In light of Michigan's economic crisis, it is imperative for community members to take an active interest in state government. This page is designed to assist community members by providing the tools to research important issues facing public education.

  "Cutting the Cost of Educating Michigan's Kids"

A Letter from Governor Rick Snyder to the Parents, Teachers & Students of Grand Ledge, MI

HB 4325 Passes Solidifying Public School Funding (05-27-11)

How did your State Representative Vote? (Go to page 1218 & 1219)

How did your State Senator Vote? (Go to page 1172)

$700 minus $200 equals $99?

From MASB News from the Capitol

That’s what lawmakers would like you to believe. The House and Senate passed HB 4325 , which makes appropriations for K-12, community colleges and universities. This bill includes the largest cut to the foundation allowance in the history of the funding system. HB 4325 reduces the per pupil allocation by $470. This means that the minimum foundation will be $6,846 and the basic will be $8,019 for 2011-12. Gov. Snyder and legislative leaders have heralded the small per pupil cut, arguing that efforts by lawmakers in the last week have brought that cut down to about $99 per pupil. It’s a lot of information, but let’s walk through how they figure.

First, they argue that the original foundation cut was $300 per pupil because the federal money that equates to $170 per pupil should never have been calculated in the foundation. Perhaps a fair point to be made, regardless, legislators of the past didn’t reduce the foundation, so it’s part of the overall cut this year. Additionally, lawmakers assert that it’s not fair for districts to use the increased costs from MPSERS of $230 per pupil when calculating the cut.

How do they get to $99? In the budget deal, there’s a $160 million one-time payment to districts to help offset this increased costs of MPSERS. This averages to about $100 per pupil. The MPSERS increase is more like $230 per pupil, so districts must still come up with an additional $130 per pupil for MPSERS payments. Lawmakers have also added a new categorical, 22f, which will provide one-time incentive money of $100 per pupil for districts that obtain so-called “best practices.” To receive the money, a district would have to achieve four of the five goals:

    * Require employees to pay 10 percent of their health insurance premiums.
    * Work with other districts to share or consolidate services.
    * Name themselves as the policyholder on employee insurance plans.
    * Seek competitive bids for at least one non-instructional service valued at more than $50,000.
    * Create and publish a dashboard to track district finances and performance.

Using the logic, it’s plain to see how smoke and mirrors achieves a $99 per pupil reduction. But when you look at the real numbers, it becomes clear that this budget deal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

So now you ask, “What should I be budgeting for 2011-12?” The foundation allowance will be reduced $470 from your current level. If you can qualify for the “best practices” funding of $100 per pupil, we urge that you don’t build that money into your base but rather treat it as one-time revenue. Also, take a look at the House and Senate Fiscal analysis of the bill to estimate what your district will receive as an offset for MPSERS costs. Please only use this as a rough guideline as it’s calculated on old payroll data and is subject to change. Additionally, treat this money as one-time revenue and don’t build it into ongoing expenses. In addition to the foundation cuts and infusion of one-time money, districts must also take into account the reductions made to categoricals detailed below.

Also included in this budget is a transfer of money from the School Aid Fund (SAF) to community colleges and higher education. Community colleges will see $196 million of SAF and universities will receive $200 million in SAF dollars. Again, the voters in 1994 never intended the new funding system to pay for community colleges and universities, but they ended up in the SAF budget this year. It’s worth noting that this transfer is less than half of what was originally proposed, so if there’s a small victory to claim in this section of the budget, it’s that.

