Community Colleges Millages and Legislation that will Affect Public Schools

Grand Rapids Community College is Considering a millage for capital expenses.  Community colleges have in the past requested millages for Operating Expenses, but now that they are funded through the School Aid Fund, they are not requesting more dollars for this.  We need to be aware of the community colleges because while they have traditionally been public schools allies public schools are now competing with community colleges for state dollars.  Also, from a local control issue, legislation is proposed to remove the geographic catchment area for community colleges which will take local control away from locally elected officials at our local community colleges.







http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/10/grand_rapids_community_college_57.html

The Agenda for Advocacy by the Kent County Group, Friends of Kent County

Thank you from Friends of Kent County Schools!

At last evening's grassroots meeting, we developed the following goals for the 2011-12 school year: 1.  Advocate for the School Aid Fund to be            used only for K-12 funding as intended 2.  Lobby legislators to identify replacement          revenue for the personal property tax if          eliminated 3.  Delay 2012-13 implementation of all-day       every-day kindergarten until the school       funding crisis is resolved 4.  Be actively involved in the August 2012       Republican and Democratic primaries 5.  Explore partnership with Michigan       Communities for Local Control (MCLC), a       grassroots organization out of the metro       Detroit area

Sincerely,   Dr. Mike Shibler, Chairperson Friends of Kent County Schools

Charter Schools in Detroit

This article discusses charters in Detroit.  Money is used for marketing the charter schools.  I am very glad that schools are finally courting the Detroit public school students.  I just hope enough money is left over to teach them.  I think each one of us needs to make a decision about public schools.  We need to know how public schools have been funded, how they have been organized and how that is changing in the current legislative session.  Please take the time to read these articles and decide for yourself.

Lucy


http://m.freep.com/localnews/article?a=2011110180335&f=1232

More on lifting the charter school cap and the parental trigger

http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/10/three_state_board_of_education.html

New State Law Linking Teacher Performance with Student Performance

Will the new state law fulfill a promise of evaluating teachers fairly and providing ample and meaningful opportunities for improvement for those teachers deemed "ineffective?"  Or will the evaluations be the end point instead of the starting point?


http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/10/new_law_links_teacher_performa.html

Sweeping Changes Proposed in Charter School Bill

The Michigan Senate has passed a bill that would allow parents and teachers to seek authority from a university to convert a failing public school to a charter school.  Will this fix poorly performing schools, or is it another move to take power away from elected school boards and unions?

http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/10/state_senate_committee_approve.html

Update on Charter Legislation from MASB

Senate Pops the Cap off ChartersThe Senate voted on Thursday to pass SB 618. The bill passed the full Senate 20–18, with six Republicans joining the Democrats to attempt to block the unprecedented expansion of university-authorized charters. Below are the key provisions of the legislation: Permits authorizers to allow charter schools to operate at more than one site under one board. Exempts charter school property from real and personal property taxes. Deletes geographical boundaries for community college-authorized charter schools. Removes the current 150 school cap on university-authorized charter schools. Eliminates the number and geographical limits for urban high school academies. Removes “Schools of Excellence” graduation rate and conversion stipulations. Removes the requirement that a charter authorized by a local district maintain the labor agreements of that district.

The legislation did include a provision that would have allowed school districts the ability to privatize instructional staff. This was removed with a floor amendment, a move MASB supported. MASB has constructed a list of our main issues and areas of concern with the legislation; please refer to this list when communicating with your community and members of the legislature. Removing community college authorizing boundaries dilutes local college board oversight and is unnecessary with universities already having statewide authority. Allowing multi-site schools under one charter contract could create a statewide school district, resulting in thousands of students with no locally elected board or citizens’ oversight. Eliminating the cap on university-authorized charters removes the current incentive for charters to show academic success before allowing school expansion. Eliminating the current provision that only allows additional charters in school districts that have a graduation rate of 75.5 percent or lower is counter to the argument that competition drives success. This change appears aimed at boosting charter performance by allowing chartering in an already successful district. Exempting property leased to charter schools from property taxes will undermine the community and School Aid Fund. Removing the requirement that authorizers limit their 3 percent oversight activities fee will allow them to co-mingle funds and result in weakened charter school monitoring and oversight and creates a financial incentive to authorize charters as a way to increase revenue. Retaining current law requiring cyber schools to report to the state superintendent and legislature regarding student participation and performance is critical to monitor this, as of yet, unproven educational model.