he felt caught in the middle between the House Democrats and Senate Republicans, Thomas told MIRS, "I'm still a Democrat."
Melton acknowledged that the deal still had to be sold to his caucus, but he expressed optimism that this wouldn't be a repeat of tough budget votes on K-12 or General Government that initially failed.
"I think members will be comfortable with where we're at and it will fly through with a bipartisan vote," he said.

Late nights at the Capitol, part 2

We just got word that the RTTT conference committee is going to meet again Friday at 12:01 AM. Yep, that's right, 1 minute after midnight. It seems like there has been serious disagreement between the Senate (Sen Kuipers) and the House (Rep. Melton) regarding charter schools expansion. Within the charter school issue, Sen. Kuipers would like to add 100 charter schools and change the requirements to allow more charters to open.

Cyber schools, tenure, and school reform are also still being discussed. Lots of people are trying to get presents under this education christmas tree.

Keep contacting your legislator through email, phone, text, FB, twitter or any other way that you communicate with your rep and senator. Remind them to read each bill. Even though it will be early Friday morning, they need to know what is in the bills that they will be voting on.

RTTT, cell phones, and the like

The latest from the legislative news agency MIRS...

Rep. Tim MELTON (D-Auburn Hills) said this morning that negotiations are currently stalled after Senate Republicans walked out of the room last night having tried to interject new issues into the negotiations. "I'm still at the table, as far as they know I'm still in the room waiting to negotiate," Melton said. "I didn't storm out of the room, they did." When asked specifically what the problem was, Melton said "they're going above and beyond what their own chamber passed. Stuff that may be a wish-list for them but has nothing to do with Race to the Top."Melton said the Senate came in and demanded 100 new charters without any accountability measures.House Democrats have slated a press conference for 12:30 p.m. today accusing Senate Republicans of "abandoning" negotiations on RTTT. Senate Republicans put the blame on Melton. When asked this morning where negotiations were at, Conference Committee Chair Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland) replied, "Nowhere." Melton was also asked about a letter of intent that the administration should have filed indicating Michigan's interest in the RTTT process. Talk in the Senate was that that letter of intent was never filed, raising questions about the desire on the part of Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM to participate.Melton told MIRS the intent letter is a voluntary thing that doesn't impact the state's application calling the raising of the intent letter a "diversion tactic" on the part of Senate Republicans.Granholm spokeswoman Liz BOYD told MIRS the Governor did submit the letter this week and received confirmation from the Barack OBAMA administration that it was received on time. The letter just has not been posted on a federal web site yet, which may account for the confusion from senators.

And it continues...

During a 12:30 p.m. press conference the House Democratic caucus aimed at putting pressure on the Senate Republicans to resume negotiations over legislation that would allow the state to compete for between $400 and $600 million in Race To The Top (RTTT) funds. Prior to the press conference the Senate was threatening to adjourn for the year. Laying out much of the argument that House Education Committee Chair Tim MELTON (D-Auburn Hills) made this morning, House Speaker Andy DILLON (D-Redford Twp.) said the House will remain until the end of the year if necessary.
Following comments by Melton and Dillon, a reporter asked if any of the House Democrats had walked over to talk to Senators, Melton said no. He argued there's a protocol to follow and that the people that leave the table should be the ones to call for talks to resume. Asked if a cell phone call had been made, Dillon asked for a cell phone and a few minutes later in front of the media dialed up lead Senate negotiator Sen. Wayne KUIPERS (R-Holland) and asked him toreturn to the table. Kuipers apparently asked to meet with the Speaker first before resuming talks with Melton and Dillon invited him to his office.However, as of 12:55 p.m., Kuipers was still on the Senate floor.Senate Republicans put the blame on Melton, accusing Democrats of not really supporting the RTTP legislation. There were big problems with the House adding items not related to RTTP requirements, like starting the school year before Labor Day.
Senate GOP spokesman Matt MARSDEN said in response to Melton's assertion that the House would stay until the Dec. 31 that the Senate still plans to adjourn for the year today. Look for more breaking news on today's session in the coming hours from MIRS.

Help MEA launch "reading program" for legislators

Encourage leaders in Lansing to READ bills BEFORE they VOTE on them

Reading is fundamental – especially for legislators.

