An Open Letter to Michigan Teachers

Dear Teachers:

Thank you for wanting to teach kids everyday despite all the challenges you face. Thank you for really caring about the kids and trying to make sure each one of them loves to learn. Thank you for working in a system that is broken, despite your best efforts. It isn't your fault.

I know there is low morale among teachers. But apparently it has little to do with raises. Actually, it does deal with raises but not in the way the some would like us to believe. For three years I have been sitting behind the board table and listening to what your union leadership has to say. I have also been talking to individual teachers from across the state that listening closely. What individual teachers have to say is much different then what the union is claiming to be true.

Most teachers understand how bad the economy is and are grateful to have a job. They wouldn't dream of demanding raises in this economy. But the union is beating its chest and demanding raises for everyone, even as the private sector takes more pay cuts and more people become unemployed. What you have told me is that raises are not going to make you love your job more- but there are some things that can be done.

School Boards are generally pretty wimpy when it comes to the union, which you know. So they give in to raises and then have to lay off teachers, which makes your job harder, not easier, because of increased class size. For most of you, it isn't worth the additional $200 a month you might get with a raise.

In fact, money has never been a complaint when I talk to teachers. You do have concerns, like class size and parents who won't raise their own kids and don't believe you when you report that little Johnny isn't behaving. But these are not even at the top of the list.

The top of the list of things that are contributing to low morale and frustration are the MEAP and No Child Left Behind. Both of these tie your hands when it comes to teaching and prevent you from being creative in the classroom. They place stress on you and the students and drive much of what you do in the classroom.

And they are not working. While there may incremental improvements, the measuring stick is far from perfect. I had no idea the MEAP was rewritten every year. What a stupid waste of money. And how can you compare year to year if the test is rewritten and cut scores change all the time?

NCLB is a typical Washington bureaucratic mess that was meant to bring accountability to our schools but has instead caused a paperwork nightmare and not had the positive impact it was intended to have.

So it isn't money. The union has to know this. If they know this, then why are they always asking for raises and demanding to keep MESSA (which they are making a fortune off of and have $500 million in savings)? That plan is good for them. If they were looking out for teachers, it seems they would be having very different discussions.

In fact, after some research it seems there are some other options to improving your work environment; but I need your help to complete the plan. You know how money is being spent and probably have some creative, fantastic ideas that could be implemented so save money. To do this, we are going to need to find a lot of savings. Okay, here it goes:

1. Opt out, as a state, of No Child Left Behind. Utah did it and so could we.

2. Get rid of the MEAP and go to the Iowa or SAT. That would save money and provide a much more consistent view of how kids are doing.

3. Truly return curriculum selection to the local district. If one district wants to have a social progressive slant in their curriculum, let the local community decide. If a district wants to focus on a more traditional or even classical approach, that is fine too. That would allow districts to build identities and give parents more choice about their child's education.

Opting out of NCLB would cost the state $1.3 billion. That is a lot of money, I know. But there are some ways to recover the costs right away.

1. Change all teachers to the state employee health benefits. The benefits are really good and much cheaper then MESSA. That could take care of $500 million if estimates are correct.

2. Consolidate all non-teaching functions at a county level. You can keep local school boards, but centralize payroll, accounting, HR and busing. That would save money.

3. Move the state to more of an open-source curriculum. Texas is doing it and it would save a fortune on text books. There is plenty of free resources out there.

4. Move all new teachers into a Defined Contribution plan- and let current teachers opt in. The reality is that there is no real guarantee that you will get all of your promised health benefits and pension-at least if GM and Ford are any measuring stick. You should have the choice to take your future into your own hands, especially if you are a young teacher.

If class size, NCLB and the MEAP are leading to low moral, let's fix it. Your union isn't helping. It is going to be up to you. Please send me your ideas about other ways to cut costs and back fill that $1.3 billion.

About the parents, not all the parents who are "trouble makers" mean to be. They are passionate about their kids and feel like they have no say over the education of their kids. They are told, when they bring forward a concern, that they are the only ones complaining and that they don't' know what they are talking about.

Please listen to these parents. The ones I know are willing to be your best defender if they feel like they are being listened to and taken seriously. Not sure what to say about the parents who really do want you to parent their child. That is a problem for another day.

