| Jump to bottom |
Granholm urges students to fight for promise grants..
Hey Granholm! Send the kids to the doors of their teachers. Tell them to ask them to take concessions so that these grants can be restored. The grant money is not cut because of lack of revenue. It is cut because the revenue is going out the door with their overpaid teachers.
DPS, Teachers' Union agree..
Well well! Take note MEA across this state. A union that has stepped up to take and accept responsibility for student performance. Finally a group that has no problem saying 'if it is to be, it is up to me.' You won't hear them say: '.... reluctant to take on difficult learners' as we read a week ago when an MEA spokesperson moaned about being held accountable for student teszt results. Wake up MEA! You are next!
Profeesors vote
There you go again. A teachers' union convulsing against administration for a poor contract outcome, when the real culprits are their owen leaders who failed them at the bargaining table. Here a guy creates an atmosphere in which fundraising surpasses expectations, he leads the place to record enrollments, and has overall success in most programs. Yet, the people who do the teaching are unhappy. Why? It is most likely the fact that they are becoming more and more accountable for the outcomes of their students-the very thing that they get paid to do.
Flanagan calls for compromise on reform
Listen carefully to the MEA spokesperson: "some teachers will be reluctant to take on...." I have said this repeatedly here and on other blog sites: teachers only take credit for high-performing students who would have performed well with any teacher." So we continue to pay for poor performance and listen to teacher after teacher blame kids, parents, socio-economic status, and every other excuse you can think of except themselves when students fail. Fire many, cut salaries of others, open contracts and reduce costs, and finally save programs for kids-not teacher benefits.
Parent and teachers flood Lansing about school funding
Granholm says most do not understand. Yet she does not spell it out for us. Neither have any representatives or senators: teacher contracts cost too much money! Teachers are out front acting as though they care about programs. They don't! They care about funding that guarantees very high salaries and extremely costly benefits. Only 13% of school funds go to something other than salary and benefits. That money gets split between busses, athletics, security, utilities, textbooks and supplies, interest for borrowing money, and on and on. So when cuts are made, they are made in these areas and not in the one place that costs can be cut-teachers' benefit packages. I do not want to see additional taxes now or ever. It will only go in the pockets of below average workers.
Paying for public education
You REALLY miss the point! People are simply tired of getting discount results for Cadillac costs. And the teachers are right in the middle of this debate requiring more money for their classrooms (pockets). Michigan teachers get more salary and benefits than their brothers and sisters in 45 states, but we rank in the bottom 10 in student performance in required learning. We may not get the top people for $25K, but at least we would get our money's worth.
School board: Reduce cuts
Probably! But right now we are out of money. The biggest pool of cash lies in the future paychecks, pensions, and benefit packages of the people working in schools. Some support personnel in some districts have made sacrifices because of privatization. But the very group that drains us the most has received pay increase after pay increase-teachers. The average salary of a teacher in Michigan tops $60K or $300 a day. You and I have taken or accepted concessions. Why not them? Eighty to eighty-seven percent of school budgets go to salary and benefits. Reduce that by 5% and you'll save our state over 1 billion dollars a year. That's real money. And you don't have to wait for a new economy.
Pinched metro Detroit schools reach out to voters
Not sure about the bankruptcy choice, but clearly the MEA controls everyone in a political position. That is ridiculous. I absolutely agree that union contrcts have to be restructured to reflect performance instead of the tenured pay scale. Everyone in education needs to sacrifice pay, benefits, and pension. Take the money from the pockets of those who get paid with our tax dollars and put it inot the schools. Careful though when you say districts have the money. Legal committments such as contracts with labor unions, debt payments for bonds, and the like are required to be met. I'm not certain tha bankruptcy is the answer or even legal in this case.
$292 per student spending reduction? No problem!
The MEA weighs in every day in its commercials when telling us that they are preparing kids for the jobs of tomorrow. Oh! Tomorrow? What are they doing today to make certain that tomorrow comes? They are taking every penny that we have for our kids and claim it's for the classroom. Horse crap! Their insurance costs have risen close to 12% over two years (covers 4% easy). Pensions have risen 3.8% over two years (covers 4% easy). Bust the unions that control our schools and our government/governor!