That’s why, today, MEA is launching a new “reading program” for our elected leaders in Lansing. Just as it’s critical for our students to read their assignments before taking a test, our state representatives and senators must READ any bills on school reform before they VOTE on them.

With the federal Race to the Top deadline looming, negotiations in Lansing around RTTT-related legislation will stretch well into the evening hours. These various House- and Senate-approved bills are in conference committee where six legislators will have significant influence over any compromise. They are Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom (R-Muskegon), Sen. Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit), Rep. Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills), Rep. Doug Geiss (D-Taylor), and Rep. Phillip Pavlov (R-St. Clair).

In these kind of last-minute negotiations, it’s common for legislators outside the conference committee to not have the opportunity to fully read compromise bills before voting.

But with our students’ futures at stake, it is essential that our leaders in Lansing do the responsible thing, read whatever bills come before them, and carefully consider the reforms they are enacting. The details of these reforms are critical – they will impact the education that students receive for years to come.

Critical areas for them to look for and oppose include:

• School reform that narrowly focuses on instituting building level reforms without addressing dysfunctional bureaucracies.
• Expansion of charter schools without proper oversight, transparency and accountability, as well as unregulated cyberschools or other new school models that don’t ensure a high-quality education for students.
• The elimination of teacher tenure and other assaults on school employee rights that ensure good working environments for employees – and good learning environments for students.
  

Act now! E-mail and call your state representative and senator today (leave a voicemail if no one is available to take your call in person). If one of your legislators is on the conference committee, urge them to consider these issues in finalizing compromise bills. If your elected officials aren’t on the committee, share your concerns and ask that they consider them as they make their decisions in the coming days.

But above all, insist that all our leaders in Lansing take the time to READ this significant legislation BEFORE they cast a final VOTE.

Race To The Top conferees named

“Race to the Top” Legislation Sent to Conference Committee

The package of bills referred to as “Race to the Top” is now in conference committee. The bills include SB 926 and SB 981.

Senate Bill 926 (S-5) would amend the State School Aid Act to require the Center for Educational Performance and Information, in cooperation with the Department of Education, to create and implement a teacher identifier system with the ability to match an individual teacher to pupils whom the teacher taught.

Senate Bill 981 amends the Revised School Code to allow for restructuring of failing schools. This bill became an ominous bill with several issues added on the House floor, including Charter School expansion. MEA lobbyists are currently analyzing the bill to determine MEA positions as the two bills go to Conference Committee.

With the bills being in conference committee it is necessary for MEA to work with both chambers in order to get to a place that makes Michigan competitive for the federal dollars.

Senate Names Conferees

Senate Majority Leader named the following to serve on the Conference Committee to negotiate the differences in the “Race to the Top” bills. Conferees include Senators Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), Gerald Van Woerkom (R-Muskegon) and Samuel Thomas (D-Detroit).

House Names Conferees
House Speaker named the following to serve on the Conference Committee to negotiate the differences in the "Race To The Top" bills. Conferees include Representatives Tim Melton (D-Auburn Hills), Douglass Geiss (D-Taylor), and Phillip Pavlov (R-St. Clair).

Will reforms help Michigan win Race To The Top funds?

One analysis of the many reforms states that current legislation under consideration at the Capitol will have little affect on winning the funds available under the Secretary Duncan's Race To The Top program.

Senator Cropsey speaks about funding for schools

Ok, term limits will be good because we will get a chance to replace Senator Cropsey with someone who may be willing to work on problems rather than posture for the media.

Keeping money going to programs

Thanks to Jon Toppen from the KCEA office for passing on this article regarding funding of school programs.

Governor urges targeted tax increase

The Governor was in Saginaw Township yesterday meeting with school officials. Read what tax increases she would like to see to help offset some of the cuts to the school aid fund.

Education issues dominate news at the Capitol

News of the Day
Governor Holds Round Table Discussions on Budget

Governor Granholm visited West Michigan last Friday to meet with superintendents, school board members and school staff looking for solutions to the education funding crisis.

The Governor met with members of the school communities in the Muskegon and Kent ISDs encouraging them to support her ideas for a short-term fix and long-term changes to how schools are funded. As she sees it, tax reform is key to avoiding any further budget dramas like we’re seeing now.

