School enhancement tax: Yes vote needed to ensure a quality education
I want the best education possible for my kids, for your kids, for everyone’s kids.
To me, that education includes being taught by a combination of highly-educated veteran and newer teachers, all of whom are well-trained in the latest educational methods.
It includes attending school in a setting that hosts a diverse population, whether the diversity is based on racial, socioeconomic, or special needs factors.
It includes providing enrichment opportunities which inspire students and engage the community, such as music, art, drama, and sports.It includes offering extracurricular activities which prepare students to become better citizens, whether in student government, journalism, or service groups.
It includes providing academic challenges appropriate to each student’s ability, such as advanced placement classes in high school or multi-age classrooms in elementary school.
Are these elements essential to the public schools? That point will always be debated. The fact is, these elements have become practically synonymous with the public school experience.
Yet, bit by bit, many of these components are being watered-down, eliminated, or priced out of the reach of many students.
What will remain? One-size-fits-all, bare-bones education, which is likely to contribute to even more children being “left behind.”
Is public school supposed to be like this?
I want our children learning in a positive environment, experiencing the joy of learning about the world around them, challenging themselves and being challenged.
The State of Michigan has locked schools into increased academic requirements without providing adequate funding for the implementation of them. Public school budgets are at the mercy of the state’s economy, the priorities of its legislators, and laws which dictate such things as retirement costs.
Public schools have few options available to them for increasing revenue. But voters in the Washtenaw County area have the opportunity to help. By passing Proposal I, the Regional Enhancement Millage, the 2 mills collected over each of the next 5 years would be divided equally among the number of students in the area.
Each of the 10 public school districts would use that money to help fill the budgetary gaps in its general fund.
While this money will not solve the tremendous budgetary challenges that all Michigan public schools are facing, it will help. It will help preserve the programs that make each district special. It will help ward off receivership, and allow districts to retain local control. It will help show businesses that education is important to us here — and that is something that both keeps businesses around and attracts new ones.
Most of all, it will help provide the best education possible for all our kids.
Please vote YES to Proposal I on Nov. 3.
Amy Doyle is a resident of Ypsilanti and has two children in the Ypsilanti Public Schools. She is a former Ypsilanti Board of Education trustee, and is a longtime advocate of public education.
Comments
YpsiLivin
Tue, Oct 27, 2009 : 8:51 a.m.
"The State of Michigan has locked schools into increased academic requirements without providing adequate funding for the implementation of them." Amy, The state provides enough funding to cover its academic requirements. School districts get into trouble when they try to stretch this funding to cover all of the elective and extracurricular programs. School districts need to fund basic education first and worry about special programs if and when they have the money to pay for them. Even a child understands that dessert comes AFTER dinner.
TXteacher
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 9:04 a.m.
Stay strong, A2 teachers!! I am a retired Texas teacher, and you would not believe the abuses propogated by systems with no union,, ie "working lunches", extra duties on non-contract time, horrible health benefits, and pay near the poverty line, being fired for no cause, and administrative harrassment. Don't give up what many of us worked so hard to get! All of the angry rhetoric in Michigan education circles is doing nothing to improve the education of children!
DonBee
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 7:35 a.m.
Kanelks - Did you listen to NPR this morning? The story from Michigan Radio where they interviewed the governor? She indicated that she did this to put pressure on 4 or 5 State Senators to raise taxes. That she did not expect the cuts to stand. (That it was done to maximize public anger, so that taxes would go up. This was all in the interview and the commentary. ALso remember that we have been given our bills for school taxes this year, and that this money will have NO impact on the 2009-2010 school year. The first time the schools will see it is next year. So the money will not solve the short term problems, the cuts will come anyway. I am very angry with the Politics being played with our children. I am even more angry at the teachers feeding my kids lines to bring home. Each child brought home the story that their favorite class was going away. This is just as bad as what the was done in Lansing, maybe more so because they are using fear in the children to force parents to do something. The timing of this just about means that people will vote to raise property taxes and then the state will raise other taxes, and since the county has already used loopholes in the law to raise yet other taxes, we will all be poorer next year.
cook1888
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 7:19 a.m.
I think one of the best things all parents can teach their children is to live within their means. Overspending is destroying this country. The continual rush to tax the people and businesses in Michigan is only going to contribute to the downward economic spiral and even less tax revenue. For a business to value education they have to be in business. There is a bottom line. Can this writer not see the business flight that is already going on in this community and state? These are extremely hard times for everyone. The public schools could be leaders in retrenching, efficiency and less spending instead of instantly heading to the taxpayers. Whatever cuts they have made are not enough.
DagnyJ
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 7:16 a.m.
OMG, the crash and collapse is coming, the end of education as we know it. This is going to be as bad as bird flu and Y2K, both crises that required massive intervention, media hype, and cries of anguish from various corners.
ypsituckey1
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 : 3:18 a.m.
Ms. Doyle--thank you for your comment. Since you resigned from the Ypsilanti School board because you were meeting in secret with the teacher's union about a principal and violated the open-meeting act, means that you are teacher's first and not about our kids. You have lost your crediblity with parents and voters in this town.
ypsidog
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 9 p.m.
