House and Senate NEWS!

THURSDAY IN THE MICHIGAN HOUSE
Gov. Rick SNYDER's plan to replace the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) with a 6 percent corporate income tax passed out of the House today with a vote of 56-53; six Republicans joined all of the chamber's 43 Democrats in voting in opposition.

To pay for the roughly $1.73 billion in business tax cuts, the plan eliminates or reduces several income tax exemptions including the exemption for pensions, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the state's film credit. It also freezes the income tax rate at 4.35 percent until 2013. Combined, it's $1.48 billion in income tax changes.

Today, the House Appropriations Committee agreed to reduce K-12 funding by $170 per student plus an additional 3.9 percent -- a reduction that translates into a per pupil cut of $455 to $501 for 2011-12.

Comments from Legislators:
“This bill is about the future of our state and it's high time we put our families back to work for our generation and our kids," said Rep. Lisa Posthumus LYONS (R-Lowell).

Democrats described the Snyder plan as businesses getting fat at the expense of working families and seniors, who will be paying for the tax plan through higher income taxes.

Many of you shared letters with me from Representative Crawford that he had written in response to your Legislative Blasts. We need to question, who are the Republicans listening to? Their constituents? I don’t think so.

Wednesday IN THE MICHIGAN SENATE
There is more disagreement in the Michigan Senate regarding tax policy and the use of the School Aid Fund. Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, a Republican, was forced to cast the deciding vote on Senate Bill 183 (it had resulted in a tied vote on the Senate floor.) Calley voted in favor of Bill 183.

Bill 183 cuts foundation grants for schools by $340 per pupil. The bill gives schools with half-day kindergarten programs just half of a foundation grant. Senators did restore funding for school bus safety inspections.

While this cut is $130 less than the original proposal, it is still a huge cut to education. It reminds me of a saying I heard back in the days of Engler that goes something like this: propose death so they will accept the amputation.

On a positive note, language in Senate Bill 183 to mandate school employees pay $13,000 or 20 percent of the cost of their health insurance was stripped from the bill.

The Future Course –
When both the Senate and the House have final bills, a joint committee will need to meet to resolve the differences between the two bills.

In the meantime, there seems to be some hope from the members of the Michigan Senate! I believe your blasts are making a difference. Although the battle is not over, I thank all of you for lending your voices to the battle!

BLAST AGAIN!!!

Yesterday the House Education Committee took testimony on House Bill 4241, a bill to eliminate teacher tenure. The MEA General Counsel gave testimony regarding school districts who have been able to successfully use the current tenure law to deal with teachers who have been found to be ineffective, while the Swartz Creek superintendent and his attorney told their "horror" story.

Don't let the naysayers be the only voice in the room! Go to yesterday's Legislative Blast entry for a sample letter and email addresses/phone numbers for State House representatives!

On another note, the governor will be giving his "Educational" address today from a Detroit school. He is expected to talk about "reinventing" K-12 education; it is expected to be a lot about merit pay and charter schools.

GRADE IN - Join In!

GRADE IN!!!
Join the Walled Lake, West Bloomfield, Novi, and Farmington GRADE IN!
Sundays, May 1st & May 22nd
1 to 3 PM
12 Oaks Mall Food Court

For the entire flyer, click HERE!

LEGISLATIVE BLAST DAY - TENURE Law AT RISK!!!

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TODAY!
Imagine the impact of 900 LETTERS or PHONE CALLS!!
This is a LEGISLATIVE BLAST DAY!

TODAY the House Education Committee will take up House Bill 4241, a bill to eliminate teacher tenure. They may vote on it AS SOON AS TODAY!!!

Sponsored by Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton (some of you will remember him from last Friday), the legislation would repeal Michigan’s tenure law ENTIRELY. It is unclear whether the committee will vote Tuesday or only take testimony.

MEA strongly opposes House Bill 4241. Tenure guarantees due process to ensure a teacher isn’t dismissed for personal or political reasons. The union supports tenure law changes to streamline the process of discharging teachers to cut time and costs.

Below you will find key members of the House Education Committee and their email addresses.

