Classroom spending tax break

A recent article on annarbor.com features a story about a tax credit proposal for teachers in the state of Michigan. The idea is simply that teachers should be given up to a $2,000 dollar tax credit for items that they have voluntary decided to purchase for their classroom. State rep. Jeff Irwin says that this is the least we can do for our teachers who are being forced to work with less supplies, and materials for their classrooms. I do agree that this sounds like a great idea to help teachers that use their hard earned money to buy supplies for the kids in their class. The real issue is that we need to stop taking money away from public education. I have a $100 dollar classroom budget for my 2 blocks of 51 fifth grade students. That equals out to $1.96 per kid for the whole school year!

How much money are you spending in your classroom? What types of things are you buying for your class that students need?

Michigan House passes school union dues proposal

Michigan House passes school union dues proposal that could impact MEA members.  If you have not heard about this recent proposed bill then please read the AnnArbor.com article.  Contact your rep. and tell them to stop attacking the working middle class.  We as a group need to stay strong and stay together to fight for our rights as teachers.

Social Media in Schools

A current hot topic around the state of Michigan and around the country is what type of polices should schools and states have in regarding social media in schools.  Check out this local article from AnnArbor.com website for a local perspective of what educators in Washtenaw county are saying.  With our schools progress in educational technology these are types of issues we are going to have to think about on a continuing basis. Should we as a district embrace the use of social media more in our classes or is it something we should shy away from?  I know many of our teachers already have a "class" facebook, or twitter account to connect with our students. What is the line that we draw between proper and improper use of social media in the classroom?  Is it a distraction or is it a teachable moment that can be capitalized to further a discussion?  Should it be something that is included in an upcoming PD session or Tech academy session?

The issue of technology is an ever changing dynamic and is something that we should all be in tune with.

Analysis of New Michigan Tenure Law.

Check out the article below of an early analysis of the newly passed tenure laws.  Lots of things are still up in the air but this article may answer some questions that you have about some of the most recent changes.

Tenure Package-Further insight

Community Support

Last night was the Manchester fair parade and Mr. Ball and his crew rode along in the fair parade tossing out pencils to those that lined the streets. As we tossed pencils and waved hello it was a great reminder that even with all of the negative things that have been in the media and that have been going on in our state this last year surrounding education, that people do still appreciate and support Manchester teachers. On many occasions groups of parents gave applause and said thank you. Many students had smiles on their face (young and old) as they picked up a brightly colored pencil that said, "Manchester Teachers Care".

It was a great reminder that we are teachers but are also a big part of the community. Make a decision this school year to try and be more visible in the community. If it is attending a sporting event, listening to a band concert, watching a school play. eating a coney dog at the Boy Scouts coney night, asking kids questions about their lamb they raised for the fair or maybe attending a monthly school board meeting. Do something extra to show your support for the students and the community this coming school year. In the end we are all part of the same community.

Layoff Map of Michigan

Below you will find an interesting map put together by the "We are the people" organization. They estimate that approximately 15,000 jobs have been lost due to the cuts to schools. Look at the map below to see how school districts have been effected around our district.

View Republican Firing Plan for Michigan in a larger map

Red Day!

Don't forget that Tuesday is a RED day to show your support of public education. Make sure to wear your favorite red clothing. Also teachers will be meeting after school to make signs to put on display at the middle school awards night. Make sure to come out to the middle school awards night at 6:30pm at the High School wearing RED to show your support for public schools education in Michigan.

Act Now!

Taken from the MEA website:

Big votes expected Thursday -- we need your help!

Lawmakers on Thursday are expected to vote on separate proposals that strip local school districts of big decisions related to health care costs and privatization.

MEA staff and leaders will be at the Capitol Thursday to lobby against these bills -- and your legislative contacts are vital to our efforts to derail or modify these bills.

Here's what you need to know about the proposals:

Senate Bill 7 would require employees to pay at least 20 percent of the cost of their health plan. This bill strips local school boards of the authority to decide how best to manage health care costs, something that should be decided locally through collective bargaining. This bill is before the full Senate.

Act now: Contact your state senator immediately to ask him/her to vote NO on Senate Bill 7.

Remind your senator that Senate Bill 7 will not solve Michigan’s budget crisis. Many school superintendents have previously testified that their employees pay for health insurance and this bill will not offset state funding cuts.

House Bill 4306 would require school districts to solicit private companies for bids for certain services. Under this legislation, the state would require competitive bidding for food, custodial, and transportation services even if the local district did not want to outsource jobs to private companies. This bill is before the full House.

The nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency reported that House Bill 4306 would have “no fiscal impact on the state” and that requiring competitive bidding may actually increase administrative costs for schools.

Act now: Contact your state representative immediately to ask him/her to vote NO on House Bill 4306.

Tell your representative to allow locally elected school board members to decide whether outsourcing jobs to private companies is a good idea for their own district.

Budget Proposal

With all of the talk of the schools budgets in the state of Michigan many people have been wondering what are schools proposing to cut. Ann Arbor schools has recently been in the news because they have proposed to cut busing for H.S. students. Take a look below and see what Manchester is proposing to cut. No official decisions have been made on any of these items but they are all on the table for possibilities. Share this information with community members and legislative members and tell them to support the future of our state.

Manchester Budget Proposal

Manchester Schools Cuts

Read about the discussion of the education cuts and how they could impact the students in our district.The article is a summary of the most recent Manchester Schools board meeting.

Manchester Enterprise

Slight Improvement

A sign of a very slight improvement was announced today. Read the article below for details about some slight improvements to the budget issue. We still need people to contact their representatives and tell them that schools need adequate funding! Make your voice heard and let the state of Michigan representatives know that the money set aside for public schools education should be used for education.

Annarbor.com article

Judge Calls 3% School Pay Cut Unconstitutional

Article Copied From: WLNS
A judge has rules that a state law taking 3% of public school salaries to help pay for health care is unconstitutional.

In three separate cases, school employees challenged a 2010 law that took 3% of the salary of current school employees to help pay for health care benefits for retirees.

Former Circuit Court Judge James Giddings ruled that the law violated the state and federal constitutions because it took their property (their salaries) without due process of law - and that they were paying for health care they might never receive.

Since there's no guarantee that current and retired teachers will get that health care, Giddings called the law "arbitrary and unreasonable."

Teacher groups were quick to celebrate.

"We were gratified to see that the judge completely concurred with our argument in finding this action by the Legislature ‘quintessentially arbitrary and unreasonable,'" said David Hecker, the president of American Federation of Teachers Michigan in press release. "Current employees should not have to pay this assessment without any assurance that they will receive health care when they retire."

"We're pleased to see this decision come down on the side of public school employees and their families," said Michigan Education Association President Iris Salters in another release. "We would be disappointed if the state chooses to appeal this ruling, but if they do, we will continue to fight not only this case, but all attacks on public education, school employees, students and the middle class at large."

Giddings rejected arguments by the Michigan's Attorney General calling the harm to school employees "hypothetical" - since they had yet to retire.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette tells The Associated Press that a decision hasn't been made on whether to appeal Giddings' ruling.

Another judge in February ruled unconstitutional a similar 3 percent salary provision for state employees.

Friendly Reminder

This is just a friendly reminder that when communicating with fellow teachers about non work issues such as union issues, state budgets etc. that you should use your home e-mail account and home personal computer. A few stories have been running in the news the last couple days about groups submitting FOIA requests for schools e-mails. When writing e-mails using school computers, e-mail accounts, and time always remember to write as if the e-mail would be read on the evening news for the whole world to hear.

This is a big grey area and some schools have co operated and others have tried to fight the FOIA. It is better to be safe then sorry. For more information on the happenings check out the articles below.

Detroit Free Press Article
Lansing State Journal

Update From Mea

March 24 - Lawmakers recessed today for two weeks without voting on measures that would infringe on collective bargaining and local control. The Legislature returns to session April 12.

At that time, the Senate could vote on House Bill 4152, a bill to freeze wages and benefits when a collective bargaining agreement expires until a new contract takes effect. This would effectively eliminate step raises between contracts and require employees to pay any increased costs of maintaining health insurance and other benefits. The legislation would also prohibit any retroactive increase in wages or benefits after a new contract is signed. MEA opposes this bill -- please contact your state senator NOW and urge him/her to vote NO on House Bill 4152.

And in the House, House Bill 4059, which would prohibit public employers from paying union officials for time conducting union business, is still pending. MEA opposes this bill, too. Please contact your state representative and ask him/her to vote NO on House Bill 4059.

While lawmakers are back home, it's a good time to set up meetings with them or to attend constituent events they have planned in the district. Take time to reach out to your elected leaders -- it's important that they hear from you!

Talking Points

Follow the links below to use the following talking points when contacting legislative members.
Also you will find links that will help you find contact information for your representative. If you wish to add talking points to the talking point document you can do that. You do not need a G-mail account to edit the document. Remember that anyone with the link to the document can edit, read, and make revisions.

Talking Points Document

Michigan House of Representatives Search

Michigan State Senate