Here are highlights of the bill and the impact thanks to the Michigan School Business Officials:

    * Sec. 20 - Foundation allowance reduced by $470 from the 2010-11 level; repealed current sec 11D (minimum $6,846 and basic $8,019).
    * Sec. 6 (4) - Pupil Membership Definitions – blend of pupils, 90 percent September/10 percent February count.
    * Sec. 6 (4)(r) - Kindergarten – current law for 2011-12; change to full day for full FTE in 2012-13.
    * Sec. 6 (4)(y) – Small District Declining Enrollment – maintains three year average blend language for small, rural districts.
    * Sec. 18 (2)(iv) – Health Insurance Bidding - now requires districts and ISDs to post bids on website.
    * Sec. 20 (19) – Small Class Size Grant (rolled into the foundation) – funded at 68.5 percent in 2011-12; eliminated in 2012-13.
    * Sec. 22d – Small Isolated Districts – maintains current 2010-11 funding levels for 2011-12.
    * Sec. 22e – Out of Formula Michigan Business Tax Replacement  - reduced appropriation to $700,000 from $1.3 million for 2011-12 and only for districts with less than 500 pupils; eliminated for 2012-13.
    * Sec. 6 (7) - Fall count day moved to first Wednesday in October – consolidate with federal special education count.
    * Sec. 22f – Best Practices – ONE TIME for 2011-12 only! Allocates $100 per pupil for districts that have implemented four of the five best practices by June 1, 2012.
          o District pay no more than 90 percent of health benefits cost for employee.
          o District is the policyholder for employee health insurance policies.
          o District develops or continues service consolidation plan under former 11D language.
          o District obtains competitive bids for at least one non-instructional service over $50,000.
          o District provides report card or dashboard with financial and performance data on website.
    * Sec. 26a - Renaissance Zone Reimbursement – maintains current funding.
    * Sec. 29 – Declining Enrollment Grants – eliminated for 2011-12.
    * Sec. 32b – Great Start Grants – reduced funding by $100,000 and prohibits ECIC using funds for direct administration. Includes language for 2012-13 to move to block grants with ISD with Great Start Collaboratives.
    * Sec. 32d - Great Start Readiness Program – increased allocation by $6 million and allocates to the ISD’s or consortia as fiduciaries. Moves funds to block grants in 2012-13 with ISDs as fiduciaries.
    * Sec. 51a (3) – Special Ed – ISD hold harmless – allocates $1 million for 2011-12, down $400,000 from current levels.
    * Sec. 51a (8) – Special Ed – ISD FICA and Retirement Reimbursement – eliminated 2011-12.
    * Sec. 74 – Bus Inspections – fully funds school bus inspections.
    * Sec. 81 – ISD General Operation – reduced 5 percent for 2011-12
    * Sec. 147 – Retirement Rate – 2011-12: 24.46 percent/23.23 percent; 2012-13: 27.37 percent/26.14 percent.
    * Sec. 147a – MPSERS Cost Offset - ONE TIME for 2011-12 only! Allocates $155 million on a proportionate basis of district payroll to statewide payroll to partially offset the MPSERS rate increase for 2011-12. (See estimates based on House and Senate Fiscal Analysis .)
    * Sec. 147b – MPSERS Retirement Obligation Reform Reserve Fund – establishes a reserve fund for future costs of the retirement system and creates a workgroup to report by Feb. 01, 2012 on reforms identified and cost savings. 2011-12 funding: $133 million.
    * Sec. 166c – Basic Instructional Supplies – repealed.

This is a lot of information to digest and understand. On the plus side, even though the budget is far less than the education community was hoping for, it’s expected the governor will sign the bill before June 1, leaving school districts one month to plan a budget based on actual numbers rather than speculation and hope. In the past we’ve waited until long after July 1, sometimes into October to receive solid guidance from Lansing.

It’s also important to note that although it may not feel like it, your advocacy made a difference. We must continue our advocacy efforts on our policy goals such as implementing caps on health care costs and long-term reform to skyrocketing costs associated with retirement and retiree health care. Last week the legislature passed HB 4152 which freezes step increases and health insurance costs for a district when out of contract that will help bring the bargaining table back to balance. Lawmakers are eager to further address policy issues like tenure and health care after Memorial Day. Without serious reforms to go along with these deep cuts, districts may not be able to balance the books.

Take Action Now!! (05-24-11)

A vote on the proposed cuts to K-12 education is expected this week.  This will be our last chance to stop the raid on the School Aid Fund and restore the cuts to schools.  It’s time for a final push!

