Representative Tom McMillin Seeks to Dumb Down Michigan

Tom McMillin’s wrong headed and dangerously misguided legislation seeks to ensure and enshrine underachievement for Michigan’s school children.  His actions to subvert the common core and the next generation smarter balanced assessment is based on misinterpretations and manipulations designed to promote his own narrow agenda.  

McMillin’s objections expose a fundamental flaw in his knowledge about how and why the common core was developed; or perhaps it just pulls the curtain away from his close association with charter school operators. What better way to promote charters, than to help kill public schools? After years of lagging behind nearly every state in graduation requirements, Michigan moved to raise the bar in 2006. The framework of the Common Core and the implementation of improved testing tools helps support that higher bar for all students. McMillin’s actions run counter to the objective of dismantling quality public eduction.   

Some facts about the common core. It is not a perfect framework (nothing is), but the CCS does support higher CORE standards and the subsequent achievement expectations. Lost in the rhetoric is that the standards are CORE standards, not a predigested package of fully prescribed material. There are thick layers around the core which are controlled at the state and local levels. The common core is research based and provides the scaffolding for State and Local School Boards to build around that core:

1. The standards were developed through the work of 48 states 
2. The standards emphasize core competencies -- which means there is plenty of content controlled locally which will surround that core
3. Michigan signed up to help develop the smarter balanced assessment. I’d like to highlight this fact; MICHIGAN WANTS TO HELP DEVELOP THE ASSESSMENT TOOL (i.e., have input, help shape, design, and ensure the tools work for Michigan).
4. Leading the Smarter Balanced Assessment develop are:
1. State Superintendents of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, MICHIGAN, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, N. Carolina, Oregon, S. Carolina, S. Dakota, Vermont, Washington, W. Virginia, Wisconsin as well as support from Alaska, N. Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming.
2. Each of the states listed above also provide K-12 input through personnel working for School Board Associations, or State Level Education Administrators.
3. Every state listed includes Higher Education representatives (i.e., College) or administrators to ensure that college ready standards are supported.

As a local school board member I support the common core. I support higher standards and expectations, and I support Michigan’s desire to be part of designing a better future for our children. Representative McMillin is either genuinely misinformed, or dangerously duplicitous regarding his intentions. Neither option is good for Michigan. 

2012 MPSERS Financial Statement Released

Thirty days late is better than never; the MPSERS Annual Report has been posted. You can view the report here. Upon first review there is good news and bad news. I'll provide a detailed analysis once I've worked through all 111 pages. A few notable items jumped to the front including:

• Funded ratio (using the "smoothing" accounting trick) has fallen to 64.7% (pg.36)
• Total unfunded liability of pension fund is $22.4 BILLION and $25.9 BILLION for Other Post-employment Benefits (health care). Total Unfunded position: $48.3 BILLION
• Investment assumptions continue to remain insupportably high at 8% (pg. 37)
• Total portfolio returns lagged market indexes but reported a solid 13.5% return (pg. 7)
• Five year total return on portfolio is annualized at 1.6% (pg. 7)

The one thing that accounting gimmicks (smoothing) and inflated assumptions cannot hide is the demographic wave which continues to threaten the school aid fund... soon there will be more retirees drawing from the pension system than there will be employees paying into the system. The following chart on page 102 of the report is clear:

There is little to no likelihood of reversing this trend. All demographic studies support the fact that Michigan is getting older. There will be fewer school age children added to the system and there will be a declining need for additional teachers. With only 27,108 more active members than retired members, it's likely that the lines will cross in the next two to three years. The recent changes enacted to bolster the system might delay the need for more dramatic actions, but like all political acts it only kicks the can further down the road. 

The Common Core - And Common Misconceptions

It’s time to Stop Being Stupid. That tag line is not mine, it’s adapted from Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and it applies to the misguided HB 4276; this bill seeks to kill adoption of the Common Core standards for Michigan schools.

