PLEASE TAKE ACTION by clicking the links below!
They are available through "Michigan Parents for Schools" and are QUICK AND EASY!
The site gives suggested messages to use for your email to legislators and will automatically identify your House representative and send the email when you provide your zip code!
The HOUSE may vote on these issues THIS AFTERNOON (Wednesday)
The issues:
1) Retention of all children in third grade if they do not pass a reading test and score "proficient".
The bill addresses no way to address students who can not read "proficiently"; it only proposes to hold students back. As educators I am sure you can think of a multitude of reasons this proposal is over simplified and could prove to be not only ineffective, but damaging.
Take action at this link:
On third grade
retention (HB 5111): http://capwiz.com/miparentsforschools/issues/alert/?alertid=63018601
2) The second issue is the school rating system used by the Department of Education. This past year they used a new color system that many found confusing. The Legislature proposes remedying this by passing a bill that changes the process to a simple grading system: A through F.
The problem; their proposal is all too simplistic. If a school gets an A, what does that mean. If a school gets a C, what does that mean? Everyone has a preconceived image of what a grade means, so on the surface this bill seems to make sense. What this bill really needs is for personnel who are PRO-education to define the ratings. This process NEEDS to STAY IN the Department of Education and should not be done by our legislators. We know they have not been public school friendly. What do you suppose their "bias" might make this bill a "tool" for?
Take action at this link:
On the A-F rating
system (HB 5112): http://capwiz.com/miparentsforschools/issues/alert/?alertid=63018616
A "Trick or Treat" Message from Juli Matuzak, Political Coordinator for the AFT Michigan
For the past three years,
Governor Rick Snyder’s right-wing agenda has resulted in some seriously
spooky results for Michigan’s middle-class and working families. While
Snyder was busy handing out goodies to his
corporate buddies who’ve come knocking at his door, he’s slammed
opportunities shut for everyday Michiganders.
“Snyder
came into office
wearing his businessman costume, but it was all one big trick. Over the
last three years, Michiganders have come to realize who Snyder really
is — just another right-wing politician with the wrong priorities for
working families,” saidLonnie
Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan.
“Michiganders need to double-check what Snyder is handing out. When you
take off the pretty wrapper that Snyder’s cloaked his administration in,
you’ll quickly realize the people of Michigan have been
duped.”
In light of Halloween, here
are just a few of the numerous examples of Snyder’s “tricks” for
working families and “treats” for his well-connected allies, corporate
pals and Michigan’s wealthiest people.
TRICKS for Michigan families:
-Thanks to Snyder, seniors
now pay over $3,000 more in taxes – causing the most vulnerable citizens
to choose between paying for groceries and filling prescriptions (Grand
Rapids Press 7/13/11)
-Snyder hit single parents
with a $363 tax increase — thanks to nearly eliminating the Earned
Income Tax Credit (Grand Rapids Press 7/13/11)
-Snyder slashed higher
education funding by 15 percent — making it harder for young
Michiganders to get ahead without accruing massive amounts of debt
(Detroit News 6/21/11, Associated Press, 6/22/11)
-Snyder cut $100 million to
local governments — like police and fire departments (Associated Press
6/22/11, Detroit News 6/21/11)
-Snyder cut funding to
public schools by $470 per student – despite 71 percent of Michiganders
opposing such cuts — resulting in larger class sizes and less resources
in the classroom (Grand Rapids Press 5/20/11,
Kalamazoo Gazette 5/16/11)
-After voters overturned
the emergency financial manager law, Snyder went against the will of the
people and created a new one (Associated Press 12/27/12)
-Snyder lied about Right to
Work not being on his “agenda” — then turned around and passed the
wage-killing law over the outcry of thousands of protesters during lame
duck (MLive 12/12/11)
-Michigan just saw three straight months of increasing unemployment (Associated Press 09/18/13)
-Michigan has the 4th worst
unemployment in America thanks to Snyder’s backwards priorities (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
-Michigan went from 2nd in
job growth when Snyder took office — which is now down to 36th under his
watch (Arizona State University)
TREATS for right-wing special interests, corporations and the wealthy:
-Snyder’s $1.8 billion tax
break for big business was paid for by cuts to schools, as well as
higher taxes on the elderly and working families (Detroit News 6/21/11,
Associated Press 6/22/11)
-Snyder wanted to cut
thousands of corrections officers, close prisons and privatize services
with corporations (Detroit Free Press 2/18/11, Detroit News 9/29/11)
-Snyder privatized the care
of Michigan’s military veterans, leading to a laundry list of
complaints about the services (Lansing State Journal 10/4/2013)
-Snyder’s top aide created a
secretive “Skunk Works” group that sought to covertly change public
education through a voucher system and cyber schools (Detroit News
4/19/13)
-Snyder expanded for-profit, unaccountable and unproven cyber schools – at the expense of neighborhood schools (Pioneer 5/16/12)
-Snyder signed several bills that softened environmental regulations on businesses,
resulting in greater risk to our natural resources (Michigan Chronicle 12/7/11-12/13/11)
“Time after time, Snyder is tricking the public, while doling out treats to those who need help the least,” added
Scott. “He claims his policies have sweetened things up here
in Michigan, but the reality is much more bitter. Snyder is obviously
delusional if he thinks Michigan is the ‘Comeback State’ while we’re
experiencing three straight months of increasing
unemployment. This claim isn’t only disingenuous, it’s also a
reflection of how Snyder’s right-wing policies have left Michigan
without the more and better jobs he continuously promises.”