Granhom's School Funding Cuts
I am right there with you. This stinks of the MEA! They are trying to get all of us riled so that she can raise taxes. Why? Because if this most recent cut is allowed to stick, school districts will have to go after their union contracts and concessions. It's time for us to support the cuts, and let the chips fall where they fall. Ten to thirteen sick days each, personal business days, and costs of substitutes to replace them when they are out; Upwards of $3000 each to a middleman for their insurance that doesn't even go towards premiums. The MEA has over $300 million in surplus funds and their cronie company, MESSA, has almost $500 million. This is our money paid out of tax dollars that is not necessary for them to have in their coffers. Our districts' coffers are empty or almost empty, and they cry for more! Mike Bishop needs to tell us the truth as well. In his statement to us and letter to JG he states that she is doing this on the backs of kids. He needs to tell us that 'backs of kids' means out of the pockets of teachers.
DPS Police Use Mace
The source says "These kids have a lot to prove around here..." How about proving who is smart? Since the South Side, East Side, West Side stuff implies gang-related violence, expel them completely out of school. Trying to rehabilitate them is a waste of useful energy. The brainwashing of youngsters by the gangs of Detroit is permanent. They cannot leave without dying, so they do as told and wreak havoc on the rest of us. Get rid of those that destroy the environment for the few who want to learn. Remember "Lean on Me" and their principal Crazy Joe. School is no place for this violence. The neighborhood is no place for this violence. Jail is the only place for this violence. Put them all there! And leave them there!
Detroit, Union Talks Stall
"Not bargaining in good faith?" What this means in plain English is this: "They are not giving me what I want, so I'm going to throw a fit!" The mantra that management is not bargaining in good faith simply means we will get someone else to influence the debate. It isn't going our way, so we will pout. Mr. Bing: Take them on full force. Brak them of this habit of tellng the public lies about management. Teachers and their unions do this exact same thing every time they start to lose ground in negotiations. Someone has to take these publicly paid workers on and break the stranglehold on our tax dollars. It isn't like the services that are provided are top notch. I implore you, Mr. Bing, to dig your heals in and refuse to give any ground. Lead by your example!
Sixth Howell School Board Member Resigns
I smell the MEA! That organization has one goal: make more money for themselves!! When that doesn't work, fire the superintendent and then get more money!!! What highly educated man or woman would want to take the position of superintendent in today's educational climate? Who would take on this role for less money than two predecessors who have been fired? Howell's public deserves more. Recall the idiots who have done these wrongs, and elect some people who have children (not MEA greedy pigs)at the forefront of their priorities!!!
teachers in Detroit
I am writing in response to the people who write that parents need to be included and that teachers aren't 'called' to the profession and should be compensated fairly. I am an educator. When I chose the profession, it never occurred to me that I would only do my job to the utmost of my ability based on some preconceived notion that the parents would be involved or that I would only produce when paid well. When I stop at a convenience store for a cup of coffee and none is made, I do not expect to hear from the clerk that she doesn't get paid enough to make coffee. She accepted the job at the pay level given to start. The production was and is expected to be top-notch from the beginning. When I became a teacher in Detroit, I expected nothing but the very best from myself. When I could not achieve that during the normal school day, I met with kids after school to help them. I met kids at 6:00 in the morning when school started at 8:15. The job was a calling, not a JOB. When our teachers get off their high horses and accept responsibility for their students' achievement, our kids will be better off. Yes, I do expect you to teach to a test. The test is what we use to determine if they have learned what we wanted them to learn. Finally, that which they should learn should be universally taught. It should not be up to the whim of a particular teacher.
Shorter school year stirs worries
Before we go off the deep end Barack and Jennifer, you better ask the MEA what they think. It is quite possible that they feel that we should ask teachers to work as long as the rest of us for our kids. Psych!!! Not!!! In every negotiation for contracts that took place in Michigan this year or are still ongoing here the MEA was trying to get LESS time in the classroom. NOT MORE! It has never been about kids with this group. Greed for their pockets is all that matters. Try to extend the school year. They will DEMAND more money!
| Jump to top |
