MEA Director Pay Increases: 9.5% is the Median

It’s time for the annual update on MEA compensation increases. From the Department of Labor web site the annual report from the MEA on financial activity reveals that life is very good for those at the top of the MEA. This year the average increase in total pay (NOT including health care, pension, and other non-pay benefits) was over 19% For statisticians, the more interesting number is the increase in median pay of 9.5%

These numbers are facts and reported as delivered by the MEA to the federal government. The document is "searchable" and you can also download the full report (choose "NEA" as Union Name, "Michigan" as State, and "LM - 2" as Report Type and click Submit to get the full report. Here is a site that walks you through the process.

The increases come in an environment where tax payers are seeing 10% to 20% reductions in pay and benefits, where job losses continue to mount, where tax revenues are falling billions short of projections, and where everyone is calling for shared sacrifices to balance budgets and save jobs.

MEA Salaries 2008 to 2009

Birmingham Public Schools - Character Education Matters: Part Two

In June of 2007 I wrote about Birmingham’s Character Education program and how one of our schools, Birmingham Covington was recognized as a National School of Character winner by the Character Education Partnership. I noted that character education was and is a part of our strategic plan, a plan that is reviewed every year and is renewed every five years.

Now, adding to the list of national winners is Greenfield Elementary school, one of 10 national winners recognized as a 2009 National School of Character. To quote from the press release: “The winning schools demonstrate that school transformation is possible through low-cost, high-quality character education initiatives. They have closed the achievement gap and raised academic expectations for all students, built strong relationships and partnerships between parents, teachers, and students, and given their students opportunities to serve their communities.” There were over 185 schools from 26 States represented.

Congratulations to Greenfield, and congratulations to all the other Birmingham Schools that were also recognized as National Finalists, Promising Practices, and Honorable Mention award winners: Beverly Elementary (a national finalist for 2009), Bingham Farms Elementary, Harlan Elementary, Pembroke Elementary, Pierce Elementary (an Honorable Mention winner), West Maple Elementary (an Honorable Mention Winner), and Wylie E. Groves High School.

No other school district in Michigan, or across the 26 participating states had more schools recognized than the Birmingham School district. After our community enunciated the important traits of Positive Attitude, Honesty & Integrity, Respect & Kindness, and Responsibility & Accountability a system wide effort mobilized to integrate these ideals into the core work of our schools. It is an ongoing process, and it is just one example of the great things that happen in our schools.

Bringing Jobs To Michigan

MiSN Homeland Security Market Leadership Conference information:

The Michigan Security Network (MiSN, www.michigansecuritynetwork.com), a non-profit organization, announced a Joint Venture between MiSN, Wayne State University (WSU) and the Kauffman Foundation. In support of its mission to accelerate homeland security technology development, investment and jobs in Michigan, the joint venture will provide training, "FREE", for aspiring entrepreneurs as well as mature businesses interested in this growing market.

The training will be offered through WSU’s TechTown in the form of FastTrac™ programs designed with homeland security content provided by Michigan Security Network. FastTrac is a practical, hands-on business development program designed to help entrepreneurs hone their skills needed to create, manage and grow a successful business. FastTrac is a globally renowned program created by the Kansas City-based Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation, a TechTown partner organization and America’s leading expert on entrepreneurship education, research and growth.

Event Name: MiSN Homeland Security Market Leadership Conference

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Time: 8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Conference

Location: Hyatt Regency - Dearborn, MI

Where to ask

question: (248) 353-0735

Cost: $199 -- Includes continental breakfast and lunch

By attending the MiSN conference, business executives will:

1.) Learn about the Homeland Security Market and business opportunities in Biodefense, Cybersecurity & Bordersecurity

2.) Meet with decision makers from key federal agencies, and exhibitors of value added solutions

3.) Curbside consulting - 15 minute consult with TechTown advisor. Learn about the FastTrac™ Entrepreneurial programs, and register for one of our 4 programs onsite.

The Michigan Security Network (MiSN) Market Leadership Conference will be held on November 4, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be able to listen to experts in the fields of security and defense, meet leaders and decision makers from major corporations, federal agencies, and Universities, and listen to presentations on the opportunities available in cyber security, biodefense, and border security.