As a fellow republican - and an active school board member -  I’m dismayed when I see legislation like HB 4276 introduced by fellow republicans. The “rational” for this ill conceived bill rests in the idea that the common core is a federal program and that it enables federal control over all local curriculum. If this reasoning were to be argued in a high school debate class the underlying logic would not survive 5 minutes before being torn to shreds by the average 10^th grader. Of course, that supposes the 10^th grader would have benefited from the type of core competencies supported by STATE DEVELOPED common core. That fact, the common core was developed at the STATE level, seems to have been overlooked, ignored, or intentionally misrepresented in the rhetoric associated with the introduction of this bill. None of those three motivations are good. Interestingly, the National PTA supports this STATE initiated program; a list of other supportive organizations is found here.

I’ve read the common core material, I’ve spent time understanding the objectives, and I’ve seen how I (as a school board member) will have significant control over how any of this initiative is implemented. There is no loss of local control, there is no federal intervention, and there are no mandates. The only tie to the “federal” level is the decision to rid ourselves of the widely criticized and largely ineffective MEAP and MME tests. The operational decision which “ties” schools to federal funds is the decision for Michigan to join as a governing state with the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium. That decision included applying for and receiving federal funds to develop assessments designed to ensure kids are learning what they are expected to learn. This is not an evil federal hook designed lead us “blindly” down a federal path to “overreach” into our classrooms.

The common core represents a rational, well conceived foundation designed to ensure that all children have the opportunity to succeed in an era of global competitiveness. The framework for progressing can be debated, and the assessments can be refined, but to trash the effort as some draconian subterfuge is uncalled for. 

I hope that HB 4276 dies a quiet death in committee; such a fate would kindle my hope that we’re walking away from a “stupid” path and moving towards a smarter future for everyone in the State of Michigan.

The Goal of Education - With Help from Carl Sagan

Breaking from the focus on budgets, dollars, and costs, I was reminded of a video posted over a year ago by Reid Gower.

What sets us apart? What can we as a species aspire to? I hold hope in my heart for continued greatness. Our future rests in how we educate today. The video is narrated by the voice of Carl Sagan as part of the Sagan Series and it hits all the bases. It sets the stage for the most fundamental and profound aspirations for education written large... This is best viewed in HD!

Where's My Pension Report?

Sometimes being late is just that, being late. Sometimes it's an indication a problem exists. The release of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) financial statement known as the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) is late. The system's year end is September 30. Typically the report is issued in late January. It is now late February and still no report.

Make no mistake, the fund has been hit hard by the economic recession. Returns have been bad, and future obligations have grown. Yet the "health" of the pension is not determined by an outside agency. The definition of health rests entirely within the hands of the retirement board (pg 3, items 11 &12) and the director of the Office of Retirement Services. That's the same setup which helped produce the financial meltdown of the mortgage market - the banks hired the rating companies to rate the debt, but the rating companies only provided their "opinion" based on the input they received from the banks.

Maybe the retirement board is not sure how much longer they can sustain unrealistic assumptions on investment returns, or how long they can hide the true value of current assets behind the curtain of "smoothing." Smoothing is an interesting "tool" employed by the board. The board allows itself to "report" 2011 assets of $43.3 billion while really having only $36.7 billion. This "trick" is allowed by accounting standards, but that does not make it right. No less than Warren Buffett has said that "pension accounting encourages cheating."

The delay in releasing cannot mask the massive and growing burden this program represents -- my only wish is that the report will someday accurately represent the facts without hiding behind accounting tricks. Maybe someone is finally pushing for true clarity, we'll see....

The NRA "solution"

Dear NRA:

In your world, having armed guards in schools along with a national registration of individuals suffering from mental illness will cure all ills. Great. 

So, if someone is not on the "list" here is what they'll do: They'll still be able to buy any assault rifle they want at that community bazaar known as a Gun and Knife "show" because you think background checks are some violation of personal rights or freedoms. Of course such a violation does not occur for the mentally ill to be “registered” in a Federal database. Regardless, they’ll also be able to buy armor piercing rounds because you never know when you’ll encounter an armored deer and every American should be able to hunt armored deer. In addition, because you’ve opposed any limitation on high capacity magazines, they’ll be loading up that armor piercing round into a 100 round clip because an armored deer is going to be tough to take down; they can’t afford to miss an armored deer so a hail of rounds should drop that sucker AND have the added benefit of instantly creating a delicious stew!

So now this person is traveling to school and they encounter Mr. armed security guard. Of course they'll be threatened by him so Mr. armor piercing high capacity magazine assault rife toting non-mentally-ill registered gun owner unloads on that person FIRST! Why, because they’ll be protected by your Stand Your Ground laws and they felt threatened by another guy with a gun. But now this person has snapped and they extend their rampage.... 