Today we are asking that you email lawmakers and urge them to oppose the budget deal reached last week.  In the coming days we will also ask you to call your local legislators and drive the message home.

Even if you have already emailed your lawmakers or made phone calls, we need your help to keep up the pressure during this critical period.  Your efforts are truly making a difference and you are helping drive the debate in Lansing.

Keep up the good work and TAKE ACTION NOW!!!

 

Budget Deal Still Means Largest Cuts Ever (Excerpt from MASB 05-24-11)

The media has reported that Gov. Snyder and legislative leaders crafted a budget proposal that will be a much better deal for schools. These reports are wrong. Gov. Snyder and House and Senate leadership crafted a deal that would return $310 million to the School Aid Fund (SAF) to be used to pay down retirement costs for this year and to implement so-called best practices. Additionally, the deal leaves more than $400 million on the table to be placed in the state’s rainy day fund and other accounts in the name of fiscal restraint.

At the core of this deal is a $470 per pupil cut to the foundation. In fiscal year 2011-12 per pupil foundation allowances will be reduced by $470 and supplemented by payments to the MPSERS system in the amount equivalent to $100 per pupil, but could vary by district depending on payroll. This buy-down of the MPSERS rate is only about half of what the rate increase is expected to be. The following year, districts will see a rate increase after this one-time reprieve expires. Additionally, districts could be eligible for $100 per pupil in a new categorical that rewards best practices. To qualify a district must achieve four of the five goals:

    * Require employees to pay 10 percent of their health insurance premiums.
    * Work with other districts to share or consolidate services.
    * Name themselves as the policyholder on employee insurance plans.
    * Seek competitive bids for at least one non-instructional service valued at more than $50,000.
    * Create and publish a dashboard to track district finances and performance.

It’s worth noting that some of these conditions may require collective bargaining and necessitate that the contract be expired. It’s estimated that half of the contracts in the state won’t be open during this fiscal year, meaning that the state may automatically be disqualified from receiving this incentive money. So, while these incentive programs may seem like a common sense ask from Lansing, it’s yet another mandate that puts districts at competitive disadvantages to one another.

This proposal still includes a transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from the SAF to universities and community colleges—a direct affront on the intention of the voters when Proposal A passed almost two decades ago.

The conference report for the School Aid budget will be voted on today (Tuesday, May 24). It’s not too late to contact legislators and urge that a different solution be crafted. Our ask is simple:

   1. Restore the cuts directly to the foundation allowance.
   2. It’s raining now, leaving money on the table results in unnecessary cuts to education.
   3. Restore the promise of Proposal A and keep School Aid money for K-12 education.

 

 

Stop the Raid: Week 3                   It’s time to send our message viral. This week, we need you to use your connections to pressure the Michigan Legislature to restore the devastating cuts they are making to public education. Take the following actions: On Monday, the House Fiscal Agency released its quarterly Revenue Review which showed that the state has collected $455 million more in total state revenue than was projected in January of this year. These are actual revenues, not projections and are in addition to any additional revenue that comes out as part of the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference on Monday, May 16. Click here to send an email to your lawmakers and tell them to use this existing money to offset cuts to K-12 education. SEND THIS ALERT VIRAL! Pass this alert along to everyone you know who values public education.  Click here to post it to Facebook. Click here to tweet this alert.  The final stages of the budget process are going to move quickly. Make sure to click here to follow MASA_GOV on twitter for the latest information and alerts. Like us on Facebook and check back often for breaking news and information.

 

Budget Options Update as Presented to the BoE on 05-09-11

 

      

 

2011-12 Budget Update as presented to the BoE on 04-25-11

 

Michigan Association of School Boards issues urgent CALL TO ACTION! (04-13-11)

It’s been reported that the House may be voting on the School Aid budget very soon (possibly this week). Earlier conversations indicated that the House would come up with its own proposal (which hadn’t been publicly vetted), but new information points to rubber-stamping Gov. Rick Snyder’s unnecessary cuts to education and the unprecedented shift of K-12 money from schools to higher education.