Please send me your feedback and ideas wjdayhome@sbcglobal.net. I will keep your information confidential and look forward to hearing from you!

Wendy

No New Taxes!

For the past week or so I have been getting regular e-mails from the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan Association of School Boards asking us to come to Lansing tomorrow and pressure legislators to raise your taxes.

I will be there.

But I won't be working with them; I will be there representing you! You can join me in Lansing or join us for the Telephone Tea Party! You can call your legislator tomorrow between 9:30 am - 1:30 pm and let them know you don't want your taxes raised.

You already pay enough taxes. Many of you have taken pay cuts just to keep your job or have lost your job. Meanwhile, Howell teachers, at least 2/3 of them, got 6% raises this year. Times are tight and there is no magic money tree in Lansing.

It is time the MEA, MASA, MASB and others join those of us who are living in the reality of this terrible economy. You are bound to hear teachers start to talk about how much they need a raise. Here are some facts about education in Michigan:

Myth: Michigan teachers are not paid a fair wage.

Fact: Michigan pays teachers $5,713 more than the national average – the nation’s seventh highest – even though Michigan has fallen to 27^th place in per capita personal income. (U.S. Census Bureau figures)

Myth: Michigan public sector employees have benefits that are in line with private sector benefits, including health care.

Fact: Michigan’s state and local governments to provide employee benefits whose annual cost exceeds private sector averages by $5.7 billion. (Mackinac Center) The average Michigan state employee receives a salary and benefits package worth nearly $75,000. The comparable figure for private sector workers is approximately $58,000. (2006 figures from the Mackinac Center)

Myth: Teachers are overworked and underpaid.

Fact: Teachers work 2/3 of the year. They are required to be in school about 7 hours a day, including a prep time and lunch. They are paid more than many other professions who work all year long, including accountants, nurses and chemists. They also make more per hour than police officers, computer programmers, and office managers. (salary.com)

Myth: If the schools don't receive more money, children will suffer.

Fact: They only way children will suffer is if teachers stop doing their job in protest during contract negotiations. The MEA is demanding raises for their members, even as many of you are taking pay cuts just to keep your job. If teachers illegally strike, or take out their frustration on students, then students will suffer. Districts are going to have to make some tough choices and look at things like privatization, consolidation of services and cutting services outside the scope of the mission of public education.

Governor Granholm is no treat!

We are in an epic battle between the political establishment (including the unions) and hardworking families who are sick of the way government spends money and are not willing to give them any more. But that is exactly what Granholm is asking us to do.

In a brilliant move by the Governor, many of the richest districts in the state are on the ropes. She cut their 20J funding, a long-standing incentive put in place to entice them to sign on to Prop A, and they are not happy about it. She is targeting these districts in hopes of putting pressure on Legislators like Senator Mike Bishop, who now has to choose between doing what may be best for districts in his hometown, or what is best for the state.

Here is what the Wall Street Journal is saying about Gov. Granholm:

In 2007 Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the biggest tax increase in Michigan history, with most of the $1.4 billion coming from business. The personal income tax—which hits nonincorporated small businesses—was raised to 4.2% from 3.95%, and the Michigan business tax levied a surcharge of 22%. The tax money was dedicated to the likes of education, public works, job retraining and corporate subsidies. Ms. Granholm and her union allies called these "investments," and the exercise was widely applauded as a prototype of "progressive" budgeting.

Districts knew six months ago there were going to be drastic cuts. They knew this even as they gave the teachers raises and refused to privatize. There is no excuse for raising taxes on citizens so we can reward bad behavior.

The Governor is holding kids hostage. The Michigan Education Association is in bed with Michigan Association of School Boards and the Michigan Association of School Administrators. Insiders report that they are sure we are going to meet their ransom demands and approve tax increases. So, while you struggle to put food on the table, they are betting you will pay the ransom and keep the broken system going.

The problem is we already know that next year schools will face a cut of at least another $500 per student. Real reform won't happen until schools run out of other options. Call their bluff. Don't pay the ransom and let's just take down those trying to steal even more money from the taxpayers. We can't afford Granholm, we can't afford the MEA. Contact your Legislators and let them know you won't support any new taxes or revenue enhancements. Enough is Enough!