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Council Highlights from April 20, 2005
(Complete minutes can be found soon at the MASA website)

1. The Council approved the Legislative Committee's recommendations from their meeting 4/13/05. Among the bills discussed, they strongly support continuing the $15 million for Detroit Public Schools; they are opposing all of the “Save the Children” package, which would push forward the cut-off age for kindergarten entry among other provisions; and they are waiting to develop a position on modifications to the School Bond Loan Fund. For more details, contact your region’s Legislative Committee representative (Contact information for council and committee reps can be found at www.michiganedusource.org/gomasa/Committees.htm#committee.)
   
2. Brad Biladeau reported good news about HB 4575, the Sinking Fund legislation introduced by Rep. Barb VanderVeen (R-Allendale). This bill is receiving some strong support in the house. Passage of the bill could bring welcome relief to school budgets, since it would allow districts to use sinking fund proceeds for all items that previously required a bond. Please let your legislator know that you want him or her to support this legislation.
   
3. The Hay Group will be conducting a statewide insurance study, and expects to release their survey to districts by the end of the week. It will be sent to superintendents and business officials. Pat Reeves urged MASA members to work with their business officials to respond to this survey with prompt, high-quality data so we can make good decisions about how to shape future discussion and decision making around this critical issue.
   
   Members expressed some concern about how to counter the negative spin some education associations are putting on this study. Pat and others offered some possible talking points that could relieve concern and preserve relationships:
   

   - By participating in the study and providing data, the district hopes to be in a position to make better decisions.

   - Participation by no means implies endorsement of the possible conclusion of others.

   - We reserve the right to draw our own conclusions from the data report we receive.

4. Special guest Donald Weatherspoon from the Michigan Department of Corrections described his department's new Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to give inmates released from prison the tools they need to succeed in the community. This initiative marks the first time that the Department of Corrections will reach out into the K-12 community to leverage their efforts. By working more closely with educators, corrections officials hope to break generational cycles of crime and incarceration while at the same time promote public safety. Consider these facts:
   

   - A child stands a 70 percent chance of going to prison if a parent is incarcerated.

   - Fifty-three percent of MDOC prisoners have at least one child in the K12 system: at least 25,000 students are affected by incarceration, affecting approximately 1,000 teachers and classrooms.

   - At a funding level of $6,700 per pupil, there is at least $167 million at risk for Michigan school districts.

   Dr. Weatherspoon invited MASA members to partner with MDOC by sharing information and resources. Look for more in upcoming Fortnighters. Dr. Weatherspoon is available to present information at region meetings. Contact him at 517.373.4267.
5. The K16 Coalition, of which MASA is a member, will host a Rally on the Capital lawn June 21, 2005. The goal is to attract attention to the school funding crisis and urge lawmakers to support SB 246 and HB 4582, which would restore and stabilize school funding. Registration is at noon; pre-rally is at 1 p.m. and the official rally is at 2 p.m. Mike Flanagan urged members to gather as many participants as possible from each district. He pointed out that if every district brought just 100 people, the event would draw more than 50,000 people, which would "put Lansing on its ear." Since this will be hard for some districts to pull off, Mike urged districts near the capital to work extra hard to bring large groups. We are aware the timing of the Rally is inconvenient to MAISA members planning to attend Summer Conference; we will work to find workable solutions and keep you informed.
   
6. Mike Flanagan reminded the group that we are still working hard to find collaborative solutions to the funding issues we face. He is hopeful that some good will come from discussions with state executives and lawmakers around the issue of cost containment. He warned that we should "be careful what we wish for," noting that the unintended consequences of a "fix at any cost" could hurt us down the road. One example: if we push for a state-run insurance system, we could end up with a poor benefit package that makes it harder for us to recruit high-quality staff.
   
   Council quote: "There are many ways to die; I don't want ours to be a death by irony."
   
   –Dale Rieger, Region 3, responding to suggestions that we send a strident message to lawmakers that it's their job to "fix" the funding problem any way they have to.