Frankly, anyone outside of th Ypsilanti Scool Distrit doesn't have a valid commemt in this discussion. You people have your own problems to deal with inculding racial concerns and discrimination issues, so please kindly leave the Ypsilanti issues to the folks that live here, where people actually communicate with each other, and talk about the issues within the city. Ypsilantians don't want to be like you Ann Arborites are, we aren't that petty by nature or by desire, our little onclave is safe and secure, don't mess with it!!!!
Alan Benard
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 8:21 p.m.
AnnArBo: The crash is coming in 2010 when the $500 per pupil or so in federal stimulus funding disappears. The $30 million county-wide will do some toward filling the gap, but not enough. That is when the Ypsilanti schools will be taken over by the state. Ann Arbor will be only a few years behind. I do not have faith Lansing will restore cuts -- the funding system is too broken. What will make the difference between bad and catastrophe will be maximizing local funding as much as our broken system can.
Alan Benard
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 8:02 p.m.
@ Karen Siegel: Thank you. You speak truth to combat the flat-out regressive ignorance in evidence in these comments.
ypsidog
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 7:30 p.m.
To: Ann Ar Bo: Thanks for showing that you are just another of the A2 illeterate. The discussion is about YPSILANTI schools, not A2. You are not the only ones in this universe!! The article concerns Ypsilanti Schools, not your mess in A2, which, given your resources, is frankly, disgusting.Pay attention when posting, you are showing your ignorance at a level that is comical.
AnnArBo
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 5:50 p.m.
This comes up every few years........big panic, the system will collapse, our communities will falter, it only costs pennies a day to correct (from both our local and state level "reps" and govenor). Voters are constantly being asked for a little more, and a little more......it all adds up to a lot. Next year is going to be far worse because we always react instead of plan. From what I have read, the cut amounts to around 6% of Ann Arbors total budget.....believe me I have cut my personal budget far more than that in this economy. I find it very hard to believe A2 cannot find 6% to cut from their current budget without the whole thing falling down. Our state and schools need to be looked at like any bussiness or family budget. When times are bad you need to prioritize to maximise your dollars, not maintain a unsustainable level of spending and act as if there is no room for adjustments
DonBee
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 5:32 p.m.
Steve - Sorry - your filing shows (and there is an thread here on it) that your funding at least up to the filing date was almost all union driven. If you have updated numbers - please file specifics. Over the last 5 years - in no year did the budget go down - in fact 2008-2009 to 2009-2010 the projected spending is up from $188 million to $191 million - so while the increase may have been trimmed the actual real spending is not down (check the WISD or the AAPS web site for specifics). Karen - There is special funding from Federal and State sources for the disabled - check the AAPS budget for the amount and the amount the district spends - the coverage of the costs according to AAPS's own budget is north of 90% from the special funds that are paid to the district based on the count of students in each category - the more special needs, the more IEP's the more extra money the district gets. There was a lawsuit that forced the state to pay it, so there is no wiggle room for the state on this one. Even though the value of my house has fallen over the last 3 years - my taxes are up, I double checked. It used to be that the AAPS funded the library, now we pay an extra millage. This changed as the school wanted more money for education. I voted for that millage and for many others. The reality is there are lots of people who can not afford to pay more taxes for ANY reason. I do not want to cut teachers in the Classroom or the quality of the education - but please tell me - in another thread it shows that just over $5,000 per student is spent in the classroom and the balance goes to overhead. Given the total amount that AAPS gets is 10,900 (again check the other treads for links) - that means that less than 1/2 of the money AAPS gets goes into the classroom. If the schools were putting 80% of their money in the classrooms - I would vote in a minute for this millage - but they are not. More than 1/3 of the "teaching staff" is not in classrooms - why are they called "Teaching Staff" Why don't we ask for bids on insurance for all the employees as one unit, not giving the unions the ability to each dictate which provider they want? I don't want to cut benefits, but I know from meetings I have attended that the cost of the SAME benefits would drop if others were allowed to offer them. Even the UofM indicated they could offer the same benefits for less. No one is asking for a cut to the schools, and the state government will restore most of these cuts - probably in a couple of weeks - too many people are too angry about the state cuts. The use of the state cuts are a red herring to get more money. Talk to your local UAW member about his or her cuts in pay and increase in cost in benefits. Many residents in the county have taken deep cuts in household income. You want more money from many people - fine teach them to get blood from a turnip. Fix the admin costs - then come to the people for more money.
ypsidog
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 5:04 p.m.
Don't the people of Ypsilanti understand that until we have a great school system, the kind of families that we want to move to Ypsilanti will not do so? Yes, our taxes are high, however we cannot, as a community, have our schools in their current condition. After home prices, the quality of the school system is the # 1 factor families look at when choosing to re-loacte. Amy Doyle has done research and work beyond belief to let the citizens of Ypsilant have the facts to make an informed choice, and I for one thank Amy for her diligence. I will also mention that I will be voting YES a week from Tuesday, and I will also state that my child is grown, and I don't have any kids in the system, however I am well informed enough to realize that all you fellow "empty nesters" better take a close look at how things are and vote YES as well. It is an investment, not just another tax increase. ypsidog
Steve Norton, MIPFS
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 4:11 p.m.