After the Governor explained the state’s financial crisis and her reasons for cutting an additional $127 from state aid, on top of the $165 already cut, she heard the impact the cuts will have on education—in addition to the budget slashing schools have already endured.

She heard of the potential elimination of 600 jobs in Kent County and 225 teaching jobs in Ottawa County. Kent City has already eliminated guidance counselors and day custodians. In Whitehall, this new round of cuts could mean cutting programs in fine arts and eliminating athletics and extra-curricular. The message was clear—schools are no longer cutting the number of programs—they’re cutting education quality.

John Mierz, a Whitehall teacher and MEA member, was invited to participate in the discussion. He told the Governor that it’s impossible for districts and staff to do any long-term planning when there’s such funding uncertainty.

Arch Lewis, MEA Research Consultant and a participant in the discussion agreed. “We need a long-term systemic. It’s obvious Prop A isn’t working. We need to get money to schools that will be a permanent revenue source.”

For the short term, the Legislature has 30 days to implement immediate solutions like freezing schedule increases in personal tax exemptions, or having special interest groups pay a percentage of their tax exemptions as a way of closing tax loopholes.

The Governor ended both discussions with the same challenge. “We have to mobilize like we’ve never mobilized before and fix this problem. Contact your legislator and tell them to vote for the needs of public education. Kids only have this moment. The Legislature must be convinced. Are you willing to help me?”


Emergency meetings deal with school funding crisis

In an emergency meeting on Monday, the State Board of Education urged the Governor and the Legislature to immediately find money to reduce the cuts in school funding. Meanwhile, the governor held another round-table discussion in Rochester.

Local MEA leaders and staff attended the meeting. They supplied stories about the cuts in their local districts and its effect on the classroom and students. Oakland County superintendents spoke of cost cutting measures they have been making over the past several years.

Sen. Mike Bishop (R) Rochester, Rep. Tom McMillin (R) Rochester Hills, and Rep. Kim Meltzer (R) Clinton Township were in attendance at the meeting.

Leon Drolet, former State Representative, organized a group of anti-tax proponents to demonstrate outside the Rochester Public Schools Administration building during the roundtable discussion. He had his huge pink pig parked in the parking lot to denote pork barrel spending.

At the urging of the Governor, contact your legislator today. Phone, email, or text legislators and tell them we must save public education. Urge them to look for revenue by reforming our antiquated tax structure and fixing our broken school funding system. For our economic survival, education must be a priority.

Dillon Health Care Plan – Prescription for Disaster
Hearing on 5345 Continues

A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, 2009, in Room 351 of the Capitol for 2 p.m. or after session, whichever is later.

Testifying on behalf the MEA will be Lori Spotts, President of the Tecumseh EA and Superintendent Mike Shibler, Rockford Public Schools.

The games continue and Education suffers

Here is the latest Capitol Chaos regarding the further cuts to education that Governor Granholm released yesterday. It is critical that you contact your legislators and demand that they find a way to fund public education. Find your legislator's contact information here.

News of the Day
Additional cuts proposed by the Governor

Late this afternoon, Gov. Granholm announced in a news conference a proration cut of $127 per-pupil for this year. The cut is based on revenue estimates for the School Aid Fund (SAF) by the Department of Treasury.

This cut is in addition to the $165 per-student reduction in the K-12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget that Granholm signed Monday.

Current law requires that the Treasurer notify the Governor if the actual revenue collections are less than the estimated revenue on which the budget is based. In that case, the Governor is required to notify the Legislature that payments to school districts will be reduced on a per pupil basis in 30 days unless the Legislature adopts a solution to the revenue shortfall.

The Governor’s action simply underscores the huge budget deficit faced by Michigan that results from the billions of dollars of permanent, special interest tax cuts enacted when the economy was booming. These cuts are now exacerbating the effects of the economic downturn. Unless the legislature comes up with a fix to this structural deficit, the Governor has no choice but to reduce funding to schools and other units of government.

Schools are feeling the effects of the economic squeeze. Sales tax revenue, which continues to come in below projections, are a major source of school funding. About 70% of funding for the state’s 552 school districts and 232 public school academies comes from the state in the form of sales and property tax collections with a smaller amount from the state’s general fund.

