MIPFS Newsbriefs

Wed, 14 May 2014 — MIPFS Staff

Budget brief: Waiting for CREC

The state's top economists will present their unified projections for state tax revenue tomorrow. This is the number which the legislature must use to create a balanced budget that meets the requirements of our state constitution.

However, over the last two days, the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies - nonpartisan staff working for the Legislature, who comprise two of the three agencies meeting tomorrow - have each released their projections for tax revenue for the current year (ending in September) and the next fiscal year (October 2014 - September 2015).

The future is looking less rosy.

Departments: 
MIPFS Newsbriefs
State budget & taxes
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Sat, 10 May 2014 — MIPFS Staff

MIPFS Executive Director receives human rights award

PAA Board of Directors Member honored

Steven Norton, executive director of Parents Across America affiliate Michigan Parents for Schools, and member of the PAA Board of Directors, was the 2014 recipient of the David McMahon Human Rights Award given by the Michigan Education Association. The McMahon award is given annually to recognize "individuals or groups outside the MEA which distinguish themselves by courageously accepting the challenge of moral and ethical leadership in the field of human and civil rights."

Departments: 
Speaking out
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Tue, 23 Apr 2013 — Steven Norton

Updated: List of State Board of Ed forums across MI

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

Departments: 
MIPFS Newsbriefs
News and Analysis
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Sat, 30 Mar 2013 — Steven Norton

Newsbrief: EAA passes House; school aid budget moves

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.
Departments: 
MIPFS Newsbriefs
News and Analysis
State budget & taxes
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Tue, 12 Mar 2013 — Steven Norton

Action alert: The EAA bill is back again

Achievement by fiat

Well, it's back. Last Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Lisa Lyons introduced the new version of the "EAA bill" - that is, a bill which would make the Educational Achievement Authority a permanent state school district and expand its authority greatly. Rep. Lyons (R-Alto), who also chairs the House Education committee, then scheduled hearings on the bill (HB 4369) for the following day. As a result, those of us who hoped to speak up about the bill had less than 24 hours to read the 60 page document and draft our reactions.

But many of us, including MIPFS, did just that; I was fortunate to be able to actually testify on behalf of parent advocates across the state.

But why should all Michigan parents be concerned about the EAA? After all, it's only for those "failing" schools, right?

I think there are two important reasons.

  1. If you think this won't affect you, think again. Expanding the EAA is a central part of a larger effort to undermine local public schools, as we saw last fall.
  2. Most importantly, how can any of us stand by while state takeover, untested technology-driven "teaching" methods, and a laser-like focus on test scores are forced onto anybody's children?

Click here to read more and take action! >>>>

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Action alerts
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Sun, 10 Mar 2013 — Steven Norton

Update message: Important meetings on public education

Important meetings on education


Dear Friends,
 
There are a number of important developments I'd like to share with you, but for now I wanted to call your attention to some important opportunities to talk about the future of public education in Michigan. Members of the State Board of Education have organized a number of forums around the state to discuss some of the key policy issues facing public education, including proposals to create an "a la carte" system for funding schools (known as the "Oxford Foundation report"). If you have the opportunity to attend one of these, we would strongly encourage you to make the trip.


Monday, March 11, 6-8 pm, Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor: Little Theater, 601 W. Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Hosted By: Washtenaw Alliance for Education. Contact: Liz Margolis, Ann Arbor Public Schools: margolis@aaps.k12.mi.us
Departments: 
Speaking out
MIPFS Newsbriefs
Resources
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Mon, 25 Feb 2013 — Steven Norton

Lead poisoning: an "out-of-school" factor in student achievement

“[A 2010] report found that of 39,199 DPS students tested as young children, only 23 had no lead in their bodies.”

As parents, we work hard to protect our children from everyday dangers – obvious, and not so obvious. For those of us who were doing home repair or renovation while our children were young, a big concern was making sure that our little ones did not ingest lead that was a standard element of paint sold before 1978. Those who are able can spend considerable amounts testing for lead and then having it carefully removed or encapsulated.

Not all children are so fortunate.
Departments: 
Commentary
MIPFS Newsbriefs
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Mon, 11 Feb 2013 — Steven Norton

Eleven percent increase for schools since 2009-10? Not so much.

In his budget presentation to the State Legislature, Gov. Rick Snyder billed the education portion as making an investment in Michigan. He described increased spending on preschool – a good thing – and efforts to limit the costs of the public school employee pension system – the burden of which falls mostly on current and future retirees. But he also claimed that the state government had increased spending on K-12 education by 11% over the last four years, including his new proposal. He even had a slide to “illustrate” the point.

Now, with the Governor’s focus on being a “nerd,” and the budget materials all identifying him as a Certified Public Accountant as well as Governor, you might think that all these numbers pretty much reflect reality. But as we have learned over the last decade, to our cost, financial numbers can be “massaged” to tell different stories depending on the audience.

Gov. Snyder, CPA, was engaged in a litte bit of what they call “earnings management.” A closer look at K-12 spending shows a different, and more accurate, picture. We need to keep the true picture in mind as we discuss the performance of our public schools.

Special sections: 
lead story
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MIPFS Newsbriefs
State budget & taxes
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Sun, 16 Dec 2012 — Steven Norton

"A la carte" school funding plan ignores basic purpose of public ed

MIPFS reaction to the Oxford Foundation school funding proposal, 14 December 2012

Earlier this year, Gov. Snyder asked Lansing attorney and longtime political operative Richard McLellan to lead an effort to re-write the School Aid Act, the basic law that spells out how K-12 education is funded in Michigan. The approach that emerged was a radical change in direction, one that put the focus on students acquiring bits of knowledge from multiple “providers” rather than helping communities build and govern their local schools. More information on the proposal can be found at the Oxford Foundation web site. We’ll cover this proposal in more detail in an upcoming article.

Public comment was requested on the proposal. Our conclusion was that the proposed legislation would take Michigan in precisely the opposite direction of where we need to go.

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