Schools, Politics, and Common SenseSchools, Politics, and Common SenseThis is a blog that focuses on Birmingham schools and the state and national issues that impact its students, parents, teachers and taxpayers. We include discussions on taxes, strategic vision, special issues and other topics. This site is also a way
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Detroit Free Press Supports Millage Renewal
2006-10-30 21:07:00 Birmingham The 11.3-mill rate renewal on all property sought by this Oakland County district represents $12.4 million of its revenue. Based on the continued steady achievements of Birmingham's students and its administrators, taxpayers should continue the investment for another 10 years. A YES vote is in order. More About: Press , Free , Port , Support , Detroit Free Press
Where Birmingham Education Dollars Come From Today
2006-10-27 19:51:00 This is an update of an old slide that shows where funding comes from - it does not show how every dollar collected under the non-homestead millage (the 18 mills) is DEDUCTED from what the state says we should receive. That's how the 6 mills state tax gets redistributed around the state and away from our schools - remember, Oakland county is a donor county to the state treasury.And remember, the local residential millage goes down every year as home values go up, we're the only tax millage which goes down every year. More About: Education , Cat , Dollar , Today , Come
K16 Proposal 5 is Bad Legislation
2006-10-23 23:58:00 I initially supported the K16 initiative (prior to any formulation of ballot language) because it put a spotlight on poor school funding - over the last 4 years Michigan has had no increase in state support (in two of those years we had mid-year funding cuts). But the K16 Prop osal is BAD LEGISLATION and I DO NOT support it; it does nothing (as Phil Power points out) to control the cost side of the equation; just for that reason it's poorly constructed legislation - not to mention that it's a monumentally bad idea to enshrine a spending mandate in the Michigan Constitution.That said, two things need to be addressed: 1) We need legislative help on healthcare - the MEA (state teachers union) owns the largest third party healthcare provider serving teachers and they are able to keep cost data (experiential claims data) away from school districts; a practice that essentially forestalls competitive bidding. Several bills have been sent to the legislature but they never get support. Why?... More About: Legislation , Legi
Open Letter to Pension Experts
2006-10-23 19:48:00 The following is a letter I sent to experts on Pens ions and Pension Plans. It address the real world issues confronting the people that have to struggle with problems that sound interesting in Ivory Tower discussions, but have significant impact on our everyday life. Specifically - it focuses on how Michigan, and in particular Birmingham Schools, are impacted by the unfunded position of State sponsored pension plans.Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & CompanyAttention: Mr. Norman Jones, Mr. Paul ZornOne Town SquareSuite 800Southfield, MI 48076Dear Mr. Jones and Mr. Zorn,In researching the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) I came across your letter (http://www.nctr.org/pdf/grswilshirerespo nse2003.pdf) to Mr. Nesbitt of Wilshire & Associates regarding his report on the condition of Defined Benefit Pension plans. Your rebuttal letter concluded that the funding condition of State Pension Plans is not as bad as the Wilshire report might lead readers to believe.I respec... More About: Open , Letter , Experts
Support Education - Vote for Patricia (Pan) Godchaux
2006-06-12 20:23:00 In light of Joe Knollenberg’s poor voting record on education issues, voters in the 9th Congressional District of Michigan have the opportunity to send Joe to an overdue retirement. Joe ranks dead last in support of nearly every educational initiative except those which pander to his religious base (fully supports prayer in schools and support withholding money from schools that don’t allow prayer in school. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy to have governmental leaders that are grounded in a strong religious and moral background – I just don’t like them mixing their religion with my government. In March of 1994 Joe set the tone when he voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. Unless I missed something that’s why the First Amendment includes: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Seems like Congressman Joe Knollenberg would like to have the Government specifically f... More About: Education , God , Cat , Port , Support
Congressional Hypocrisy and the Vote