The minimum state grant to schools would drop from $7,316 per pupil last fiscal year to $7,144. Spending per pupil would range from $77,144 to $12,271. Such cuts are difficult for schools to address, as they are already one-third of the way through their fiscal year.

The Governor is holding school funding meetings around the state

Governor Granholm is going around the state setting up meetings with the school community to generate support/pressure on the legislature to come up with more revenue and funding for schools. MEA staff and members, along with school administrators, school board members and parents, have been invited to participate in the discussion with the Governor. The meetings are being followed by press conferences.

A meeting was held in Livingston County yesterday and meetings are scheduled in Muskegon and Kent Counties tomorrow.

Dillon Health Care Plan – Prescription for Disaster
Hearing on 5345 Continues

Cindy Nayer, President and CEO of the Center for Health Value Innovation, testified that access and affordability of care for chronic diseases, prevention wellness and mental health is the core for insurance design needed to provide a healthy workforce for Michigan.

Dr. Mark Frederick, Co-Director of the Center for Value Based Insurance Design with the University of Michigan, contends that the question the committee should respond to is “how to restore health to health care on limited resources?” He also stated that the cost going in such direction may not be less, but there would be a greater return on the investment of good health.

Keith Bruhnsen, Assistant Director of Benefits & Manager of the Prescription Drug Program at the University of Michigan, testified to the pooling of the prescription program at the University, which is a self-insured, self-administered program. As to savings, he stated that it depends on the plan design.

Dan Gilmartin, Executive Director & CEO, and Samantha Jones Harkins, Legislative Associate for the Michigan Municipal League, offered a neutral position on HB 55345. They questioned the cost savings within the bill without cutting benefits.

The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, 2009. MEA is scheduled to provide testimony.

Capitol Chaos, October 12 edition

News of the day
K-12 Budget received with mixed reactions

Reactions by school officials were happy to have a final 2009-10 budget but angry that the cut was larger than they had been led to expect when schools developed their budget in June.

The House presented the Governor with the K-12 budget (HB 4447) Friday afternoon and she signed the bill today.

Due to the $165 per pupil cut, as many as 100 school districts are expected to be in deficit spending for the current fiscal year. However, once the governor signs the bill, schools will be ensured no interruptions in their state and federal aid payments. School aid payments will be smaller and schools will have to make adjustments.

There is concern that this budget isn’t really balanced, since the revenues proposed by the Senate to reduce the per-pupil cut from $218 to $165 haven’t been passed. It has been pointed out that $20 million in the General Government budget from license plate fees likely won’t be there.

The Senate package is designed to provide an additional $71 million in revenue and phase out the Michigan business Tax (MBT) surcharge. The Senate voted to freeze the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) at 10 percent, cut film credits, cap Brownfield credits and put an 18-month residency requirement on anyone claiming the EITC.

Meanwhile the House revenue plan is to generate an additional $400 million to cover its budget priorities – libraries, Medicaid, revenue sharing, the Michigan Promise and K-12 schools. So far three of the six proposed revenue bills have passed the house – a 3 percent physician’s tax or Quality Assurance Assessment Program (QAAP), a measure freezing the personal exemption allowed in the state’s income tax to last year’s levels and a shell bill that allowed doctors to write off their new QAAP tax as an MBT write-off.

This leaves an interesting end game for a compromise on enough revenue to cover the shortfall in K-12.

It’s time to stop corporate greed!
Business tax breaks cost Detroit about $15 million last year

The Detroit news reported Saturday that city-issued breaks cost Detroit about $15 million last year. The tax abatements were aimed to keep or add 25,000 workers, but about 7,500 were laid off.

This city cut taxes on $2.7 billion in investments over the past decade to businesses that failed to follow through on job promises. The question remains, do tax credits/abatements improve the economy of the cities and state or only the economy of the corporations?

Dillon Health Care Plan – Prescription for Disaster
Public Hearings on HB 5345 scheduled through November

A hearing on HB 5345 is scheduled for Thursday, October 15, 2008, at 2 p.m. or after session, whichever is later.

Hearings are also scheduled for October 22, 29, and November 5th.

State Employee Health Premiums Increasing

According to a 2009 survey completed by the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL), state employee health premiums are on the increase.

There is a wide variation on cost-sharing among the 50 states. Most states are opting for lower-cost widely-available policy options. The national average for state employee health plans is envisioned as the benchmark for public employee benefits under the Dillon plan.

