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.
In what can only be termed a no-holds-barred public relations roll out, the Michigan Department of Education has unveiled the state’s application for Race to the Top funds.
The roll out includes a five page executive summary, the 631-page application and a video of State Superintendent Mike Flannigan discussing the import of the reforms passed in December by the state legislature.
What’s notable in this PR-fest is the fact Flannigan is downplaying the federal cash that motivated the changes, instead seeing those reforms as necessary to make Michigan “the best educational system in the world.”
Flannigan spends part of the video lavishing praise on staff from the department as well as the governor’s office, thanks the teachers unions who supported the reforms, and calls the application “bold and innovative.”
In the video, Flannigan says:
“We didn’t do this just for the money. We did this because it’s right for our students, it’s right for our state.”
Also of interest in this plethora of information is the announcement that the state will seek $526 million dollars from the program. According to the executive summary, 756 school districts sent Memorandums of Understanding to the department. That represents some 1.4 million Michigan school students, or 89 percent of all public school students. It also represents 90 percent of the public school buildings, or 3,300 buildings.
Regardless of the current crop of reforms, however, some activists say the state missed a chance to add what they say is an important one: comprehensive anti-bullying laws.
Kevin Epling, in an e-mail to Michigan Messenger, brought the issue up earlier this week, noting that Michigan was one of nine states that has not enacted such laws.
Michigan must not be the last state to pass a law designed to help its youngest citizens. With potential federal dollars attached to the “Race to the Top” funding, “Matt’s Law” should be passed before the final decisions are made at the Federal level later this year. In reality, we are already standing 42nd in line when it comes to anti-bullying.
Epling and other activists who have been pushing for the law for nearly a decade said in December that anti-bullying should have been part of Race to the Top reforms. However, the legislation was never brought up, leaving Epling and others frustrated.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter