Contents of this issue:
- Georgia enacts tuition tax credit program
- Michigan students struggle to pass Algebra I
- Oak Park chief of staff asked to resign over expenses
- Dearborn charters struggle to keep up on state tests
- Detroit Schools' deficit is $45 million; second takeover
possible
GEORGIA ENACTS TUITION TAX CREDIT PROGRAM
AUGUSTA, Ga. — A universal tuition tax credit program was signed
into law in Georgia, granting parents access to $50 million in
scholarships to send their children to private schools,
according to the Augusta Chronicle.
The program allows individuals and businesses to receive tax
credits for donating money to organizations that provide private
school scholarships to K-12 students. Businesses can receive a
credit for up to 75 percent of their state tax liability, while
individuals and couples can receive a credit for donations up to
$1,000 and $2,500 respectively, the Chronicle reported.
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators, a state
teachers union, opposes the new law.
"It would be of great benefit for our state — now and for its
future — if our lawmakers spent as much time and employed as
much creativity adequately funding our K-12 public schools
attended daily by 1.6 million students as they do trying their
best to create an alternative system of publicly financed
private school education for a few thousand students across the
state," PAGE spokesman Tim Callahan wrote in an e-mail,
according to the Chronicle.
"We have to realize the public education system in Georgia is
failing our children," State Rep. David Casas, the bill's
sponsor and a Cobb County public school teacher, told the
Chronicle. "I truly believe the way to fix ailing public
education is school choice."
SOURCE:
Augusta Chronicle, "Private school option controversial,"
May 18, 2008
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/051808/met_229049.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Universal Tuition Tax
Credit: A Proposal to Advance Parental Choice in Education,"
Nov. 13, 1997
https://www.mackinac.org/1054
MICHIGAN STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO PASS ALGEBRA I
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A survey conducted by the Macomb
Intermediate School District found that 28 percent of its
students are failing Algebra I, according to the Michigan
Information & Research Service.
Rep. Tim Melton, chair of the House Education Committee, has
contacted additional ISDs and found between 20 and 30 percent of
students statewide are failing Algebra I, which is part of the
new state-mandated high school graduation requirements. When the
MISD intervened to improve the scores of its Algebra I students,
10 percent still failed the course, MIRS reported.
"It should scare everyone," Melton told MIRS. "There is a
serious crisis brewing."
SOURCE:
MIRS, "Kids Flunking Algebra 1," May 15, 2008
https://mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=990#15150
(subscription required)
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "New high school graduation
requirements in action," May 6, 2008
https://www.educationreport.org/9457
OAK PARK CHIEF OF STAFF ASKED TO RESIGN OVER EXPENSES
OAK PARK, Mich. — The Oak Park Public Schools chief of staff has
been asked to resign after having a private shower facility and
luxury gym built at the Oak Park Preparatory Academy, according
to The Detroit News.
Gregory Dill was placed on paid administrative leave and is
under investigation by police. Dill said that he received
permission from the superintendent for the room, which included
showers, tile floors, cherry cabinets, a luxury gym and a big
screen television. Dill said he paid for the renovations with
his own money and that some of the items were added by the
contractors without his knowledge, The News reported.
But three school board members contacted the police about
possible misuse of public funds. Superintendent Sandra Harris
did approve the project, but failed to inquire how much it would
cost.
"She never asked for the scope of the project, and our bylaws
are clear," Trustee Alicia Jones told The News. "The checks and
balances flow from her to her administration and down to the
staff. She didn't know if it would cost the district $19,000 or
$9."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "School chief asks top aide to resign after
shower flap," May 15, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/METRO02/805150352
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Parents Should Have More
Options When Schools Commit Academic Fraud," Feb. 2, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3315
DEARBORN CHARTERS STRUGGLE TO KEEP UP ON STATE TESTS
DEARBORN, Mich. — Charter public schools in Dearborn are
struggling to match the conventional school district's scores on
state standardized tests, according to the Dearborn Press &
Guide.
Two charter schools, West Village South Campus and the Dearborn
Academy, scored the lowest on the fourth grade MEAP test in all
of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. Sixty-five percent of Dearborn
Academy students and 66 percent of West Village students scored
proficient on the fourth grade math test. The state average for
the test was 86 percent, and Dearborn Public Schools averaged 85
percent. In English Language Arts, 46 percent of students scored
proficient at Dearborn Academy, while 40 percent of fourth
graders at West Village were proficient. The state average for
that portion of the test was 76 percent, with Dearborn Public
Schools averaging 67 percent, the Press & Guide reported.
The two charters are operated by American Institutional
Management Services. AIMS Director of Education Angela Laugh
said it isn't necessarily fair to compare the charter public
school scores to local conventional school districts because the
school pulls students from a larger geographic area, while also
having a high student turnover rate. At The Dearborn Academy,
one-quarter of fourth grade students haven't been at the school
for a full year. At West Village, one-third of students have
attended for less than a year. Because of this, those scores are
not counted when determining whether they met federal standards,
according to the Press & Guide.
There are six charter public schools in Dearborn and Dearborn
Heights and all of them scored at least 10 points below the
state average on the fourth grade English Language Arts test,
according to the Press & Guide.
SOURCE:
Dearborn Press & Guide, "Local charter academies struggle with
state tests," May 14, 2008
http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/051408/loc_20080514004.shtml
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Markets, not MEAP, best way to
measure school quality," May 12, 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/2872
DETROIT SCHOOLS' DEFICIT IS $45 MILLION; SECOND TAKEOVER POSSIBLE
DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools is facing a $45 million
budget deficit, which if not alleviated may lead to the second
state takeover in a decade, according to The Detroit News.
If the district fails to resolve the overspending, it will be in
default of a state-mandated deficit elimination plan to pay back
$210 million in debt. DPS has an operating budget of $1.2
billion, and has been plagued with an exodus of students. This
year, DPS saw a decrease in enrollment of 12,000, which equates
to about $90 million in state aid, The News reported.
Board member Marie Thornton is not optimistic about the
district's ability to get itself out of this financial bind.
"I project there will be a deficit if we are not able to relieve
the general fund expenditures from other sources, like special
education funding," Thornton told The News. "This lets me know
Dr. Calloway is not able to manage a school district this large,
and she continues to point fingers at the past administration."
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Detroit schools face $45M deficit,"
May 16, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/SCHOOLS/ 805160404/1410/METRO01
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Community colleges: 'Wait
and see' on Detroit charter schools," April 7, 2008
https://www.mackinac.org/9361
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
an online 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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