2006-06-06 17:00:00 Members of Congress employ various voting methods to say they support programs when they really have the opposite intent. A prime example is Education voting and current budget priorities. A clear example of this comes from the editorial section of National School Board Association NSBA Editorial on Voting.This game goes on with many different issues and provides a way for Congressional Leaders to hide behind worthless votes. More About: Hypocrisy , Vote , Sion , The V
My Message to Graduating High School Seniors
2006-06-05 04:45:00 Commencement AddressGood afternoon graduates, family members, staff and guests. I am truly honored to address you, the graduating class of 2006. On behalf of my fellow Board members President Deb Roberts, Geri Rinschler, Michael Fenberg, Lori Soifer, Shelli Weisberg, and Dr. David Garrett; we wish to congratulate all of you on your achievement. Parents, I salute you on having survived the process of molding outstanding young adults (along with having survived the discovery of unidentified molds lurking deep in the backpacks of those aforementioned adults).This ceremony marks the completion of your high school requirements. It is the district’s way of saying: "You've passed the test;" or rather a seemingly endless array of tests from Finals, AP’s, MEAP’S, and College Boards. You may feel like you’ve been tested more than Ken Jennings on Jeopardy, and in some ways that’s true – it’s just without the 2 ½ million dollars he won.Our district’s mission statement says ... More About: Senior , School , High School , Essa , Message
Recess before lunch improves student behavior.
2006-04-04 21:06:00 Once you think about this it makes sense. An article in the Michigan School Board Association Headlines magazine shows how we let students play, and eat has a BIG impact on how they behave. Follow this link to get the publication: MSAB 4/3/2006.Others can read this: Traditionally lunch precedes recess at most schools. However, a new pilot study by the Montana Team Nutrition Program shows that flipping lunch with recess can dramatically improve students’ behavior. Researchers monitored 1,112 K-8 students during the 2002-03 year. They noticed that when students had lunch before recess they often spent less than five minutes eating lunch in order to rush out to play. What’s more, several students just ate chips or a candy bar. The sugar and fat from those snacks hit the students’ systems 90 minutes later—when most teachers reported peak discipline problems. When students ate lunch after recess, teachers reported fewer problems. At one school, when lunch was moved until after re... More About: Student , Lunch , Behavior , Improve , Rove
Complexities of the School Millage
2005-09-10 19:12:00 School funding is hard to understand, and that’s not good for taxpayers. As a board member I will try my best to explain how things work. Birmingham Public Schools get most of their money from a formula dictated by the State Legislature, with additional funds through the support of our local homeowners who support the “Hold Harmless” millage (check the chart below for the items that make up school funding). Some facts:• The “Hold Harmless” millage in Birmingham has been frozen at $3,877 per student since Proposal A was adopted as law in 1994. The amount ($3,877 per student) has never increased; it will never increase under Proposal A.• Because the “Hold Harmless” millage is frozen at $3,877 per student, that millage rate has DROPPED as property values increase. The total amount of tax raised by the millage changes only as student enrollment changes.• What does this mean? Local community tax support for schools (through the “Hold Harmless” millage) has been th... More About: Comp , School , Complex , Milla , Lexi
Support Birmingham Schools - Support The Sinking Fund
More articles from this author:2005-04-22 18:22:00 As a member of the Birmingham Board of Education, I am dismayed at the level of half truths, misrepresentations, and lies being pushed by those opposing the sinking fund campaign. First, some truths: we enjoy the benefits of having one of the best school districts in the state because parents demand it, our children deserve it; our teachers believe it and our administration and support personnel work hard to maintain it. Over the last 10 years we have continued to improve operational efficiencies and our teachers have supported those efforts with their hard work and dollars. Nearly $8 million of saving achieved over the last three years along speaks to the effort in this area. However, the current school funding crisis keeps us on the "cutting path" and unless things change in Lansing, the funding crisis will reach further into our classrooms. Our administration, support personnel and teachers understand the challenges we face and have been significant partners in contributing to th... More About: Fun , Schools , School , Port , Support 1, 2 |
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