MEA signs on to Race To the Top reforms

When the state legislature last year tried to put together a hurried application to the federal government to get education funding through the Race To The Top program and passed a series of reforms to make that application more attractive, the Michigan Education Association — the largest teacher’s union in the state — had serious reservations about some of those reforms.

This year, the MEA is on board and is supporting the state in its second round of applications for federal funding. In a press release on Monday, the group said:

“This second application process was markedly different from the first, “said MEA President Iris K. Salters. “The outcome reflects a much more collaborative, useful plan for schools to implement, should they so choose.”

Local school districts and local education associations will make their own decisions about whether or not to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), but MEA is recommending that its local units give careful consideration to supporting this application.

“Many of the concerns we had with the first application have been addressed because we, along with other professional organizations, were able to participate in the crafting of the RTTT plan,” Salters said. “This meant that the voices of the dedicated employees who work in our schools—and know best what our students need—were heard and valued.”

This collaboration resulted in a much stronger application, which will place Michigan in a more competitive position in this second round.

Among the sticking points in last year’s scramble to get an application in on time was new legislation that allows the state to take over struggling school systems and unilaterally rewrite negotiated union contracts. The MEA objected to that law.