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
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
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.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, April 22, 2011
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 Budget Proposal
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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
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
Annarbor.com article
Monday, April 4, 2011
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.
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.
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