Thanks for protecting my schools NRA. Clearly the big mistake was that the shooter didn’t self-register on the Federal Mental Health Issue List, yes -- that was the problem.... 

Guns, Schools, and Politics.

The unspeakable tragedy in Connecticut will never leave my conscience. As a parent I was constantly on the verge of tears as the reports flooded the media. However, as a former candidate and current school board member I was floored to learn that in America children are 13 times more likely to die of gun violence than in any other industrialized nation. Thirteen more times likely to die of gun violence....

Failure in the eyes of the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners is an interesting concept. I returned this group’s survey as part of my campaign in the republican primary for Michigan’s 40th house district. While I support second amendment rights, I also support rational and reasonable gun laws and regulation. For groups like MCRGO and the NRA that position - support of reasonable laws and regulation -- is a failure. That stance is highlighted by the recent action in the Michigan Legislature under the recently passed SB 59 which seeks to eliminate gun free zones. The bill awaits Governor Snyder’s signature.

I have reproduced the groups survey, with my responses included. There is no room for a gray area in this survey which is admirable, you can’t dance around the issue. Interestingly I was the only primary candidate in my district to return the form. Perhaps because I was the only one that did not fear providing an honest response; that’s not necessarily a good strategy for winning a primary as it turns out. 

In the eyes of MCRGO we will not be safe until there are guns everywhere: "If you have pistol free zones they are actually mass murderer empowerment zones," said Steve Dulan, attorney for the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners, who represents sportsman clubs throughout Michigan backing the bill [SB59]. "If you actually look at the history, even over the past 10 years in the U.S., you find that maybe all but one mass shooting has occurred in a so-called gun free zone." But what about the concept of tighter regulation of assult wepons, or the limiting the easy availablity of extended ammunition clips or specialty ammunition designed to inflict maximum trauma? The silence on these questions is deafening.   

Back to MCRGO's survey. I felt that qualified individuals should be able to carry registered concealed weapons. I felt that stand your ground laws are an invitation to madness. I felt that there should be gun free zones in Michigan (schools, churches, stadiums, libraries, and dormitories). I felt that local communities should have a say these matters. I felt that existing gun laws should be retained. I feel that guns in classrooms, dormitories, and libraries are a bad idea. I feel that Increasing the proliferation of guns is not likely to reduce the already unacceptably high rate of gun violence against children. All of this made me a failure in MCRGO’s eyes. My returned survey to MCRGO is posted below - my "fail" rating came as no surprise given the specific YES/NO nature of the survey. I did not oppose all of MCRGO's positoins, but there is no room for dissent in MCRGO's survey. But this is not a YES/NO issue; my worry is that YES/NO is exactly how this debate will be framed. If that happens it's not a debate, it's just a noisy argument which will accomplish nothing.  

MCRGO Survey Sent

2012 MEA Compensation Comparision

Recently the annual LM2 report for the MEA was filed with the Department of Labor. This report (required by the Department of Labor) details the compensation for all officers and employees of the Michigan Education Association; you can find the simple analysis of the report here (also shown below), and the complete report here. As has been the case for years, compensation at the parent organization (the MEA is the state level organizing unit of the NEA) is consistently stronger than for the rank and file teachers. This years report is interesting becuase of the reduction in total MEA staff employment. Compensation at the top decreased slightly, possibly as a reflection of declining membership. The average increase continues to outpace the CPI at over 15% but this is influenced by timing issues (some individuals may have come onto the payroll mid year, etc.) and other adjustments. The median increase in compensation for all MEA staff was 1.11%. This fact remains, life is very good at the top of the MEA ladder, in fact all top ten MEA officers continue to earn more than Governor Snyder (his annual compensation is $159,300).

If you are an MEA member, you can search these reports by name to see what your UniServe director's compensation - to find your UniServe diretor see this link to the MEA website.


MEA Salaries 2012


TOP TEN MEA DIRECTOR SALARIES:
Focusing on the compensation for the top earners at the MEA, the picture continues to reveal earnings that significanly exceed the pay grade of all elected officials in state government.
MEA Top Ten Salaries 2012