Contents of this issue:
- Lansing Christian School parents open store to fund pay raises
- Teacher resigns over MEAP testing violations
- Wayne-Westland schools get security upgrade
- Pinckney teachers satisfied with switch in health insurance
- Carman-Ainsworth teachers get raises, pay more for prescription
- Comment and win an iPod
LANSING CHRISTIAN SCHOOL PARENTS OPEN STORE TO FUND PAY RAISES
LANSING, Mich. — Some parents at Lansing Christian School have
opened a thrift store with the intention of donating proceeds to
fund a pay increase for the school's 53 teachers, according to
the Lansing State Journal.
The Hidden Treasures Thrift Store will be run by one full-time
and two part-time paid employees, while the rest of the workers
will be volunteers. The proceeds from the store, after expenses,
will be given to the school, the Journal reported.
Renita Van Solkema, an LCS parent and Hidden Treasures board
president, told the Journal that 140 volunteers worked to
renovate the store's building and spent $760,000 on the project.
Van Solkema said the vision for the store is to become a source
of regular funding for the school, according to the Journal.
LCS teachers make less than what is recommended by Christian
Schools International for the mid-Michigan area. CSI suggests
private Christian schools have a starting salary of $31,000,
increasing to $60,000 after 30 years. At LCS the starting salary
is $27,000, with the chance of making $40,000 after 30 years. School Superintendent Barry Koops wants to make sure the school
continues to bring in good teachers.
"In order to get and to keep great teachers, you really have to
be able to pay them so they can make this their life's work,"
Koops said. "We're committed to the idea that if you want a great
school, you must have great teachers."
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, "Parent-run thrift store will fund
teachers' pay raise," Nov. 10, 2007
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071110/NEWS01/711100334/1001/news
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Private School Costs vs.
Public School Costs," in "The Universal Tuition Tax Credit: A
proposal to Advance Parental Choice in Education," Nov. 13, 1997
https://www.mackinac.org/1118
TEACHER RESIGNS AFTER MEAP TESTING VIOLATIONS
LELAND, Mich. — A Northport Public Schools teacher has resigned
in an agreement with the district after allegedly committing a
handful of violations while administering the Michigan
Educational Assessment Program test, according to the Leelanau
Enterprise.
Carla Hammersley, who has been teaching at Northport for 15
years, agreed to resign effective in June. She is on leave and
will be paid the remainder of her $49,517 annual salary and
receive benefits until the end of the school year, the Enterprise
reported.
A three-person committee, including Steve Wetherbee, teacher and
president of the Northport Education Association union, Sue Boss,
a fourth and fifth grade teacher, and Meredith Schmidt, school
counselor and district MEAP coordinator, questioned students and
Hammersley, and discovered administrative violations, but there
was no evidence that she gave any answers to the test, according
to the Enterprise.
The violations included providing information to three sixth
grade students that may have helped answer a total of five
questions, coaching students on writing by recommending the use
of certain formats and correcting grammar mistakes, and using a
projector to review a persuasive essay immediately before
administering writing tests to sixth, seventh and eighth grade
students, the Enterprise reported.
SOURCE:
Leelanau Enterprise, "Northport teacher resigns over MEAP
violation," Nov. 12, 2007
http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2007/11/12/northport-teacher-resigns-over-meap-violation/
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Which Educational Achievement
Test is Best for Michigan? A Comparison of the MEAP, SAT-9, and
ITBS," Sept. 8, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4622
WAYNE-WESTLAND SCHOOLS GET SECURITY UPGRADE
WESTLAND, Mich. — The Wayne-Westland Community Schools are
upgrading their video surveillance, according to the Detroit Free
Press.
After cameras were installed throughout schools in the district
seven years ago, vandalism inside the schools dropped by almost
100 percent, while vandalism outside the buildings dropped by 90
percent. Also, last month a burglar was caught within 24 hours
after police were able to examine still images of him from
security cameras, the Free Press reported.
The upgrade will cost about $1 million and will include 800
cameras in 26 buildings and in school buses. Superintendent
Gregory L. Baracy said the strong security creates a positive
learning environment in the 13,600-student district.
"We have a calm presence in our buildings," Baracy told the Free
Press. "Our students feel safe and we want to keep it that way."
Half of the funding for the upgrade comes from the U.S. Department of Justice Secure Our Schools program, while the
district matched that grant, the Free Press reported.
SOURCE:
The Detroit Free Press, "Schools step up focus on security,"
Nov. 13, 2007
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/NEWS02/711130317/1001/NEWS
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "The three P's of school safety:
parents, prevention, and police," Nov. 1, 2001
https://www.educationreport.org/3134
PINCKNEY TEACHERS SATISFIED WITH SWITCH IN HEALTH INSURANCE
PINCKNEY, Mich. — Pinckney Community Schools teachers are in the
midst of contract negotiations with the district, but are
satisfied with the conditions of their expired contract,
including a change from insurance administered by the Michigan
Education Special Services Association, according to the
Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
The teachers' current contract was two years in length and
included a 1.2 percent pay increase the first year and a 2.8
percent increase the second year. Teachers also agreed to
purchase health insurance directly from Blue Cross Blue Shield,
rather than deal with the MESSA, a third-party administrator
affiliated with the Michigan Education Association school
employees union. The switch is saving the district $800,000 per
year, or about $164 per pupil, and rates for Blue Cross have gone
down this year, the Press & Argus reported.
Pinckney Education Association President Mimi Katakowski told the
Press & Argus she does not expect a return to insurance
administered by MESSA to be discussed during this negotiation
cycle.
SOURCE:
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, "Despite expired contract,
Pinckney teachers largely happy with status quo," Nov. 8, 2007
http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NEWS01/711080323/1002
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "MESSA reports $65 million revenue
gain in one year," May 24, 2007
https://www.educationreport.org/8493
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Potential Per-Pupil Savings
Resulting from Health Benefits Changes Made in Michigan School
Districts," March 6, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8337
CARMAN-AINSWORTH TEACHERS GET RAISES, PAY MORE FOR PRESCRIPTIONS
FLINT, Mich. — The Carman-Ainsworth teachers union has agreed to
a three-year contract that includes pay raises and a slight
increase in prescription co-pays, according to The Flint Journal.
Teachers will receive a 2.3 percent pay increase the first and
second years and a 1.5 percent increase in the third year. Currently, teachers pay either $5 or $10 in co-pays for
prescriptions. This will increase to $10 and $20, respectively.
"It was a very slow process, but by nature you can see because it
took us a year to resolve," Linda Wainio, president of the
Carman-Ainsworth Education Association, told The Journal. "However, we did reach a settlement that both sides felt they
could support."
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, "Teacher contract earns approval,"
Nov. 11, 2007
https://www.mlive.com/flint/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1194759471127200.xml&coll=5
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Growing number of districts seek
solutions to costly health insurance," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7479
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.