A SAMPLE LETTER IS INCLUDED AFTER THE EMAIL ADDRESSES!
Cut and Paste the letter into an email and send it to ANY OR ALL House members!

Please use your home email accounts or cell phones!!!

Bill Rogers – Republican, Brighton – SPONSOR of House Bill 4241
BillRogers@house.mi.gov
517-373-1784

Paul Scott – Republican, Grand Blanc – Chair of House Education Committee
PaulScott@house.mi.gov
517-373-1780

Rep. Hugh Crawford - - Republican, Wixom – House Education Committee Member
HughCrawford@house.mi.gov
517-3730827

Rep. Lisa Brown – Democrat – West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Walled Lake
Ranking Member of House Education Committee (A FRIEND OF EDUCATORS!!!)
LisaBrown@house.mi.gov
517-373-1799

Rep. Thomas Hooker – Republican, Byron Center
ThomasHooker@house.mi.gov
517-373-2277

SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Education Committee Representative,
I am writing today to urge you to vote NO on House Bill 4241 – the bill sponsored by Bill Rogers that is meant to abolish teacher tenure.

While I support streamlining the process for discharge of ineffective teachers, tenure is a system that provides a systematic way to handle teacher evaluation and teacher placement. It is a system that ensures that teachers are allowed due process and are not dismissed for personal or political reasons.

The new Race to the Top legislation addresses many of the concerns regarding teacher evaluation that I believe the legislature has. Our school district already has policies in place to provide a “Guided Practice” or a “Plan of Improvement” for teachers who are identified as needing extra help in perfecting their performance.

Abolishing tenure altogether would be MANY steps back, rather than a positive move toward improving public education

STAND AGAINST SNYDER RALLY & MEA Representative Assembly

SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH HAPPENINGS!

FIRST -

Walled Lake Education MEA Representatives (myself, Chriss Golden, Peggy Haver, Jason Pinho, Jim Walsh, Margaret Meyer, and Lorena Hawkins) will be in Lansing for the MEA Representative Assembly all day Friday and Saturday, April 29th & 30th. The MEA Representative Assembly will be electing new MEA officers, setting the 2011-2012 MEA Budget, and grappling with dues proposals for the coming school year. I am sure there will be a host of other proposals directed toward the Educational Crisis we are currently dealing with.

SECOND -

Stand Against Snyder:
RALLY for Working Families & Education

8-9am April 30th SATURDAY
Pioneer High School Football Field, Ann Arbor, MI
Free rally parking at S 7th St & Pioneer High School Rd
RSVP
wcat@geo3550.org

I received the following information from the president of the Ann Arbor Education Association!
If you wish to go, information is included below and is also available at the Facebook Page listed below:

Labor and community groups from all over southern Michigan will rally on Saturday, 4/30 at 8 am at the Pioneer HS football stadium, (across the corner of Stadium Blvd and Main St from Michigan Stadium). Come admire the plane circling overhead trailing a banner (courtesy of UM nurses, "Snyder: Some cuts never heal!") Come be economically oppressed by the Two Koch Brothers Comedy Improv Troupe (guard your money!) BYOS (bring your own sign). BYFF (bring your family and friends). Here is our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=202014289818189

- We have free parking for carpoolers next to PiHi stadium. Enter from 7th Street (between Stadium Blvd and Scio-Church Rd). Look for the "Rally Parking" sign and rally marshalls will wave you to your parking lot. Once the free lot is full, you can enter the PiHi lots from Main St, but you will pay $5 to support the PiHi Booster Club (a very worthy cause). Come early if you want to park for free. Here is the map: http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/reced.home/reced.about/map_to_rec___ed

- Graduating UM seniors will speak first, 8:00 - 8:15, then leave to go to their staging area to enter the Big House.- Speakers from labor, public service, and community groups will speak 8:15 - 9:00, with a few sets of entertainment included.

- We'll march along the sidewalk to Michigan Stadium after 9:00, and become thousands circling the Big House. Rally marshalls will lead the way and help us cross the Stadium/Main intersection safely. Once we surround the Michigan Stadium, we will chant and distribute leaflets, making sure to respect this special day for the graduates and their families as they arrive.