MiSN Market Leadership Conference Speakers include:

• (JUST ADDED) - Dave Thomas, Associate Director for Intelligent Ground Systems at TARDEC
• (JUST ADDED) - Jim Jaeger, Director, Cyber Defense & Forensics, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GD-AIS)
• (JUST ADDED) - Rick Harris, Acting Deputy Director U.S. CERT DHS
• (JUST ADDED) - Rene Kelly, MiSN Joint Venture with Wayne State University (WSU) and the Kauffman Foundation for FastTrac programs

• Michael J. Bouchard, Oakland County Sheriff

• Bruce B. Davidson, Director of the Office of SAFETY Act Implementation, Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security
• Dr. Farnam Jahanian, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Arbor Networks, Inc.
• Parney Albright, President and Vice Chairman, Civitas Group llc
• Randal Charlton, Executive Director, TechTown, Entrepreneur in Residence and Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development, Wayne State University
• Scott R. Dratch, Director of Strategic Cyber Initiative, General Dynamics—Advanced Information Systems
• Ken Theis, Chief Information Officer, State of Michigan, Director for the Michigan Department of Information Technology
• Captain Larry K. Atteberry, Manager - Protective Services, BioDefense Operations, Emergent BioSolutions
• Peter Tchoryk, Jr. Chief Executive Officer, of Michigan Aerospace Corporation
• Dennis Grimaud, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DIATHERIX Laboratories, Inc.
• Jian Han, M.D., Ph.D., Laboratory Director of DIATHERIX Laboratories, Inc.
• Dr. Carole Bolin, Director - Diagnostic Center for Population & Animal Health at MSU

MiSN SPONSORS:

Platinum Sponsors * DTE Energy * General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS)

Gold Sponsors * BCU * VisitDetroit.com * Engineering Society of Detroit * Howard & Howard * Precisionwerx * PVS Chemicals, Inc. * Strobl & Sharp * University of Michigan * Wayne State University

Silver Sponsors * Dewpoint * Patriot Services * University of Detroit Mercy * Walsh College * Warner Norcross & Judd

MiSN Market Leadership Conference Investment:

• Attendees: $199 — includes continental breakfast and lunch.

• Exhibitors: $350 — 8ft Table Top Display

MiSN Market Leadership Conference Sponsorship opportunities are still available:

• For more information, please contact Leslie Smith at 248-353-0735, ext. 152 or lsmith@esd.org

Please use the following link to review and register to attend the MiSN Homeland Security Market Leadership Conference:
- http://www.michigansecuritynetwork.com/conferences.html

- For more details phone: 248-353-0735

Thank you for your interest, support and consideration. Please contact me if you have any questions or if I may be of further assistance. We look forward to meeting you at the conference.

Lori Soifer - Best Choice for Birmingham School Board

In times of crisis, experience counts. Lori’s experience as an expert in the development of policies and programs which promote innovative and cost effective learning strategies is vital to our school board. Her commitment to achievement for all students is critical as we embrace the broader fiscal challenges confronting public education in Michigan, and how those challenges impact Birmingham. Lori has made the hard choices that board members from other districts have avoided (like privatizing transportation and custodial services). Those decisions have saved tens of millions of dollars that now remain in the classroom where they belong, all while maintaing a balanced budget.

There is no person better qualified to help us meet the task ahead. Lori's commitment to academic excellence ensures that Birmingham's students will continue to lead the state.

If you would like to learn more, visit Lori Soifer's site here. I trust that you'll see an unmatched commitment as a volunteer to not only our schools, but to the broader community that reaches far beyond our classrooms.

20j Districts Violated By Governor, More Pain Added

The first blow was the $165 per student cut in state aid, it was tempered by understanding the cut was to be applied equally to all districts. Then the Governor made a conscious choice to unjustly punish the districts covered by the corrective 20j stipulation embedded in Proposal A. That took an average cut of $165 per student and amped it up an average cut of $242 in those 20j districts. Now to compound that exercise of monumentally poor judgement, those 20j district have been impaled by the addition of a new $127 per student cut. The average cut to 20j districts: $533.42 per student, for non-20j districts the cut is is $292. The data is shown below:

State Aid 20j Impact 2009-10 Updated

So what did the 20j districts do to deserve a punishment of nearly TWICE that imposed on all other districts? Some, like Livonia, East Lansing, and Northville are looking at cuts of over $600 per student. I think that the Governor has eviscerated the legislative intent of Proposal A, that should make some lawyers happy (remember Durant?).