The national average that the Dillon Plan puts forth is a full family premium of $870 and a single premium of $437. If the Dillon plan is enacted Michigan employees would take a big loss in benefits. The average employee premium share is 8% for single coverage and 18% for full family.

Senator Whitmer's speech on our students

I posted the transcript of the speech last week, now watch it here

Monday's Capitol Chaos

K-12 Budget impasse halts federal funds

School districts were sent a letter last Friday notifying them that until the Legislature and Gov. Granholm enact a continuation budget or a full-year budget, the state can no longer disburse federal funds.

The affected federally funded programs include: Title I; Special Education; School Lunch Program; Adult and Child Care Food Program; Career and Technical Education; Educational Technology; Improving Teacher Quality; Charter School Funds; Even Start; Migrant Education; Comprehensive School Reform; and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (After School Programs).

School districts and private organizations that operate federal programs normally are reimbursed their federal funds on a weekly basis, according to the Department of Education. Over a normal two-week period, the department processes about $43 million in payments.

The House and Senate have not reached agreement on how much money to put into a continuation agreement.

It’s time to stop corporate greed!

For the past two decades state government has passed through legislation approximately $5 billion/year in tax cuts. Such cuts were designed to stimulate our economy, bring in new industries to replace the dying auto industry, and be the ultimate in job creation.

History has proven this theory wrong as tax incentives have been provided with a modest number of businesses establishing themselves in Michigan, but with little job creation.

These corporate executives, led by David Branden and Doug Rothwell, are loudly proclaiming that if, the state would completely eliminate their tax burden, in addition to the roughly $2 million a year that have already been eliminated, the state will see economic growth, job creation and a stable state budget.

It is time for the legislature to balance the tax burden—not just on the backs of workers—but also on corporations. Without a balanced approach, Michigan can’t provide a sound public infrastructure, including public education and a place for businesses to develop and grow.

Without a balanced approach, public education suffers and businesses will leave the state. Michigan will continue to experience economic decline and job loss.

Urge Senate to Support Public Option and Oppose Taxation in Health Insurance Reform

This past week the Senate Finance Committee rejected amendments that would add a public option to the health insurance reform proposal under consideration in that committee. The proposal continues to include provisions that would tax insurance companies for plans over a certain value. Once the Finance Committee completes work on its bill, that proposal will be melded with one passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee earlier this year, which includes a public option and no taxation of benefits.

NEA believes that health reform should guarantee a choice of plans and providers through a private health insurance plan, including one that an employee may currently have through his or her employer, and a public health insurance plan option. The public health insurance option will compete with the private insurance industry in terms of cost and quality. This choice is a fundamental feature of an American solution for health reform and another critical piece of cost control.

NEA opposes any tax on health benefits, including a tax on insurance companies, which would be passed off to consumers in the form of higher premiums. Many public education employees have traded salary increases for the long-term security of a comprehensive health plan. Telling them benefits will be cut or that they will pay more taxes would unfairly penalize them. In addition, such a tax would place the burden more heavily on some workers than others. Coverage is more expensive for employers whose workforces are older or female-dominated such as education.
Take Action: Tell the Senate to Include a Public Option and Oppose Taxation of Benefits in Health Insurance Reform Legislation.

Learn more about NEA’s position on health care.Read more about health insurance reform myths vs. facts.

Public Hearings on HB 5345 scheduled through November

It was reported that the hearing scheduled for this Thursday would be canceled due to budget discussions taking place all week. However, more than 30 citizens and organizations have requested the opportunity to testify on the legislation. Thus, hearings dates are being scheduled through November so that everyone has a chance to tell his/her story.

The fight for schools continues

After a very long legislative day yesterday, we are still in a fight for our schools. The House rejected the conference committee report that would have reduced the foundation allowance by $218 per student. The Senate Republicans remain determined to slash funding and future opportunities for our students.

There were a couple of interesting moments yesterday. First, there was a call of the House, which had the intentions of keeping the House members from communicating face to face with constituents and members. However, this did not slow the efforts of MEA, especially Erv and myself. Erv and I were able to communicate with Reps Huckleberry and Calley via text message and FaceBook. In fact, by doing this, we stayed in constant contact offering words of encouragement to continue fighting for our students and schools.

