Contents of this issue:
"Foundation grant" to increase again
Former MEA union employee pleads guilty
Home-school mom elected to Howell board
Holland teachers reject insurance offer
Traverse City moves school elections to fall
Detroit can keep tax money
"FOUNDATION GRANT" TO INCREASE AGAIN
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan will increase the amount it spends on
public schools under a budget plan approved by the governor and
Legislature, according to Booth Newspapers.
Schools will receive $210 more per pupil during the 2006-2007
school year, bumping the foundation grant up to $7,085. That
amounts to about $19.5 million more that will be spent on public
schools, Booth reported.
The Legislature also is discussing other public school spending
increases, including an additional $20 million to boost math and
science education in middle schools, $20 million for schools that
lose students, and another $20 million for schools that receive
the mandated amount of state education funds, according to Booth.
The deal also includes a 3 percent increase in state spending for
universities and community colleges, Booth reported.
SOURCE:
Booth Newspapers, "State budget agreement means more money for
K-12, higher ed," June 30, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1151705412326660.xml?news/statewide?NE&coll=1
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Funding: Lack of Money
or Lack of Money Management?" Aug. 30, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3683
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "State College Money Should
Follow Students, Not Lobbyists," May 15, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7703
FORMER MEA UNION EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY
HANCOCK, Mich. — A former secretary with the Michigan Education
Association union pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a
loan application in U.S. District Court July 10, according to
WLUC TV6, an Upper Peninsula television station.
Susan Lynn Gregg, 36, faces 30 years in prison and a $1 million
fine, WLUC reported. The loan was for $29,000, but some $178,000
was taken from the Copper Country chapter of the MEA union
between 1999 and 2005, according to WLUC. Gregg will be sentenced
in November, the station reported.
SOURCE:
WLUC, "MEA official admits to financial fraud," July 10, 2006
http://www.wluctv6.com/Global/story.asp?S=5133377&nav=81AX
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Former union official accused of
embezzlement," Nov. 8, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7424
Michigan Education Digest, "Judicial Board Censures Kalamazoo
Union President for Misusing Funds," July 19, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7166
HOME-SCHOOL MOM ELECTED TO HOWELL BOARD
HOWELL, Mich. — A home-school mom was sworn in as a member of the
Howell Public Schools Board of Education Monday night, according
to the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.
Wendy Day, who began home schooling her children during the 2005-2006 school year after her husband's military deployment to Iraq,
said educating her children at home was a way for the family to
deal with the difficult situation, the Press & Argus reported.
Her decision also was prompted by concerns over some of the
subject matter taught in the schools, including evolution taught
as fact instead of theory, and teaching seventh graders about
contraception.
"Those were a variety of issues that compromise our beliefs as a
family," Day told the Press & Argus. "We were trying to do what
was best for our kids."
The issue of home schooling was raised during the campaign, the
newspaper reported, yet Day was the top vote getter among six
candidates in the May 2 election.
"I think every parent has a vested interest in the quality of our
public schools," she told the Press & Argus. "I think everybody
wants to know the schools are the best that they can be, and that
includes me as a taxpayer."
Other Livingston County school districts — including Brighton,
Pinckney and Hartland — have or have had school board members
whose children did not attend schools in the district during
their time on the board, the Press & Argus reported.
"There are many dedicated people in the community who care about
the community," Pinckney board member Carol Houston told the
Press & Argus. "To narrow a pool of candidates to those people
who just have children in the schools, I think, would shut out
people who would be excellent school board members."
SOURCE:
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, "What was best for our kids: Soon
to become a school board member, Day homeschools her children,"
July 6, 2006
https://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006607060331
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Homeschooling a growing trend;
critics want greater oversight," Aug. 23, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7321
Michigan Education Report, "Home School Heroes," Jan. 18, 1999
https://www.educationreport.org/1592
HOLLAND TEACHERS REJECT INSURANCE OFFER
Holland, Mich. — Teachers in the Holland Public Schools rejected
an offer to return to the union-affiliated health insurance plan
they want because they would be required to pay a portion of the
costs, according to The Grand Rapids Press.
Holland Public Schools offered to reinstate health insurance
purchased through the Michigan Education Special Services
Association if teachers were willing to pay $120 a month toward
their own insurance, The Press reported. MESSA is a third-party
administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association
union. District officials say the $120 figure is the difference
in cost between MESSA and what the taxpayers can afford,
according to The Press.
SOURCES:
The Grand Rapids Press, "School district makes health insurance
offer," June 28, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1151506024160740.xml&coll=6
The Grand Rapids Press, "Health offer rejected," June 29, 2006
https://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1151594891144150.xml?grpress?NELK&coll=6
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland teachers threaten illegal
strike," May 2, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7696
Michigan Education Digest, "Holland declares second impasse,
teachers get free insurance," Jan. 17, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7551
Michigan Education Report, "School districts wrestle with high
health care costs," March 7, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7611
TRAVERSE CITY MOVES SCHOOL ELECTIONS TO FALL
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A divided Traverse City Area Public
Schools board voted recently to hold school board elections in
November instead of May, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Elections held in November of even-numbered years will cost the
district about $5,000 because they would be combined with other
general election costs countywide. Elections in November of odd-numbered
years would cost about $25,000 to $30,000, according to the
Record-Eagle. The vote was 4-3 in favor of the change.
SOURCE:
Traverse City Record-Eagle, "Elections move to the fall,"
June 27, 2006
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/jun/27tcaps.htm
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Secret Ballot?" May 22, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7708
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "A Voter's Checklist for
School Elections," April 28, 2006
https://www.mackinac.org/7688
DETROIT CAN KEEP TAX MONEY
DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools can keep $259 million in tax
money it wasn't entitled to because property owners filed
complaints too late, according to the Detroit Free Press.
DPS continued collecting an 18-mill levy on non-homestead
property through 2004, even though it expired in 2002. Officials
revealed the mistake in July 2005, the Free Press reported. Wayne
County Circuit Court Judge Isidore Torres ruled recently that a
lawsuit from four businesses filed in 2005 was too late to
protest the 2002 or 2004 tax collections, according to the Free
Press.
The Michigan Tax Tribunal had already ruled that taxpayers filed
disputes too late, the Free Press reported.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Tax complaints vs. Detroit schools
dismissed," June 23, 2006
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060623/NEWS01/606230430/1003
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "DPS' credit rating falls after $259
million tax error," Dec. 15, 2005
https://www.educationreport.org/7467
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS must repay almost $1 million to
feds," July 5, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7807
Michigan Education Digest, "DPS limits 'excessive' retreat
spending," May 23, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7710
Michigan Education Digest, "Study: Detroit graduation rate worst
in the nation," June 27, 2006
https://www.educationreport.org/7798
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.