Public school districts would be forced to allow school
privatization to be an issue at the bargaining table under a bill approved by the Michigan House of Representatives. House Bill 4533 would repeal
a 1994 law that has allowed Michigan public school boards the unilateral
authority to decide when and why they need to seek private-sector contracts for
noninstructional services, such as janitorial work, student meals and busing.
House Bill 4533 would apply to instances when a union seeks a contract that
would ban a district from competitively bidding out these services to
private-sector providers.
This vote marks the second time in 2007 that the Michigan House
of Representatives went on record discouraging this sort of privatization. On
May 22, 2007, an amendment to House Bill 4592 would have required districts to
draft a competitive bidding plan for noninstructional services. The rejected
amendment was the subject of a story in the September/October 2007 edition of
Michigan Capitol Confidential: "Competitive Bidding Crashes in State House."
In its 2007 annual survey of outsourcing at public schools, the
Mackinac Center reported that 222 of Michigan’s 552 conventional public school
districts, or 40.2 percent, were privatizing at least one noninstructional
service during the 2006-2007 school year, and that 77.9 percent of them reported
saving money over their previous "in house" means of providing the service.
Analyzing the privatizations that have already taken place, Dr.
Ryan S. Olson, director of education policy for the Mackinac Center, estimates
that Michigan’s public school districts could save $200 million more — and maybe
as much as $500 million more — if they all tried competitive contracting. While
only 80 districts contract out for janitorial service, 85 percent report saving
money, often more than $100 per pupil. As an example, Coldwater Community
Schools was a new convert to janitorial privatization in 2006 and estimated it
will save a total of $1.1 million over three years. Per pupil, this works out to
$104 annually, and the savings will be dedicated toward updating classroom
technology.
Public school employee unions representing janitors, bus drivers
and food service workers are often the biggest opponents of privatizing these
services. Not coincidentally, House Bill 4533 is supported by the Michigan
Education Association, the Service Employees International Union, the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and various others.
Additionally, the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Department
of Labor and Economic Growth are also listed as supporting the legislation.
Opposition to the bill — and implicit support for keeping the
1994 law — includes a diverse coalition of private business groups and public
school districts: the Michigan Association of School Boards; the Michigan
Chamber of Commerce; the National Federation of Independent Businesses; the
Detroit Public Schools; the Michigan Association of School Administrators;
intermediate school districts from the counties of Oakland, Macomb, Calhoun,
Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Ottawa and Genesee; the Michigan Elementary and Middle
School Principals Association; the Associated Builders and Contractors; and
others.
House Bill 4533 was approved by the Michigan House of
Representatives on July 25, 2007, when three Republicans joined 57 Democrats in
support of the bill and 46 Republicans opposed it.
The MichiganVotes.org tally for the bill that would allow public school employee unions to bargain for
a privatization ban is provided below.
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FOR FURTHER READING:
The Mackinac Center’s senior legal analyst, Patrick J. Wright, reviews the status of the 1994 law at www.mackinac.org/8763.
Dr. Olson’s savings estimate may be found at
www.mackinac.org/9012.
The 2007 survey of school district’s competitive contracting is available at
www.mackinac.org/8881.
The September/October 2007 issue of Michigan Capitol Confidential is at
www.mackinac.org/9023.
