Contents of this issue:
- Belding teachers union, district battle over health insurance
- Otsego Schools anticipate $1 million budget deficit
- Student threatens principal with BB gun
- Clawson schools survey community
- Lansing teachers may have to re-apply for their jobs
- Comment and win an iPod
BELDING TEACHERS UNION, DISTRICT BATTLE OVER HEALTH INSURANCE
BELDING, Mich. — Contract negotiations for Belding teachers
continue to stall over raises and health insurance
contributions, according to the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.
The teachers and school board recently met through a state
mediator, but the district's proposed contract was immediately
rejected by the union. The proposal included a 2 percent pay
increase for two years and increased co-pays under the Michigan
Education Special Services Association to $10/$20 from $5/$10.
The district would still continue to pay 100 percent of the
MESSA premiums, the Sentinel-Standard reported. MESSA is a
third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education
Association school employees union that outsources insurance
underwriting and then sells the policies to school districts.
"That shift alone would save the district $144,000," Belding
Superintendent Charles Barker told the Sentinel-Standard. "The savings in turn would have helped with an increase in (the
teachers') pay. It was misrepresented that the drug card would
consume everyone's entire pay increase and that's simply not
true."
Barker also noted that the contract proposal was better than any
of the contract agreements with three other employee groups,
including bus drivers, support staff and administrators,
according to the Sentinel-Standard.
The Belding union's bargaining team spokeswoman Lynn Mason said
she understands the many issues facing the district, including
decreasing enrollment, but says that should not have any bearing
on the teachers contract.
"I understand the uncertainties and the various costs of running
a district and inflation, but we have to go at it from the
viewpoint of staff, people who work closest to the children,"
Mason, a teacher at Belding Middle School, told the Sentinel-Standard. "The most important resource we believe is our members
and their working conditions which ultimately are students'
learning conditions."
Negotiations will be stalled until another state mediator is
available in April, the Sentinel-Standard reported.
SOURCE:
Ionia Sentinel-Standard, "BAS contract talks still stalled,"
Feb. 28, 2008
http://www.sentinel-standard.com/articles/2008/02/29/news/04news.txt
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Employee Salaries and
Benefits," in "A Collective Bargaining Primer," Feb. 28, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8266
OTSEGO SCHOOLS ANTICIPATE $1 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT
OTSEGO, Mich. — The Otsego Public Schools are anticipating a
budget deficit of $1 million due largely to a combination of
decreasing enrollment and a rise in benefit costs, according to
The Plainwell & Otsego Union Enterprise.
Last year, the district had a balanced budget because of an
enrollment increase. This year, however, the number enrolling in
the district has decreased by 25 students, including 20 who left
the district in the last two weeks, Superintendent Denny Patzer
told The Union Enterprise. District officials are now including
a loss of $100,000 in budget projections to account for the fact
that fewer students are enrolling.
The district is also struggling with increases in employee
benefit costs, including an increase in retirement contributions
and federal income tax. Insurance costs are expected to increase
by 10 percent, although Patzer says there is a chance the
increase will be less extreme, The Union Enterprise reported.
"One (insurance provider) told us that was what it was going to
be," Patzer told The Union Enterprise. "But I'm starting to hear
that the increase could be half that. Usually at the end of
April, MESSA (Michigan Education Special Services Association)
will put information out (about what it expects)."
The district is looking at the possibility of reducing staff and
cutting programs. The district's fund balance is currently
$4.08 million, or 22 percent of operating expenses. However, the
district is expecting to spend $250,000 before the end of the
school year.
