State legislators bicker over reforms necessary to qualify for federal education funds

LANSING — A top Republican in the Michigan House thinks reforms necessary for the state to qualify for millions of dollars in federal education cash are being hampered by “special interests.”

“I think it would be an absolute derogation of duty if the legislature and governor weren’t able to come to some agreements to put us in line for the January deadline,” said House Minority Leader Kevin Elsenheimer, a Republican from Kewadin. “The challenge they both have is some of the special interests involved in education trying to settle old scores or bring up new issues.”

While the lawmaker did not point directly to those “special interests,” Michigan Education Association President Iris Salters, issued an open letter defending the teacher union’s opposition to many of the reforms under discussion in the state.

Contrary to some unfounded media reports, MEA wants Michigan to be in a good position to receive these federal funds, despite the state’s draconian budget cuts that have severely threatened our eligibility status in the [Race to the Top] competition.

But, whether or not we get the money from Washington, these changes must make sense for our students and our schools in Michigan. And that means getting past the black and white contrasts of talking points and delving into the gray details of these various proposals.

The state legislature is currently working on measures designed to put Michigan in line for millions of dollars in federal funds being released by the Department of Education as part of its Race to the Top program. When asked to clarify what “old scores” were being settled, Elsenheimer said legislation to allow schools to start before Labor Day was an example.

Under current law, Michigan schools are prohibited from starting the school year before the Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday. That law is being defended by tourism advocates who argue an earlier start to the school year, such as mid-August, would put undue burden on the tourism industry in Michigan, a prime economic driver for the state.

Melton and his supporters argue starting the school year earlier would make Michigan competitive for the Race to the Top cash because it would give school districts the ability to run longer school years, something the grant guidelines require.

In addition to the Labor Day battle, lawmakers are scrambling to pass legislation to drastically expand charter schools, revamp teacher certification standards and allow the state to take over academically struggling districts. Lawmakers are also working to allow teacher and administrator performances to be tied to academic success of the students they oversee.

MEA’s Salters said some of those changes may appear “black and white” on the surface, but in reality exist in a gray area. Her open letter lays out reasons the teachers union is leery of moves to connect teacher pay with student performance. She argued that the results of one test in October do not necessarily reflect the totality of issues involved in student success. A spokesman from MEA told Michigan Messenger in mid-November that this was a sticking point for the union.

Salters also targets a Senate bill aimed at addressing under-performing schools. The Senate legislation, she said, undermines local control without any assurances of student success. She argues the union supports a House bill which would allow local education officials to work with appointed experts to turn their schools around, reserving state take overs for those districts which fail to address the student achievement gap at all.

Lawmakers have until the end of the month to complete the legislation in order for Michigan to be able to qualify for the Jan. 11 application deadline for the funds.

Regardless of those reforms, the funds could be nothing more than a pipe dream because U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said states that have cut education funding are going to find a hard time qualifying for the Race to the Top cash.

In November, Michigan Messenger reported on the secretary’s statements:

“Did those cuts help students in the classroom, or did they benefit adults?” Duncan said would be a major evaluation tool in this process.

Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, declined to answer whether the governor was worried about the impact of recent cuts to education funding on the qualifications for Race to the Top, but Elsenheimer said it should not be an issue.

“Even looking at the fact that our state has cut funding to education, Secretary Duncan is going to have to look at funding we have done over time. Our schools have been fairly well funded as a percentage of the overall state budget in regards to inflation,” Elsenheimer said. “Only in the last year is it that we fell behind the rate of inflation. I think if Secretary Duncan looks at the whole of funding for education over, say, the last decade or two, I don’t think he can avoid coming to the conclusion we have adequately funded education.”

During the budget battle in September and October, lawmakers approved — and the governor signed — a budget which eliminated $165 in per pupil funding from the state school aid fund. In addition, payments were also reduced in a mid-year correction causing a proration based on dwindling state revenues. The governor also vetoed additional school aid payments under the 20-J school fund, impacting some of the state’s most wealthy districts.

School districts across the state are struggling to carve up budgets in the middle of an ongoing school year.