| In this “special midweek update”:
- GOVERNOR FOCUSES ON EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF STATE ADDRESS
- FLANAGAN FIRST IN THE COUNTRY TO TESTIFY ON NCLB REAUTHORIZATION PLANS
GOVERNOR FOCUSES ON EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF STATE ADDRESS
In last night’s State of the State address, Governor Granholm delivered one message that was heard resoundingly from the education community, "Hear me loud and clear - I refuse to slash school funding in the middle of this year." While specifics on finding replacement revenue and fixing educations structural funding problem will not be clarified until after the Budget address Thursday, the good news is, Lawmakers are hearing the pleads from the education community.
Education highlights from the Governor’s address included:
Investing in Education
Governor Granholm will, once again, propose an increase in funding for Michigan ’s public schools. A key part of this proposal is a $200 million initiative to begin phasing in full-day preschool for Michigan’s children. The Governor’s plan will provide school districts with a foundation allowance for at-risk kids enrolled in full-day preschool programs. To receive funding, school districts must offer approved curriculum that prepares students in language, early literacy, and early mathematics. The programs must also provide nutritional services, health screening, and referral services for families in need. The Governor’s plan also increases funding for partial-day preschool programs. Together, these programs are expected serve more than 50,000 Michigan children.
• Mandatory Kindergarten
Under current Michigan law, parents do not have to send their children to school until they reach the age of six. Our public schools are required to offer kindergarten for five-year-old students, but attendance is not mandatory. Every year thousands of Michigan children miss this critical learning experience. Governor Granholm is asking the state Legislature to amend state law to make kindergarten mandatory for all five-year-olds in Michigan .
• Raising the Dropout Age
With the state focused on getting all young people to continue their education beyond high school, Governor Granholm believes we must raise the age of compulsory school attendance to 18.
• Middle College High Schools
Governor Granholm won funding in last year’s budget to launch a group of middle college highschools to prepare young people for careers in the health care industry through an educational programthat includes both high school and college level courses. The planning efforts to create six of theseschools are underway and involve the Detroit Public Schools , the Wayne , Washtenaw, Genesee , Delta-Schoolcraft, and Clare-Gladwin intermediate school districts and health care providers and higher education institutions in their respective communities. In several of these schools, students will be able to earn both a high school degree and an associate’s degree in a five-year course of study. The Governor iscalling for additional state support for these pioneering schools when they open in the fall and for fundingto create similar schools across the state.
• Making College More Affordable for Families
Inspired by the privately initiated and financed Kalamazoo Promise, Governor Granholm is taking her quest for increased opportunity for higher education to another level. Announced in 2005, the
Kalamazoo Promise guarantees students who graduate from the Kalamazoo Public Schools free tuition at any state university or community college in Michigan . In less than two years, educators and community leaders in Kalamazoo are citing numerous indicators of the positive impact the Kalamazoo Promise has had on that community, including increased graduation rates and college enrollment. The district gained 900 new students this year, the largest enrollment increase of any district in Michigan for the 2006-2007 school year. Property values have increased by almost 10 percent in Kalamazoo , while home prices have stagnated in the surrounding area.
Developers are building new housing in the city, and economic development officials say the Promise is increasing interest in the community as the site of new business investment.
Governor Granholm is asking the Legislature to create “Promise” zones in cities with a combination of low rates of educational attainment and high rates of poverty and unemployment. The funding provided will not replace private philanthropy. Participating communities will need to show a significant local financial commitment to qualify for designation of the Promise Zone.
The zones would allow local communities to capture half the growth in state property tax revenues and use them to supplement the local funds dedicated to making a “Promise” tuition guarantee.
The state levies a 6 mill State Education Tax on all property in Michigan . These tax revenues are now committed to the School Aid Fund. As the Promise Zones create higher property values and greater tax revenues in a community, the zones will capture that growth to continue to fund the Promise. Such zones or tax increment financing
(TIF) districts are routinely used to finance development projects both in Michigan and around the nation. It is believed that Michigan ’s Promise Zones will be the first in the nation to use a tax increment financing mechanism to expand the opportunity for higher education in a community.
- Sharing and Consolidating Services
The Governor has called on local school districts to cut costs by sharing and consolidating services at the county and regional level. The upcoming budget proposal will implement the Governor’s call by providing financial incentives for shared services. The Governor has promised next year’s budget will include penalties for schools who fail to meet this expectation.
FLANAGAN FIRST IN THE COUNTRY TO TESTIFY ON NCLB REAUTHORIZATION PLANS
Tomorrow, Thursday February 8 th 2007 at 10am, the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Senator Edward M. Kennedy will begin a series of hearings on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. Michigan State Superintendent Mike Flanagan was the first individual asked to participate in this roundtable discussion on school and NCLB improvement strategies.
Over the next few months, the Senate will begin a process to make necessary changes to improve and strengthen NCLB, and ensure its effectiveness for students, parents, and teachers. Senator Kennedy will begin hearings, roundtables, and other events to hear from experts, educational leaders, and others who know what’s working in classrooms and what isn’t.
To view Superintendent Flanagan’s testimony live on CSPAN (Thursday @ 10 am ), please click here.
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