SOURCE:
The Plainwell & Otsego Union Enterprise, "Budget: Deficit looms
for Otsego schools," Feb. 28, 2008
http://www.allegannews.com/articles/2008/02/28/ue_news/3.txt
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Pupil Counts," in "A
Michigan School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8579
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Foundation Allowance:
General Education," in "A Michigan School Money Primer,"
May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8580
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School District Budgeting,"
in "A Michigan School Money Primer," May 30, 2007
https://www.mackinac.org/8560
Michigan School Money Database, "Otsego Public Schools: Revenues
and Expenditures, 2005-2006, 2004-2005"
https://www.mackinac.org/depts/epi/
fiscal.aspx?Year1=2005-6&DCode1=03020&Year2=2004-5&DCode2=03020
STUDENT THREATENS PRINCIPAL WITH BB GUN
DETROIT — A 12-year old boy is in custody after allegedly
threatening his former elementary school principal with a BB
gun, according to WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit.
Authorities say the boy transferred out of Brewer Elementary
School due to behavior problems, but returned with a BB gun,
cursed at teachers and then threatened the principal. Detroit
Public Schools is working with police to determine appropriate
disciplinary or legal action, WDIV reported.
SOURCE:
WDIV Channel 4, "Police: 12-Year-Old Threatens Principal with BB
Gun," Feb. 25, 2008
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15407070/detail.html
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "The three P's of school safety:
parents, prevention, and police," Nov. 1, 2001
https://www.educationreport.org/3134
CLAWSON SCHOOLS SURVEY COMMUNITY
CLAWSON, Mich. — The Clawson school board will send surveys to
the 5,000 households in the community asking them to evaluate
district performance and programs, including its schools of
choice policy, according to the Royal Oak Mirror.
The survey is 28 questions long and will be sent to every
household, even those without school-age children. In addition
to collecting general perceptions of the district, the school
board is looking for insight into the possibility of support for
a new sinking fund millage. The district, which currently has an
enrollment of 1,800 students, is seeking community opinions on
continuing schools of choice. Clawson currently accepts an
unlimited number of K-12 students within Oakland County and has
accepted about 100 students a year for three years, the Mirror
reported.
"We're like the 'Three Little Bears.' We want to be just right
(in size)," School Board President Mike Bosnic told the Mirror,
while also saying the district may be getting a little too big.
The survey cost the district about $1,200 for printing and
postage, according to the Mirror.
SOURCE:
Royal Oak Mirror, "How are we doing? School board asks
residents," March 2, 2008
https://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080302/
NEWS18/803020312/1035
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Conclusion: Competition Is
Improving Public Schools for Michigan Children," July 24, 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
LANSING TEACHERS MAY HAVE TO REAPPLY FOR THEIR JOBS
LANSING, Mich. — Lansing Community Schools teachers working in
schools undergoing restructuring may have to reapply for their
jobs, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Lansing Schools Education Association President Jerry Swartz
said the contract language only applies to schools that receive
federal funding. Schools begin a restructuring process after
failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress for four years, as
mandated under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the State
Journal reported.
Lansing Superintendent T.C. Wallace recently announced a
proposal to lay off all teachers in Eastern and Everett high
schools and have them reapply for positions. No teacher will
actually lose their job, or pay, but may be reassigned. The
reapplication process will allow principals to select teachers
and will allow teachers to choose where they want to work and
what they want to teach, if they are qualified in more than one
subject, according to the State Journal.
Swartz argues that the contract language was only included for
elementary schools and that the proposal to interview all
teachers would be unmanageable.
"It's impossible with the current staffing," Swartz told the
State Journal. "The contract clearly details the interview
process. It was never designed for this sort of wholesale
reorganization."
Robert Taylor of the state Teacher Tenure Commission says such
restructuring plans are entirely legal.
"They're entitled to be continuously employed at the same rate
of pay they have been all along," Taylor told the State Journal.
"The tenure act doesn't guarantee any teacher to any position."
SOURCE:
Lansing State Journal, "Lansing teachers face scenario rare in
state," March 1, 2008
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/NEWS01/
803010334/1006/news05
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "No Child Left Behind law demands
'adequate yearly progress' and offers school choice options for
parents," Nov. 17, 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4846
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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