Governor Granholm Honored as National Education Policy Leader of the Year

Is this a cruel joke? The press release is here: Governor Granholm Honored as National Education Policy Leader of the Year. Why the National Association of State Boards of Education did this, at this time, is at the least bitterly ironic. I would suggest they contact members of the boards of education that just had their budgets deliberately targeted and slashed by this Governor if she is really a leader worth celebrating. Yes, she adopted more rigorous standards for high school graduation, but she just made it much harder for teachers in 40 districts to help their students reach those standards, while breaking the promise at the heart of Proposal A's funding legislation.

It seems to me there is no reason why the NASBE can't change course. They certainly have not highlighted the choice on their web site (I can't find anything). Contact the Executive Director, Brenda Welburn via email here: brendaw@nasbe.org, you can also contact her at 703-684-4000 or fax at 703-836-2313. While you're at it, make sure to let Governor Granholm know how you feel about the unfair manner she has treated the 214,323 students impacted by the 20j veto (link to Governor comment page is here).

Proposal A and a Broken 20j Promise

Last night the Governor broke the Promise of 20j; a promise that Proposal A would lift the floor of School funding, not drag down the top.

The right thing to do is treat every district fairly, what the Governor did was single out 40 districts that operated under the 20j provision. That provision was a CORRECTION to a FORMULA ERROR embedded in Proposal A. For these 40 districts, the Governor has made a bad situation dramatically worse, while providing NO PRACTICAL HELP for the other 511 public districts and 233 public academies.

Specifically, there are 214,323 students in the forty 20j districts, the Governor has taken an average of $241/student away from these kids (ON TOP OF THE $165/student cut) while maintaining the net $165/cut per child over the rest of the state. She didn’t even attempt to mitigate the $165 cut with the 20j funds, she just singled out these districts for extra pain.

The impact on these students reflects the math problem that 20j corrected. While Birmingham is harmed, other districts that spend just sightly above the foundation allowance are devastated by this move. The current data is below (data pulled from the October 2009 State Aid Report):
State Aid 20j Impact 2009-10

There is NOTHING fair, equitable, or just about this politically motivated attack by the Governor.

An Now for Something Completely Different

I've been working with a very talented team of people for the last six months putting together a new non-profit initiative call the Michigan Security Network. This effort, initiated by CEO Leslie Touma, is designed to bring new jobs to Michigan that focus on opportunities in the Cyber Security, Bio-Defense, and Boarder Defense areas of the Homeland Defense Network. We’ve created a partnership of Universities and corporations that links schools like Wayne State University, U of M, Michigan State, and Lawrence Tech, with firms like General Dynamics, DTE, Roush and Dow to support virtual incubators for promising research applications and spin out opportunities from existing corporations.

Additional support is provided by the Kauffman Foundation and Wayne State through "FastTrac Training" to facilitate technology startups. The objective of this work is to retain and recruit new jobs for Michigan's technologically advanced work force. The inaugural event is November 4th; a conference at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn featuring Bruce Davidson the Director of Department of Homeland Security, Reandal Charlton, the executive director of TechTown, Parney Albright President and Vice Chairman of Civitas Group, Dr. Farnam Jahanian Chairman/Founder of Arbor Networks, Ken Theis, Chief Information Officer for the State of Michigan, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, and others. This kickoff event will help show case the massive amount of talent and energy Michigan can bring to bear in this $113 billion a year industry.

The conference (register here) also represents a small step towards a new future for Michigan's students. The skills required for the innovative work in this industry aline with the goals of Birmingham's 21st Century Learning objectives.

The Cliff

A new report from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government highlights the funding cliff we’ve been hearing about. The Politics K-12 blog summarizes this report in an article: Stimulus Funding Cliff Is a Reality The Rockefeller report (full report can be found here, caution opens a .pdf file) reveals how difficult the challenge for our state is, and will be, in the future. Individual state statistics highlight Michigan’s plight. We are consistently leading the decline or are number 1 or 2 in states that have lost income, tax revenues, and jobs.