However, on the Senate side, the Belding and Lansing UniServ offices repeatedly tried to speak with Senator Cropsey about funding for the schools. On every occasion that we requested a meeting outside the chamber, Sen. Cropsey refused. It appears that he was too busy trying to cut funding for our schools. We knew before that Senator Cropsey was no friend of education but this reinforced my belief that he does not care about the future of our students and public education. In this case, thank God for term limits! It is critical that we get someone in this seat that will at least be open to listening to our concerns.

However, one senator stood out. Senator Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) gave an impassioned speech on the Senator floor this morning around 2:00 am. I have inserted the text of the speech below and will post the video of the speech when it is available. Here is a senator that believes that children and public education are our future and exposes the hypocrisy of Senate Republicans when it comes to their ideals and beliefs.

Statement of Senator Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) Opposing Cuts to Schools in the School Aid Temporary Budget Thank you Mr. President, Ever since this hideous conference report came out yesterday I have been agonizing about the 1.6 million children and the families of this state that are going to be hurt by the cuts in this bill. At 2:43 in the morning I finally turned on my light and started writing. You see I come from a family of educators, I am a product of the public schools in East Lansing and in Grand Rapids. My kids are in the East Lansing Public Schools. I believe that education is the great equalizer in our society - - the opportunity for kids to succeed. This past Sunday, I was at my church - - the People’s Church in East Lansing - - and my pastor began the service talking about how when children are around - - adults behave better. I kept the bulliten from which we jointly recited the following: “’Then he put a child among them.’ When we use long words and confusing sentences, put a child among us. When we let the cares of the world drag us down, when the demands of life seem overwhelming, put a child among us. When we are tempted to deceive or to selfishly sway an opinion, put a child among us. When we need love, recognition, or a great big hug, put a child among us. When we need the values of church, family, or community in proportion, put a child among us...” I was raised by 2 public servants - - who taught me many important lessons - - one of which is you’ve gotta get the facts, and two tell the truth, don’t sugarcoat it.

Well here are the facts:
1) The most critical time in a human being’s brain development are in the early years
2) Education is the most important factor in an individual’s ability to succeed in the new economy
3) Businesses of tomorrow need educated work forces

Now here’s the straight talk, where we don’t sugar coat the facts:
1) this budget rips apart the fabric of our education system - - a system I’m willing to bet that every one of you made campaign promises to uphold
2) 200 school districts will be forced into deficit spending - - 218 per pupil
3) ISD funding = another 22 per pupil for a grand total of 240 per pupil - - might as well tell people: plan on keeping your kids home - - your fiction of flexibility is clever but the reality is with less dollars districts will have to spend money on “NEEDS” and not “WANTS” meaning early childhood funding will be gone - - when we need it more than ever.
4) Schools, parents and students will have to be prepared for a 13th year because there will no longer be Credit Recovery.
5) Summer School will be gone.
6) After school programs, gone.
7) These cuts mean fewer bus routes themselves, meaning that that little 5 year old girl will walk farther to catch the bus, and when she gets on it, it won’t have been inspected. School Bus Inspections, gone - - have you checked with your school district what that means to your little constituents?
8) it eliminates early childhood education - - when we need it more than ever Since I know I can’t seem to appeal to you’re the right side of your brain - - or your hearts when I talk about kids - - let’s talk about the bottom line you’re so singularly focused on.
9) Jobs: minimum 12,000 – 14,000 losses. REAL losses - - felt in every community. If a private sector employer told you they’d have to lay off 13,000 employees, you’d be falling over your selves to introduce the bill to save those jobs and here we are slashing them - - and these aren’t just any jobs - - these people are educating our children, our littlest most vulnerable constituents. Can you imagine if it Amway or Domino’s Pizza? Well, job losses are job losses. And job losses of this magnitude will not only hurt our kids, they’ll have the same devastating impact on our communities as job losses in the private sector. 500 less teachers in Kent Co, will mean 23million less in the local economy - - when GRPS have right sized, and done everything right . . . they don’t have 4.2million more.