To "DonBee" and others: While the AAEA and the AAAA were the largest contributors, so far, to our campaign, their contributions in total amount to less than a third of our funds raised through last Sunday (the close of books for the reporting period), and will likely amount to even less in the long run. Most of our funds come from individual donations, many of which are under $50. Please refer to our campaign finance filing for more details. And while you do that, please take a look at where the funds for the opposition campaign, which amount to more than three times what we have raised, have come from. The $16 million in cuts is absolutely real, unless you believe that a dollar buys as much today as it did five years ago. What is at work here is inflation. When the cost of doing exactly the same thing next year is more than it was this year, then you have to make cuts to what you do in order to fit the budget you have. While the current dollar value of school spending has increased, it has not increased as much as the costs of running the programs. When you can't fund the same programs you did the year before, those cuts are very real. And as to the work of the Educational Foundation, please consult their board members, well respected local business people and volunteers, before you cast aspersions. Steven Norton Campaign manager AA Citizens
DonBee
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 3:43 p.m.
Steve - Nice try - the Foundation has a 1/2 time AAPS administrator paid for by the School District. If this is independent, I would like to know of what. The $16 million is a fantasy too, since it is a cut in projected budget, not year over year reduction - if it was the budget for the district would be lower not higher. Your group is primarily funded by Teacher's Union and Administrator Union funds. As Starkist would say: "Sorry Charlie"
Steve Norton, MIPFS
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 2 p.m.
Well said, Amy! To "dscts" - all residents of the ten school districts that are part of the WISD would be covered by this millage if it passes, whether they live in Washtenaw county or not. All registered voters who live in those districts get to vote on the proposal, again whether they live in Washtenaw county or not. This millage is by and for all residents of the ten school districts. To "RT Math Talks" and others: parents are already absorbing a lot of the burden, if they can. In Ann Arbor, parents and PTOs pay for many of the programs and all field trips, if they can. The district used to be able to fund these things, but has not been able to for some years. It's a sad fact that many school communities cannot pick up the cost of these things, so not all children get to benefit from them. Part of the point of public education is to make sure that all children get the best education possible, regardless of their family's ability to pay. By the way, the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation, an independent charity, has been working to equalize opportunities for kids across AAPS - read about their important work here: http://www.aapsef.org As to those who claim the schools have made no changes, look again. AAPS has made $16 million in hard cuts over the last four years, and now faces $8.7 million in cuts for the current school year. There have been lots of changes, including the middle school restructuring, privatizing food service, capping health payments to teachers, cutting administrative positions, and so on. Check out our web site to find out more: http://a2cmc.org Before you decide how to vote, please look at what our schools have already done to contain costs, and see what is at stake! Steven Norton Campaign manager Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee
R T Math Talks
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 12:47 p.m.
I'll be voting no. It does not take a millage to teach my children it takes parents. We put too much burden on the school system for teaching children. We can get sports, drama, advance placement classes through other areas. The school does not need to provide everything. I home school and my kids are wonderful, smart well behaved young men. WHY tax us when the economy is hitting all of us! Cut areas and clean up management first!
dscts
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 11:36 a.m.
There are several school districts that are NOT entirely within Washtenaw County. Am I understanding that those disticts will receive the same funding per pupil. Do the people that live outside the county with their school district partially within the county reap the benefits without having to pay the tax?
bud
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 9:54 a.m.
I will be voting yes as will nearly everyone I know (incl. parents and non parents.) The Lansing cuts are deep to AAPS, almost $9M. We should not only support this millage but contact Governor Granholm, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, and House Majority Leader Andy Dillon to express our displeasure at their ineffective handling of school funding.
DonBee
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 9:18 a.m.
Lets clean up busing, contracting and procurement, health care providers, old software licensing, and other administrative issues like every private sector company, and then come back to the public for more money. I dislike the waste I see, I am willing to give you more money that goes into the classrooms - after the waste is cleaned up.
bruno_uno
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 8:39 a.m.
why not have teachers take pay cuts and pay for benefits as an option for the kids? does the union not consider this a viable option for a state with no money? if they are so concerned for our children, can the union make consessions like other industries?
A2Realilty
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 8:38 a.m.
I love the idea that we could improve management in the schools, go through an overhaul of 100% of the teaching staff associated with the union (would be a necessity to eliminate the union), and simultaneously SIGNIFICANLY INCREASE the quality of the education we are providing to our children....all accomplished through the voting down of the proposal to provide additional funding to the schools. What a fantastic notion!?! I'd love to see the details in Plubius "plan." I would imagine that with minor extension, this "plan" could also eliminate world hunger and solve all of the problems in the middle east. Please remember that a list of grievances does not constitute a "plan."
Plubius
Sun, Oct 25, 2009 : 8:26 a.m.
Amy - you are so wrong! Money does not equal education. The waste in our schools is rampant - with proper management, elimination of the union, and other changes, costs could be dramatically cut while quality is significantly increased. This editorial completely wrong - no more money until a real plan is provided.