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Mon, 11/24/2014 - 2:54pm — Steven Norton

Our story, Part I: What really happened to school funding?

The election's over - can we talk reality now?

For a while, it was gratifying that school funding issues took center stage in the recent election for Michigan's governor. Unfortunately, the amount of spin and, well, dishonesty, left the situation more confusing than before. Now that the election is over, our choices about school funding need to be based on facts, not confusion.

Here are three basic facts that everyone needs to understand. The evidence for them is indisputable:

  • Starting with the 2012 fiscal year, the Governor and Legislature together took away roughly $1 billion that would normally have gone to K-12 education.
  • Schools took a major cut that first year, but they didn't have to: the tax cuts that year made the school cuts necessary.
  • The slow growth in school funding since that first year had nothing to do with the Governor or Legislature or any decisions they made. It was all automatic.

"Come again?" you might say. That's not what we were hearing from all the campaign commercials. But it's the reality we need to come to terms with. So let's go over it in a little more detail. (Go to article >>>)

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Wed, 05/28/2014 - 11:55am — Steven Norton

School aid budget in pictures

What they're looking at in the smoke filled rooms

Now that the state's top economists have painted a somewhat less flush picture for next year, Legislative leaders are sitting down and hammering out final budget numbers. You won't get to watch - this is all happening in the proverbial "smoke-filled rooms" where the key players wheel and deal. So what are we likely to get? Our earlier articles outline the Governor's proposed school aid budget, and each house passed their own version. On the surface, the Governor's appeared to be the least generous, while the Senate trumpeted per pupil increases of up to $300 per pupil. But is everything as it seems? The fact that all three proposals spend nearly identical amounts of money should be our clue that the devil is in the details.

In our presentation on school funding to the State Board of Education (see upcoming article), we argued that legitimate school funding models would need to:

  • be fair, or equitable, to all participants (though that doesn't necessarily mean equal),
  • provide adequate resources for schools to do what we ask of them, and
  • put resources where they were most needed.

How do the budget proposals do on these scores? Not so well. A picture is worth a thousand words.

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Mon, 03/24/2014 - 12:42am — Steven Norton

Now for another episode of "Lansing Knows Best!"

House Bill 4369 (the "EAA expansion bill") passed the state House of Representatives late last Thursday. After close to two hours of maneuvering and floor speeches, it passed by the thinnest of margins: 56-54. The bill now goes back to the Senate either for its approval or for more changes.

Why is this legislation so important - and so dangerous? This bill is not just about the EAA - in fact, the EAA is not even mentioned by name in the document (though it does allow the EAA to continue and expand). Its impact would be much more sweeping if it becomes law.

This legislation would enshrine state takeover as the best and (nearly) only way to "help" students in struggling schools. On top of that, the bill opens the door for many different organizations to run such schools on behalf of the state - they might be like the EAA (because that has gone so well), or they might be for-profit charter management companies. Both the Governor and the state Superintendent have said they want more "options" for state takeover. That should make us all feel much better.

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Wed, 01/29/2014 - 11:42pm — Steven Norton

A better way to help schools improve

Proposed legislation offers parent proposal to assist struggling schools

For years, the tag line of our messages to school advocates has been: "together, we can make a difference." Well, today is proof that together we have made a difference.

Legislation introduced today in the Michigan House of Representatives would enact the "Parent Proposal to Assist Struggling Schools," a policy recommendation developed by MIPFS after extensive consultations with parent group leaders, educators, policy experts, and advocates like you.

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Tue, 06/04/2013 - 5:25pm — Steven Norton

Budget update: Legislature tosses schools a small bone

h3. The Michigan State Legislature approved a final compromise education budget last week, making use of an estimated $140 million in unexpected estimated revenue to make sure that no district saw a net cut per pupil. But despite some of the large numbers being tossed around, the real effect on most students will be almost invisible. Even after the infusion of an additional $140 million into the school aid budget, school districts will only see very small per-pupil funding increases - that fail to keep up with projected inflation - rather than the cuts previously in the budget. Gov. Snyder's requested $65 million increase in state-funded preschool programs did receive full funding, however, and some other targeted funding slated for cuts was restored or cut by a lesser amount.
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Sun, 04/28/2013 - 1:35pm — Steven Norton

School Aid budgets: no good news

Budgets as they emerged from each chamber are a mixed bag for schools

Both houses of the State Legislature passed their own versions of the K-12 School Aid budget this past week, and the political horse-trading can now begin. While the versions are quite similar, there are important differences that will affect how schools are funded and how much Michigan is able to expand its preschool programs targeted to low-income families. The total amount of proposed spending, however, does not exceed the Gov. Snyder's proposal, and in fact the Senate version comes in some $10 million lower than that.

