Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Click the TAKE ACTION tab!

House Committee Set to Cut Schools TODAY Take Action!
(Information from Tri-County Alliance)


Take Action!
 
Last week, we alerted you to the House transportation funding plan being considered by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Their plan relies on cutting the School Aid Fund approximately $800 million each year and instead shifting those funds to pay for road repairs and construction.  It's a top priority of the Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader.

The initial three bills of their plan are expected to be voted on TOMORROW morning in Committee, which begins at 10:30 a.m. in Lansing. Bills under consideration tomorrow are House Bills 4571, 4572 and 4677.

Please TAKE ACTION now and tell your State Representative to oppose House Bills 4571, 4572, 4677 and any plan that cuts even a penny more from local schools.

 
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Monday, May 6, 2013

A Parents' Guide to Education In Michigan


Monday, May 13, Novi, 6-8 p.m. “A Parent’s Guide to Public Education in Michigan”
  • - Novi Middle School, 49000 Eleven Mile Road, Novi, Michigan 48374,
  • Hosted by: Novi Community Schools, Novi Education Association, Farmington Public Schools and the Farmington Education Association.
  • Moderated by WXYZ Channel 7 Anchor JoAnne Purtan. Attended by key local and state stakeholders.
  • Contact: Tom Brenner, 248-449-1500, tbrenner@novi.k12.mi.us

Overview:

There will be three direct discussion sessions and one question and answer session to the Parent’s Guide to Education Forum hosted jointly by the school districts and Education Associations from the communities of: Novi, Farmington, Livonia, Plymouth-Canton, South Lyon, Walled Lake, and Waterford .

Novi Middle School Auditorium ( 49000 Eleven Mile Road, Novi, Michigan 48374 – Located at the North East corner of Eleven Mile and Wixom Roads)

Seating will be on a first come first served basis. Doors open at 5:00 PM

5:00 – 6:15          Panelist Reception – Light Dinner will be provided for panelists and hosts.

6:15 – 6:45         Introduction and Welcome – Welcoming remarks from Superintendents Steve
Matthews (Novi) and Susan Zurvalec (Farmington), EA Presidents Tom Brenner and David Workman.
 
Topic:    What is the state of Michigan’s responsibility toward educating its population? How do we measure our performance?

Introduction of Panelists (9-12 total) – Two Minute Self-Introductions

Panelists:             1 Governor Snyder Representative (Bill Rustem confirmed), 1 Local School Administrator (TBD), 4  State School Board Members (all confirmed John Austin, Michelle Fecteau, Casandra Ulbrich, Eileen Weiser), 2 School of Ed (University) Representatives, 4 State Legislators (preferably from the House and Senate Education Committee – confirmed State Senator Phil Pavlov, State Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood, State Representative Hugh Crawford, State Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton), 1 teacher (confirmed Novi HS Science teacher Brian Langley)


6:45-7:15              Session 1 – Student Performance/Effective Schools
7:15- 7:45             Session 2 – Teacher Recruitment/ Professional Development/Evaluation
7:45-8:15              Session 3 – Public Finance of Education
8:15-9:00             Session 4 – Question and Answer with Audience

Each Panelist will be given the questions ahead of time and be asked to be prepared to answer questions in 2 of the 3 primary sessions. Each session will consist of a discussion of two-three questions where the panelists will have an opportunity to answer and then address issues brought up by other panelists. Each speaker will have a time limit on their responses (2 minutes). Moderator reserves the right to redirect panelists to directly answer the question or respond to another panelist’s remarks. Audience will have the opportunity to directly ask questions of the panelists to conclude the event.

Monday, May 13, Novi, 6-8 p.m. “A Parent’s Guide to Public Education in Michigan” -  Novi Middle School, 49000 Eleven Mile Road, Novi, Michigan 48374,  Hosted by: Novi Community Schools, Novi Education Association, Farmington Public Schools and the Farmington Education Association. Moderated by WXYZ Channel 7 Anchor JoAnne Purtan. Attended by key local and state stakeholders. Contact: Tom Brenner, 248-449-1500, tbrenner@novi.k12.mi.us