The data shows the depth and breath of the impact of this recession, and Michigan is far from alone. In the total measure of declining economic activity, Michigan leads the list having fallen 23.7 points from January 2007 compared to the US average of a 3.4 point decline (page 13).

An interesting anomaly is the increase in sales tax collections from 6/08 to 6/09; that component jumped 12.1% as personal income tax and corporate income tax fell 23.5% and 38.2% respectively (page 16).

Another chart shows Michigan’s change in Per-Capita tax revenue from the most recent 4 quarter peak to the 4 quarter total ending 6/09 (page 20). Here Michigan went from a peak of per capita tax revenue of $2,618 to $2,434, a drop of only 7.0% This suggests a “slow bleed” as opposed to the dramatic fall that a state like New York is experiencing. However, when coupled with the decline in economic activity the fall off is likely to accelerate behind unemployment growth. Not factored in is the continued fall in property tax revenues, a major source of school funding in Michigan. Taken together, it may be bad now but the worst is yet to come. In the ironically named Highlights section, the report shows "total state tax collections declined by $63 billion or 8.2 percent from the previous year. That loss is also a record, and is roughly twice the amount states gained during the year in fiscal relief from the federal stimulus package."

So, now more that ever we need leadership from Lansing in the form of structural change and reform. That cannot happen in isolation. The Governor has the power to pull all parties together and produce a collective vision for reform. This is were the charge must come from, but this is where the leadership is lacking.

An Apology To the MEA

I'm sorry. That's to the MEA. Apparently some feel that I've attacked them which is not my intent. I consider the MEA to be an integral part of fashioning a solution to the mess we face in funding schools today. Schools stand to lose nearly 10 years of funding increases over the next 24 months, this fact is only debated as to how much larger the shortfall will become. There is no single solution to the problem, there is no single bad actor. Whether it's a combination of tax changes (e.g., why has the beer and wine tax stayed the same since the ice age), adjustments to total compensation (which can include benefits), or an overhaul of the whole system, we need all players at the table soon. So again MEA, I'm sorry. I'm just looking for help from you, the Legislature, the Governor, and the thousands of other players involved in this undertaking. I may be alone in this but I don't think we have any time to waste.

School Funding Cuts

Tax revenues for Michigan schools are not coming back; schools will see deeper midyear cuts on top of the $165/student cut already announced. Next year will be much worse as schools stand to lose over $500/student. It is time for the MEA to come to the table just as the UAW did and readjust their reality. Teachers are not the bad guys here but nearly 90% of operating budgets are dedicated to salaries and benefits. Existing contracts and agreements were crafted in a dramatically different economic climate. Very small changes to compensation and benefit agreements shared over thousands of public teacher and administrator contracts will have a dramatic impact on local operating budgets that can help alleviate the impact of Michigan's recession. Now is the time to push our state legislators to force the MEA to the table and solicit suggestions from them. For the 800 pound gorilla of the UAW to move it took a 1,000 pound gorilla of bankruptcy. Michigan's recession is the 1,000 pound gorilla and the MEA must wake up to its existence.

The union talks about "family," every family I know (including mine) has seen wage and benefit cuts, some as much as 20% to 30% as a response to the recession. If we are indeed family, how is the MEA helping? How is a 1% to 4% adjustment equivalent to "slashing" pay (quoting from AFT Union leader David Hecker) when the tax paying parents of students have endured much worse? Why is a proposed plan to save on health care costs equivalent to a declaration of war? The traditional MEA response of throwing the youngest teachers off the bus will not work; it will only make things worse.

I love my teachers, and I want to keep them employed at schools with reasonable class sizes -- to achieve this we need the MEA's help. Every parent of every child should contact their elected representative and demand hearings involving the MEA, get them to the table before it's too late. Urge the MEA to allow local units to open existing contracts for structural adjustments. Find the legislative will power to adjust revenue streams. A real family responses to a crisis with hope crafted from shared sacrifice, not with a cry of WAR!