Both versions of the budgets also include items that worry many supporters of local public education. Provisions requiring districts to permit and pay for students to take online courses from nearly any vendor are reminiscent of "Oxford report" proposals to "unbundle" public education, making local districts a thing of the past. Money earmarked for technology-driven student-centered instruction is seen as a "gift" to the financially troubled and controversial Education Achievement Authority, which the governor and legislative leaders hope to build into a state authority to take over "failing" schools.

As things stand, local school districts can expect a net cut of between $2 and $52 per pupil, though the details vary considerably. Final versions of the budget will not be ready until after the May consensus revenue estimation conference, when top state economists make tax revenue projections for the coming year.

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Tue, 04/23/2013 - 11:58pm — Steven Norton

Updated: List of State Board of Ed forums across MI

h4. Members of the State Board of Education have scheduled more of their Education Forums across Michigan. Those who have attended the earlier ones say that they are very interesting and well worth making the time to go. Check out the list to find an upcoming event near you! *Wednesday, April 24, Traverse City, 5:30-7:30 pm.* Education Forum, West Middle School, 3950 Silver Lake Road, Traverse City, MI. Sponsored by League of Women Voters of Grand Traverse Area, and Traverse City Area Public Schools, Contact: Donna Hornberger, dsh_44 (at) yahoo.com
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Sat, 03/30/2013 - 9:09pm — Steven Norton

Newsbrief: EAA passes House; school aid budget moves

h3. Just before going on their two week spring break, the legislature moved along two key pieces of education legislation.
Two critical bills moved forward in the state House over the last few weeks. They will both have important effects on our public schools, but in different ways: * The House Appropriations subcommittee on School Aid passed a revised version of the Governor's school aid budget proposal that maintains the same level of spending but actually increases the effective per-pupil cut for most districts. * The House Education Committee reported out the EAA expansion bill on a mostly party-line vote, and the bill passed the full House just before the break after frantic lobbying by EAA supporters.
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Tue, 02/05/2013 - 3:47pm — Steven Norton

What do we want from our schools?

h3. At a meeting in Lansing last Tuesday morning, staffers from the "Center for Michigan":http://thecenterformichigan.net/ presented the results of their year-long series of "community conversations" about education, held all around the state. Three panels of experts, officials and education policy specialists met to talk about the key questions facing public education in Michigan. Among the take-aways: From the community conversations - * Michigan residents gave public schools a mixed review, though they were significantly more positive about their own schools than about Michigan public schools as a whole. * The public is willing to pay more for public education, if the money will be used in a concrete way to improve our schools. * Many key reform initiatives, like increasing educational "choice," are not so high on the list of public priorities. From the panels - * There's broad agreement that preschool available to every child is an important goal - but the way to pay for it is less clear. * There's agreement that it's important for teachers get the schooling, job training, and job feedback they need to constantly improve, and that this task is harder than is often acknowledged. * There are serious and deep disagreements about what kinds of policy measures are needed to improve public schools and how much they should cost. But most noticeable, perhaps, was the extent to which political operatives representing the current policy direction were out of step with the concerns expressed by Michigan citizens.
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Mon, 12/10/2012 - 1:18am — Steven Norton

How to help struggling schools: Do you believe in magic?

h3. "Education is not complicated," say some lawmakers. Really? We keep hearing the same confident claim in Lansing: the way to fix struggling schools is to get rid of the adults keeping the kids back - the school administrators, the teachers' unions, the incompetent or corrupt school boards. Sweep them aside, replace them with business-like management and inexperienced but enthusiastic teachers, mix in a little technology, and you will see a miracle. If only it were so. But it is not. The same blind beliefs are behind the bills to expand the Education Achievement Authority statewide after only three months. Not only that, but the changes were forced on the local community rather than being built with them. We cannot rely on management magic or quick fixes to help kids. We need solid strategies, with good track records, and the resources to implement them for the long term. When will we finally have *that* conversation in Michigan?
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