You like to rail against the MBT ad nauseum - - but how the heck are we to compete with China, India, or even Indiana for that matter when you balance the budget on the backs of our kids? I realize very few of you actually have kids in the schools anymore . . . and you don’t have to look YOUR principal in the eye every day. It almost brings me to tears what you are doing to the kids of our state . . . to think that I can’t you. I know some of you will retort that the schools are “okay” this . . . No they are not. Do they prefer amputation to death, maybe. Who wouldn’t? But this 25% of the school year is over. Their budget year began July 1st. So this is a mid year cut - - a legislative pro-ration. So let me be very clear: none of our schools, none of our 1.6 million kids - - nor their families are “okay” with this. And you shouldn’t be either. I ask that my comments be printed as my NO vote explanation.

Capitol Chaos, September 28, 2009

News of the Day
House and Senate canceled Sunday sessions

When the House and Senate convene tomorrow morning, they will have less than 48 hours to pass a budget or force the state to shut down.

House speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) announced Saturday that they had canceled sessions scheduled for Sunday afternoon. However, the three scheduled conference meetings were convened. They included committees on the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.

Session was not held today (Monday) because of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

Over the weekend Mr. Bishop expressed confidence that a deal might at last be close. He said negotiators had resolved one of the five troublesome budgets although he declined to say which one. He remained confident that the logjam might finally break and the House would pass the 2009-10 budget based on all-cuts, no tax increases model to which he and Mr. Dillon agreed.

Bishop loses straw poll

A straw poll conducted at this past weekend’s Republican Party conference on Mackinac Island gave business executive Rick Snyder the nod in the Republican gubernatorial contest, while Sen. Michelle McManus won the secretary of state race and Bill Schuette the attorney general nod.

Leading the attorney general’s race, Mr. Schuette, the former Court of Appeals judge, state senator and congressman, took 57.5% of the 1,212 votes cast. Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop captured 36.8% while Sen. Bruce Patterson received 5.7%.

In the gubernatorial straw poll, 1,244 votes were cast. Mr. Snyder prevailed with 31% to 24.1% for Attorney General Mike Cox, 24% for Oakland County sheriff Michael Bouchard, 17.6% for U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra and 3.3% for state Sen. Tom George.

Ms. McManus took 34% of the 1,186 votes cast for secretary of state, while Sen. Cameron Brown received 26.2%, Calhoun County Clerk and Register of Deeds Anne Norlander received 20.9% and Rep. Paul Scott took 17.9%.

Just the Facts – Powers and Duties given to State Government by HB 5345
Speaker Dillon’s proposed mandatory government-run health plan

Each day we will provide some of the powers and duties that this legislation gives to state government that normally is provided at the local level by local school board members, city councils, county commissioners, etc.

• The Michigan health benefits program board is created as an autonomous entity in the department of management and budget. Sec. 3(1)
• The board shall exercise its powers independent of the director of the department of management and budget. Sec. 3(1)
• The state employer shall serve as chairperson. Sec. 5(1)
• After the first meeting, the board shall meet at least monthly. Sec. 5(1)
• State health scheme vs. federal health reform
  Would all public employees have exactly the same health insurance?
  State Plan
  No. Public employees would lose the plans they have today and would be forced to choose from a limited menu of plans mandated and designed by the state-run program.
  
  Federal Health Reform Plan
  No. National health care reform would preserve choice for people who have insurance today and extend coverage to provide affordable choices to people who are presently uninsured.

School Reform
House Bills 4787, 4788, 4789 – School Reform/Takeover

These bills allow so-called “failing schools” to be targeted for special help. Schools with chronically low student achievement would be placed under the oversight of a state reform/design officer and operated as a “redesigned school” with modified staffing rules that could be negotiated with employees.
The district could authorize special charter schools, or “turnaround schools.” That would provide students with an alternative education option.
These bills have passed the House and have been referred to the Senate.
The reform measures in these bills are as follows:

• Provide for improving the education of children and working conditions of employees.
• Control over the school is given to someone with experience and the authority to reform the school.
• Protects the rights of employees to bargain changes in working conditions. It also expands bargaining rights to include the ability to bargain over the privatization of support services, the terms of a leave of absence to teach in a charter school and the first day of school.
• Creation of a turnaround charter school is the last resort, not the automatic first option. Extensive oversight of the charter schools is provided
• Establishes alternative routes to certification.

MEA supports these bills.

Make sure you get this information out to your membership.

Rep. Calley on the Today Show

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