Action alerts

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 — Steven Norton

Tell Lansing: take the politics out of our curriculum!

Dear Friends,

Gap year or no, there will always be important issues we need to bring to your attention, and this is one. So we're delaying our usual state budget coverage (mildly good news - it's an election year, after all) to alert you to something very strange going on in Lansing that shapes what our children will be taught in school.

A planned refresh of the Michigan social studies content standards has apparently been hijacked by some folks with an extreme political agenda, and many of the changes they desired are in the current final draft. There's still time to take action to stop this nonsense, and we'll give you the info below.

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Wed, 20 Dec 2017 — Steven Norton

Year-end review, and some news

Dear Friends,

Before we all become fully enmeshed in the holiday season, I wanted to bring you up to date on issues that concern parents like us as well as share some news.

In this issue:

  •  "Guns in schools" bills, and "teen concealed carry" bill, held over until January
  •  "Vouchers for the wealthy" bills also waiting until January
  •  Taking a "gap year," and holding lawmakers accountable
Departments: 
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MIPFS Newsbriefs
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Thu, 20 Nov 2014 — Steven Norton

We need to start telling OUR story


Dear Friends,

mittenLet me tell you a little story about the Mitten & Rabbit. Some twenty years ago, the people of the Mitten (and their northern cousins in the Rabbit) were convinced to try an experiment: to see if they could make their public schools better by introducing competition. At the same time, they also wanted to make sure schools were funded adequately and more fairly than in the past. So the leaders of the Mitten passed laws and made changes to get the experiment started, and they expected that future leaders would closely follow the experiment to see how it was working, and make corrections as needed.

Times changed, the economy worsened, and newer, less experienced, leaders of the Mitten were more concerned about making things cost less than about making them work well. Competition, it turned out, was rigged and didn't help schools improve so much as it allowed some new players to make a profit while existing schools struggled. Funding that was generous in the beginning failed to keep up with rising costs, but leaders were afraid to ask the people to pay more for their community's schools - or to let them do it themselves. And after twenty years, no one had had the courage to see if the experiment was really living up to its promises. The children of the Mitten were the ones who lost the most from this downhill slide, but then they don't vote (or make campaign contributions).

Sound familiar? That's where we find ourselves today. The experiment with competition has not made schools better or stronger; it has taken the public voice out of many supposedly "public" schools and lined the pockets of a few investors. Many people have been conned into believing that you can make schools better by starving them of resources. And as any magician knows, the key to a good trick is to get people to focus their attention somewhere else. (Cont'd...)
Departments: 
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Wed, 8 Nov 2017 — Steven Norton

Action alert: MI Senate voting on concealed guns in schools, daycares, churches

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry to come back to you again so soon, but the folks in Lansing are trying to pull a fast one on us.

Yesterday afternoon, a Senate committee approved three bills which will basically wipe out the idea of gun-free zones in our state. In addition, they are taking steps to explicitly block school districts, libraries, and others from setting their own rules on who can carry a firearm into their buildings.

Now, those bills are expected to come up for a vote in the full Senate this morning (Wednesday). They are trying to move so fast that people who oppose these bills cannot get organized in time. Let's prove them wrong!

Departments: 
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MIPFS position papers
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Wed, 14 Jun 2017 — Steven Norton

Action alert: still time to act on school retirement bills

Dear Friends,

As we said in our last Legislative Update, they've been playing "let's make a deal" in Lansing, and we weren't invited. Now they intend to wave their deal in front of our collective noses for a few moments as they rush to pass it into law. We need you to speak out as soon as possible!

Departments: 
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State budget & taxes
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Thu, 25 May 2017 — Steven Norton

Action alert: The Great Pension Diversion

It's budget season in Lansing, and there are some important issues that need to be settled about school funding. But, as any good magician knows, the key to a good trick is to keep your audience's attention focused someplace else.

For that flashy bit of distraction, we have the wrong-headed effort to end the school pension system at a cost of more than a billion dollars a year for the next four decades. Right now, legislative leaders are not only insisting on closing the state public school retirement system (MPSERS) to new hires, but have cut off budget negotiations with Gov. Snyder because of his continued opposition to the retirement changes.

Departments: 
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State budget & taxes
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Tue, 21 Feb 2017 — MIPFS Staff

Action alert: Ditching the income tax is irresponsible!

[Update: HB 4001 was defeated on 23 Feb in a House floor vote, 52-55. In an unusual move, the House leadership went forward with a roll call vote despite not having enough votes to pass the bill. Twelve Republicans joined all but one Democrats in voting no. More coverage soon.]
Dear Friends,
 
House Bill 4001 would eliminate the state income tax. It could be voted upon this week in the House.
 
 
What was once a fringe idea actually could pass this week. Even though proposed to be cut over 40 years, we would all feel the impact immediately. The biggest cuts come right away, slashing $1.8 billion in the first two years.
Departments: 
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Mon, 21 Mar 2016 — Steven Norton

Legislative update: State control worked so well, let's do it again!

Dear Friends,
 
We're approaching the April legislative break, and that means budgets. Appropriations subcommittees in both the House and Senate are meeting this week to unveil their versions of the school aid budget.
Departments: 
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Sun, 11 Oct 2015 — Steven Norton

Advocacy update: briefing on the 3rd grade reading bill

Dear Friends,

I know you've been hearing a lot from me about this "third grade reading" bill that's in the Michigan House of Representatives. Sometimes events don't give you the time to explain as much as you'd like about what is at stake. So, I wanted to take a moment to brief you on what we're doing.

When we work in Lansing, we try to focus on getting good policy passed - and we are willing to work with anyone who is ready to do right by our kids. This bill is an example: it's got good parts, and bad parts. We've been working to make the good parts better and get the bad parts out.

Departments: 
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