-It's a very big day in their lives! Thank them for supporting Michigan public education (before Snyder Inc. shuts it down!)This is THE rally that all groups are pointing to. When Gov Snyder takes the podium inside, we will let him know that while he may be a special guest of the UM, the rest of the state is showing him the door. We hope to have recall petitions available for all to sign at both stadiums. BYOS (bring your own signature!)

House School Aid Subcommittee and Bill Rogers, Chair

House Representative Jim Ananich (D) – reported on his FACEBOOK page yesterday afternoon that the House School Aid Subcommittee voted in favor of the School Aid Fund budget with basically the drastic cuts to K-12 schools that the Governor recommended. The vote was 4 to 2 with Ellen Cogan-Lipton and Ananich voting no. BILL ROGERS is the CHAIR PERSON of the School Aid Subcommittee!!!!

What was the plan? Transferring $900 million dollars out of the K-12 State Aid Fund to the General Fund, to be used for community colleges and higher education institutions. This is being done to pay for $1.8 Billion in tax cuts for businesses!

Remember, the School Aid fund has $650 Million dollars in surplus! THERE IS NO NEED FOR CUTS TO the education of children in Michigan! This funding shortage is a manipulation of the State Legislature! What programs are being cut in Walled Lake because of this manufactured funding shortfall? How many students will you have in your classroom next year because of this “manufactured” funding shortfall?

That is why Bill Rogers needs to hear from us this FRIDAY!!!

Friday, APRIL 22^nd, 2011

Bill Rogers will be at Ruggles in Milford

7:30- 9 AM

• · Is it fair to force the children in the State of Michigan to pay for billions in cuts to businesses?
• · Is it fair to have retirees and the poor people pay for business cuts?
• · Is it fair for the lower income people in the state to lose their Earned Income Credit?

What then could be done??

• · There could be a graduated income tax system instituted and it would raise the money they need.
• · They could expand sales tax to services in the state of Michigan and raise revenue.
• · They SHOULD leave the School Aid Fund AS IS because the citizens of Michigan voted for this method of funding so that school funding would be STABILIZED! Their wishes should be respected!

NEWS AS OF 3 PM on Tuesday!

The Senate Subcommitee on K-12 Aid put forth several different proposals today for school funding, much as reported below!

The following was passed in the Senate subcommittee.

The subcommittee ok'd a smaller per pupil cut. K-12 schools would see an additional cut of $170 per pupil, not the $300 recommended by the Governor. The $170 comes on top of the $170 already cut, for a grand total of $340.

They called for transferring $396 million out of the School Aid Fund to help pay for aid to public universities and community colleges; this instead of $895 million recommended by the governor.

The committee still allows for $195.9 million for colleges; but the governor wanted $700.

The committee also budgeted $200 million to provide grants to school districts and intermediate school districts to implement "best practices, retirement reform, tenure appeas, testing reforms and other items". Details are not yet hammered out.

What decisions did the committee make REGARDING YOUR BENEFITS????
---By proposing a cap for district and ISD payments toward employee medical, dental, and vision benefits to no more than $13,000 or 80 percent of the cost per employee, whichever results in LOWER COSTS TO THE EMPLOYER. The Department of Ed would withhold school aid payments equal to any amount spent on benefits above the cap. District could lose 5 percents of their school aid payments for failing to submit that data to the DofEd.

While everyone supports more money for education, $340 per student is still a substantial cut to school funding when added to the increased costs that have been passed on to the districts in other areas.

No matter how they do it, they are STILL transfering money out of the K-12 State Aid Fund to pay for community colleges and higher ed.

THEY ARE STILL taking money from the State Aid Fund to give to the General Fund but decreasing the amount by MANDATING CUTS TO YOUR BENEFITS. Now, they have shifted even more of the cost of the $1.6 billion TAX BREAK TO BUSINESSES directly to your pocketbooks.

If you haven't already done so, please write the Senate K-12 Subcommittee members.
USE THE information in the posting below from earlier today.