Martin Church

Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 12:25 p.m.

I opposed the millage. I also donate my time to help kids to get an education. It does not take lots of money to educate a child. It takes devotion of parents to see their children gets the education. back in the 70's we spent a lot less (less then 1k per student as I remember) and we had 50 to 80 kids per teacher. We had 1/2 day classes. 35-40 kids per class room. Our Standardized testing is the same as they are today, and now it is that generation that is looking for better education. Parents made it work back then and it will make it work now. Look at the prof from Headstart program in the 60's when the teachers taught the parents to teach at home, the kids excelled. Lets give the parents the money and support the family to educate their children.

treetowncartel

Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 9:13 a.m.

I do agree that the U of m employees are insulated from most of the rest of the region is experiencing. Here is the staff/faculty benefits homepage for the U of M. Take a look and see if you wold like to work. http://www.umich.edu/~jobs/benefits.html for those of you who do not want to click on the link here is the cut and paste of the retirement benefits. note the matching 2 to 1 with your tax dollars. Retirement Plan The University offers Fidelity and TIAA-CREF retirement savings options. Employees can choose to use either or both for their 403(b) Basic Retirement Plan investments. Features of the U-M retirement savings plan include: Self-managed You can meet with Fidelity Investments or TIAA-CREF financial advisors to manage your 403(b) as you see fit or manage your account(s) online. 2-for-1 Matching With a 5 percent employee contribution, the University automatically contributes double that amount (10 percent of your salary). For example, an employee with a salary of $40,000 would designate $2,000 (5 percent) to the 403(b); the University would contribute $4,000 (10 percent) annually. Immediate Vesting The entirety of the Universitys 10 percent contribution is added to the 403 (b) immediately and is the property of the employee. Supplemental Retirement Account If you would like to invest more than 5 percent of your salary, you have the option of setting up a supplemental account for additional contributions (employer match doesnt apply to supplemental accounts). I think all those opposed to the millage should now spend their efforts reducing our tax burden and letting Lansing know the U of M is sucking us dry. A few questions about the education foundation before even considering pushing money that way. Is it a 501(c)3 for tax purposes? Does it have any employees, and if so, how many and what are their salaries? Do board members get any remuneration of any kind?

Jimmy Olsen

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 10:29 p.m.

Michael, how many tens of thousands of dollars did the vote Yes people spend? Most of us decided this issue based on our personal finances and our research on the facts. A majority of county residents apparently came to the same conclusion. It is time for change and that means a balanced budget based on revenue. If employees of the districts decide they can't "live" with their salaries and benfits, then they are free to test the market place. Many people would welcome the chance to work for schools in Washtenaw county.

David Martel

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 9:58 p.m.

Thank you Kathy - Kathy mentions "The Ann Arbor Education Foundation" at aapsef.org. Just to avoid any confusion, this organization is "The Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation." The website can be found at either aapsef.org or http://www.supportannarborschools.org. The organization is currently asking that Ann Arbor District residents consider donating the amount which they would have paid in taxes to The Foundation (had the recent millage passed). Through private giving, The Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation enriches public school education through large program support and grants to teachers. You can find out more about this specific campaign at http://www.supportannarborschools.org/urgentneed

TruBlue

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 3:52 p.m.

Michael I spent no money opposing this. I research it (like I do every year) and decide how I would vote. You letter shows you are quite ignorant of why people opposedthe millage. If you think schools need more money, you and your 20000 closest friends can donate $200.

Basic Bob

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 3:41 p.m.

Michael, don't characterize opponents as being a few wealthy fat cats buying up votes to avoid seeing their taxes rise. The opponents did not place this ill-advised proposal on the ballot. They simply disagree with you, as is their constitutional right. If you really cared about this issue, you would show *your* commitment to education, and challenge others to match your donation as they are able. You will probably find that many of the millage opponents already support education far more than you can dream of. How much does your employer support local schools?

stunhsif

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 3:38 p.m.

Mike, I did not spend a dollar of my money trying to defeat the proposal, I displayed two yard signs and offered my reasons for defeating it if I was asked. I cannot believe you are asking "tapped out taxpayers" to give money out of their pockets to the teachers "to enhance their classrooms". Have you even listened to why it was defeated in the first place. As DonBee has mentioned below in his email, we unlike you, working a state fun ded job at the Univ of Michigan don't have the same "gold plated" benefits,health care and pensions that you all enjoy. As DonBee said, we are tapped out, we don't eat out often and when we do we go to the diner, we go to the dollar movies, we drive cars with over 100,000 miles on them and we shop at Wal-Mart. I simply could not afford to pay an additional 400 dollars a year in taxes. Tell you what Mike, put everything on the table, open the books for everything and then let the taxpayer make a real "educated decision". Until then, I will not support higher taxes for public education of any kind. Perhaps you can tell me why the Univ of Michigan has raised tuition the past ten years at 4 times the rate of inflation? Gee, perhaps it is to pay for the "gold plated salaries--health care and retirement benefits you all enjoy thanks to us taxpayers?

Kathy Griswold

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 10:37 a.m.

I hope that everyone, regardless of how they voted, consider a donation to the Ann Arbor Education Foundation (www.aapsef.org) or their local school's PTO, booster club or other school-based group. If money is tight, consider volunteering at a local school or organization that provides after-school support such as the Community Action Network (www.hvcn.org/info/can/).

DonBee

Sun, Nov 8, 2009 : 8:32 a.m.

Michael - Thank you for your letter. As a staff member at the University of Michigan, you have been insulated from what most of us are facing. The increases in health care costs, the pay cuts and the so forth.. I respect what you do and how you do it. Your publications are beyond my understanding level for micro-biology.. I for one did not vote against the millage to be mean, but rather, because of the struggles in the county. My wife used to work in a very good job, many of her friends in the auto industry did too. I have seen a 40% pay cut. My home value is down. No one here drinks Starbucks or even McDonalds. Our children carry their lunch to school. We are not broke, but we are being very careful. We expect that next year will be tougher.. I have put forward more than a dozen proposals for reducing the cost of the schools in the county, all of them can be acted on locally. I am willing to put my time in to help find the real cost savings.. OBTW we are active in supporting the schools with our own time and money.