We’re asking that you call your state representative NOW and urge him/her to reject the governor’s proposal and CAREFULLY consider other alternatives through additional public hearings. To be clear, the governor’s proposal has been testified to in several public hearings. That testimony has fleshed out the largest cut to schools in Michigan’s history and the abandonment of the basic promise of Proposal A to fund Michigan’s school districts on a statewide basis.

 

 

  Michigan School Funding at a Crossroads.  Video posted on the SOS Michigan Coalition website. (04-13-11)

This video takes a concise look at Michigan’s education funding crisis: how we got here, how schools are coping, and what every Michigan citizen and leader must do to Save our Students, Schools and State. Thanks to Charlevoix-Emmet ISD Communications Services for production of this video.

Grand Ledge Board of Education passes Resolution opposing School Aid Fund Transfer to Higher Education. (03-31-11)

 

Community Budget Presentation - BoE Meeting, March 28, 2011.

If you would like to join Grand Ledge Public Schools in responding to the proposed funding cuts, please submit your name, address, contact number and e-mail address through the link below.

We are looking for volunteers to help organize the effort to contact our legislators and the Governor and volunteers to serve on a committee that can assist in examining the possible impact of any proposed budget cuts / reductions.

Name		Title	Department
Kim Manning		Administrative Assistant	Superintendent's Office

 

Below are letters that can be used to contact your legislator or the Governor.  You are welcome to make edits and personalize the letters or you can simply sign your name include your address and mail. 

Gov. Snyder  

Sen. Jones            Sen. Emmons 

Rep. Opsommer    Rep. Shaughnessy

 

Board of Education to Overivew Impact of Gov's Exec Budget

 

School Aid Fund Talking Points & Legislative Contact List

 

House Fiscal Agency Background Briefing on School Aid. Created January 2011 by Mary Ann Cleary, Deputy Directory and Bethany Wicksall, Senior Fiscal Analyst.

 

2011-12 Budget Update under Governor's proposal.  As presented to the Board of Education on 02/28/11.  Questions regarding this presentation can be directed to GLPS Chief Financial Officer Tom Goodwin at 517-925-5426.

 

Letter addressing Governor's proposed cuts to public education written by Don Symonds, Steve Matthews and John Ellsworth as it appeared in the Grand Ledge Independent (02/27/11)

 

  State Superintendent Mike Flanagan offers some reaction, and meaning, to Governor Snyder's state budget proposal

 

  Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) Responds to Governor Snyder's Executive Budget

 

Governor Snyder Unveils Recommended Budget to Provide Foundation for Michigan's Reinvention

Governor Rick Snyder presented his 2012 executive budget and a 2013 projected budget to the legislature today claiming that they "bring state spending into line without any one-time funding fixes and creates a tax system that is simple, fair and efficient for both businesses and citizens." For the complete Press Release click here. 

Governor Snyder's FY' 2012 & FY' 2013 Executive Budget

 

Michigan's 48th Governor - Rick Snyder

During his inaugural address, Governor Rick Snyder called for a culture change in which cooperation, courage and innovation will lead the way to a reinvented economy and enhanced quality of life in Michigan.  He stated, “We need to put party and geography aside and come together as Michiganders to reinvent Michigan.”   However, he noted that getting Michigan back on track will require sacrifice and a new mind-set.  In doing so, will enable Michigan to achieve key goals such as becoming a globally competitive leader in innovation, creating more and better jobs and providing young people with greater opportunities and a bright future in the state.    

In his first State-of-the-State address, Snyder unveiled The Michigan Dashboard.  Information provided on the website lets Michiganders know how the state performs in areas that affect them and how Michigan compares to other states. 

For an overview of the Governor's State-of-the-State address, see below.

 

SOS - Save our Students, Schools and State

"Funding for our public schools has been cut repeatedly over the past five years. The latest round of cuts places students, schools and the future of our state in danger. SOS is a coalition of school organizations, personnel and education supporters committed to helping our students and our schools create a promising future for Michigan.

