I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Schools across the state are making headlines as they prepare to ax millions of dollars half way through their 2009-2010 budget year. The cuts are necessitated by a state budget passed in Oct. which resulted in significant cuts to the school aid funding allowance, as well as a line item veto by Gov. Jennifer Granholm which cut funding for the highest-spending schools.
The Democrat dominated House voted in early Nov. to direct $184 million in federal stimulus money that remained at the end of the budget process to restore K-12 funding. The Republican dominated Senate did not take up the measure last week before adjourning for an annual two week hunting vacation.
And those cuts are going to be deep.
In Midland, the school board was told it faced a budget shortfall of $4.8 million this year, and $9.8 million next. As a result, the board is considering closing schools, which will save the district about $2 million, the Midland Daily News reports. Midland School Board is expected to vote on the cuts Dec. 14, and host a Dec. 7 meeting to hear more public testimony about cuts.
Down in Portage, a affluent suburb of Kalamazoo, the district is trying to figure out how to carve $2.5 million from its operating budget. And to do so, the board is looking at layoffs of teachers, the Kalamazoo Gazette reports. That district expects to unveil proposed cuts on Dec. 7 and vote on them Dec. 14.
Over on the East side of the state, Piconning Schools began their budget cutting by laying off a school social worker and cutting salary and benefits for all administrators, reports the Bay City Times.
In Rockford, in the West side of the state, officials are figuring out how to cut $2.74 million from the operating budget.
Rockford Superintendent Michael Shibler tells the Grand Rapids Press of the cuts:
“There is no other option. All the purse strings are held in Lansing.”
Shibler says the budget hole is the result of $1.3 million in state school aid funding cuts and $410,000 in lost revenue from declining enrollment.
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