Group demands reform for schools and unions after scores decline

November 7, 10:11 PMEducation ExaminerDonna Gundle-Krieg

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Are taxpayers throwing away a lot of money by not demanding quality schools?
Photo from the Education Action Group

The Education Action Group is getting more and more brazen as they continue the drumbeat for major change in the public schools.

Their latest newsletter criticizes the teachers’ unions and the school system as it outlines how school funding in Michigan has consistently gone up, while the statistics measuring quality of education have declined.

The EAG’s latest newsletter is below. It is filled with anger, and it doesn’t do justice to try to summarize the tone of what this citizen advocacy group writes.

Should they be this angry? Are citizens in Michigan and the United States standing by numbly as we throw more money at schools and watch our educational system decline?

What do you think about what this group has to say regarding the teachers’ unions, the quality of our schools, and how this all relates to school funding?

FROM THE EDUCATION ACTION GROUP:

“A few weeks ago, we read about Michigan Education Association President Iris Salters stomping into the state capitol and demanding that legislators 'invest' more money in our public schools.

“The next day we picked up the newspaper and read about Michigan’s sinking performance in a national survey of student achievement.

“Here’s our message for Ms. Salters: If she and other labor union leaders want to build genuine public support for increased school funding, they had better start embracing some changes that will help our students improve in the classroom.

“Until that happens, citizens will be less apt to pick up their telephones and demand that lawmakers appropriate more dollars for their neighborhood schools.

“At the moment taxpayers must be asking themselves - increased funding for what? Schools that are failing to help our kids reach their maximum potential? Are taxpayers supposed to believe that more money will provide an automatic cure for all of the problems our students are facing?

“How are taxpayers supposed to believe that, when the unions have repeatedly proven that they expect any increases in school funding to go directly into their pockets, in the form of salary increases or insurance perks?

Remember Proposal 5 in 2006, which was billed as guaranteed funding for state schools, but was really a cleverly-disguised effort to guarantee salary increases and generous benefits for teachers?

“We’re familiar with Ms. Salters’ argument, that happy teachers equal well-educated students, but we don’t buy it. Michigan teachers have consistently ranked among the highest in the nation in average salary, yet the performance of our students continues to sag.

ANOTHER BAD REPORT CARD

“The ugly truth came in the recent findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress,  commonly referred to as the 'nation’s report card.'

“As a Detroit News editorial pointed out, ‘Michigan student achievement – once the envy of the Midwest - has been stagnant for the past eight years, while most states’ educational quality improved. Neighboring Midwest states’ reforms are producing better academic results.’

“Sharif Shakrani, co-director of the Michigan State University Education Policy Center, summed up the report this way: ‘We are the only state in the Middle West now that is lower than the national average. That’s new. This is scary.’

“In other words, it’s time to make some significant changes to our public education system.

“Improvement could come in many ways, including an increase in the number of charter schools, increased accountability for teachers, merit pay for excellent teachers, tenure reform, an easier path for older professionals to enter teaching, an end to the seniority system for teachers, public vouchers to use in private schools, and other initiatives designed to shake up our public schools and force them to become more student-based.

“The unions could also help by allowing schools to drive down the cost of health insurance and non-educational services through competitive bidding.

“Many of these proposals would also put Michigan in line for President Obama’s “Race to the Top” dollars. The unions say they want more money for our schools? Demonstrate a willingness to change, and Washington D.C. is prepared to ante up.

”The other option is to stick with the old system and watch student performance continue to plummet, as teachers receive their healthy step raises and expensive MESSA insurance coverage.

“Nobody will be impressed, and nobody will demand that our lawmakers invest more money in a sinking ship.”

For more information, see:

Education Action Group

Do Public Schools Really Need More Money?

National Assessment of Educational Progress

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