SOS is working on both short and longterm school funding solutions. In the short term, we’re working to reverse the recent cuts and demand that Lansing not balance the budget in a way that jeopardizes our children. Our kids deserve a better future than Lansing is offering. For the long term, we’re developing a proposal that will address the needs of schools and Michigan to provide a stable and equitable funding system"

 

"The Practitioner's Summit" to Reform Public School Funding in Michigan

Superintendent Steve Matthews and Chief Financial Officer Tom Goodwin realized the need to "reform" Michigan's failing funding system had become too large to ignore. Without significant changes it simply is not possible for Michigan's public schools to meet the educational challenges facing us in a changing world. "Reform" will (continue to) occur with or without input from practitioners. As a result, Grand Ledge Public Schools has spearheaded "The Summit" to Reform Public School Funding in Michigan. This is a coalition of public schools thoughout Michigan taking action to propose solutions.

 

Legislation of Interest

The latest news from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) advises that HBs 4214-4218 have been moving through the legislative process in an attempt to rewrite the statute that governs emergency financial control of municipalities and school districts.  The companion Sentate bills have been abandon to expedite the process and to prevent the legislation from going to conference committee.  The final version of these bills grant broad authority to the appointed manager, but the legislation also creates an extensive process before inserting an Emergency Financial Manager where the local municipality or district an make necessary changes to prevent loss of control.  The final version of the bill still has language that would strip the board of its authority during the time an EFM is in place, but they would regain full powers upon the district's return to financial stability.  

 

HB 4241 - Education; employees; teacher tenure; eliminate.

HB 4152 - Labor; collective bargaining; wages and benefits for certain public employees; freeze during contract negotiations.  (This legislation has passed the House and Senate an is awaiting final House approval of the Senate Amendments.)  

HB 4142 - Education; teachers; continuing tenure to be based on evaluation of teacher effectiveness; provide for, and allow for additional probationary period.

HB 4141 - Education; reoganization; school district services consolidation commission to make recommendations for orders on consolidation of school services; create.

HB 4019 - Education; public school academies; cap on number of public school academies authorized by state public universities under part 6a; eliminate.

SB 045 - Education; discipline; policy prohibiting harassment and bullying at school; require.

SB 048 - Education; facilities; school building site approval by local unit of government; require for certain school buildings and prescribe criteria for site plan approval by superintendent of public instruction.

SB 112 - Education; school districts; education financial emergency resolution board to provide oversight of school district emergency financial managers; create, and prescribe powers and duties.

SB 113 - Education; school districts; school district improvement plan to be developed and incorporated into emergency financial manager's written finanancial plan; require, and require certain reporting.  (TIE BAR with SB 112)

SB 114 - Education; reports; reporting requirements for emergency financial amangers; revise to include specific dates and to require reporting to additional state officials.  (TIE BAR with SB 112)

SB 115 - Education; reports; certain additional information to be included in list published by department of lowest-performing 5% of schools in state; require.

 

SB 137 - Education; discipline; policy prohibiting harassment and bullying at school; require.

If you would like to look for a specific bill, click here .

 

State-of-the-State Address

Governor Snyder (2011)

Governor Granhom (2009)

 

Citizens Research Council of Michigan

The Citizens Research Council is Michigan's oldest and most respected public policy research organization. For over 90 years, their objective has been to provide factual, unbiased independent information on significant issues concerning state and local government organization and finance. The State of Michigan has been operating with a structural deficit since Fiscal Year 2001. The constitutional requirement of a balanced budget has been met in large part through the use of one-time "fixes." While a few nonrecurring resources remain, most have been utilized and the attention of policy makers is increasingly turning to alternatives available to bring long-term revenues and expenditures into balance. Proposals to reduce spending are being discussed as well as numerous proposals to restructure the Michigan tax system. As the debate on taxes becomes more intense, there is great need for solid information on taxation. To help policy makers, the media, and interested citizens make sense of the debate, CRC has released its completely updated Outline of the Michigan Tax System, a wealth of information on all of the taxes levied by state and local government in Michigan.