Voters have shown they want transformational change in Washtenaw County schools
Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted by Albert Berriz, the treasurer of Citizens for a Responsible Washtenaw, which opposed the countywide school enhancement millage on last Tuesday’s ballot.
First of all, thank you!
(Tuesday) night was the first step in ensuring the future of our public schools in Washtenaw County. You have done great work, and made a meaningful difference in our schools, our community and with our kids. But we need to stay passionate, committed and focused!
I want you to know that you have my word that I will stay as focused and passionate as you have seen me on this most important issue. Nothing will change!
Please join me in the solution, holding hands across the county and together let's:
• Keep the "focus" on the 5 points for Transformational Change in all 10 school districts.
• Require that our school board members and school executives deliver transparency! That's something they can do "right away" to show the voters they understand what happened last night. Make it simple, offer it up and let's get started. No excuses.
• Hold our elected officials accountable and continue to shine light. Don't let them off the hook now, let's do more collectively than we have ever before as a community!
• Not let them cut alternative programs and teachers, and have them deliver more efficient food services, transportation services and custodial and maintenance services; less costly health insurance programs, and without question reduced central office overhead in all 10 districts via creative efficiencies and consolidation. This is something we can do today. Let's start now!
• Have the business community offer its business acumen to the equation and have the business community support the solution in important and meaningful ways!
We need to hold our school board members and executives in all 10 districts accountable, and they must now act with the "mandate" given to them by the voters of Washtenaw County.
Let's come together and let's not lose momentum! I very much appreciate the broad coalition of folks that came together to do the right thing. But now more than ever, we need to stay together. It’s our responsibility, we must do this! We must!
The work begins ...
Albert Berriz Ann Arbor
Comments
L'chaim
Tue, Nov 17, 2009 : 10:03 p.m.
Berriz wants to privatize support services and bust our unions (Teamsters, AFSCME and MEA). There was a grain of truth in his front groups' jargon about fiscal irresponsibility in the past (with gratitude to Goeorge Fornero). But CRW's goal is not to enhance revenues in any way, it's to cut jobs and benefits for working class and working poor people. It's to raise profits for private companies who, he would no doubt argue, can "be more efficient." Just like bankers on Wall Street, these modern-day robber barons are going for the public jugular. Quality education includes decent jobs that raise the standard of living for workers. We mustn't let privatization happen here, in Washtenaw. Berriz got lucky: would voters have defeated this, despite Fornero's legacies, if economic times weren't so bleak? Possibly not. Don't give tax money to private companies so they can reduce quality of jobs, living standards and local control of educational services. We can do something for education as a community, and that's destroy Berriz's goal of selling off our schools to the lowest bidder!
Tom Bower
Tue, Nov 10, 2009 : 12:51 a.m.
Albert Berriz, Sorry Albert, you and many others just do get it. You keep talking about educating our kids, but you continue to leave out the more than 3,500 students currently attending the fastest growing segment of public schools in Washtenaw County --- public school academies. It's time for "general powers school districts" and WISD to start treating these students as first-class citizens. WISD and those, like you, advocating transformational changes should engage the Michigan Legislature and the Michigan Department of Education to reform discriminatory laws like the one that currently precludes public school academies from receiving regional enhancement millage funds. Further, the "general powers school districts" should take a look at how the public school academies operate and perhaps learn how they do more while spending less per pupil. How does a school like Washtenaw Technical Middle College, for example, manage to graduate students with high school diplomas and associate degrees from Washtenaw Community College using only the state's per pupil foundation grant? A student may complete up to 90 credit hours of community college at zero cost for tuition, fees and books. This successful program has been in existence since 1997. Granted, it is a no frills approach, but it is a program worth considering by those interested in truly transforming education.
stunhsif
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 10:56 p.m.
Albert, You are spot on, could not agree with you more!! It is time to "rock and roll". I was friends with a public school teacher for many many years, he is now a principal at a high school in Washtenaw County. When he resigned from his teaching job at a Washtenaw County High school and became principal a different Washtenaw County High School he was able to cash in over 300 accumulated sick days and all he did was complain that they only gave him 50% of the cash value!! When I told him I don't get a single sick day a year ( been at the same employer for 11 years) as they dumped sick days 3 years ago he didn't say much. Even when I had sick days, they didn't carry over from year to year. So my ex buddy was able to cash in over 20 grand in sick days. How insane is that in this day and age. This took place just over 2 years ago. Does this still go on now? I most certaninly hope not!!