How to Make School Funding Fair

"Larger questions surround what states should do to address funding inequities between school districts. Most states have adopted funding formulas aimed at ameliorating differences in the ability of districts to raise funding from local property taxes. Property-wealthy towns are able to raise more dollars at lower tax rates than property-poor districts, leading to inequities in per-pupil funding. Yet, as the commission report points out, prior attempts to address these inequities, such as through state funding formulas, merely patch a broken system and fail to redress inequities or to produce the kind of academic achievement our children need and deserve.

"The time has come to strongly consider the need for larger systematic reform of funding systems. In a chapter in the recently released book Education Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform, I propose a "new" approach to school funding: States should adopt a state-based system of school financing—one in which states provide all nonfederal resources for education, and districts no longer have the power to raise funds from local property taxes.

"Under such a system, all districts would receive the resources they need to educate all of their children. Funding levels would be based on the specific needs of the students and of the districts, not just the resources districts are fiscally able to raise based on local property values. Local schools and districts would be able to provide additional funding of up to 10 percent of their state allocation for local priorities and programs."

Read the rest of this article at Education Week: How to Make School Funding Fair

Photo taken from How are We Funding Educational Inequality?

Michigan Legalizes Discrimination in School Aid Act

Michigan's House and Senate passed the 2013-14 school aid budget containing new language that is not only discriminatory but could force school districts to take on the role of the INS in weeding out students who are not legally residents of the United States.

The act includes a new Section 41 which provides a modest carrot for schools ($1.2 million) to provide literacy instruction to students with evaluated as having limited English proficiency. But the stick mandates that these funds NOT be used for any students, regardless of age or circumstances that brought them here, that are not living legally in this country.

Here's the actual language soon to be signed with the rest of the bill by Governor Rick Snyder, who likes to posture himself as someone interested in reforming schools for higher academic achievement --- that is unless you are as young as a 5 year old who doesn't even know you aren't living here legally.

SEC. 41. (1) FROM THE APPROPRIATION IN SECTION 11, THERE IS
ALLOCATED AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,200,000.00 FOR 2013-2014 TO
APPLICANT DISTRICTS AND INTERMEDIATE DISTRICTS OFFERING PROGRAMS OF  INSTRUCTION FOR PUPILS OF LIMITED ENGLISH-SPEAKING ABILITY UNDER SECTION 1153 OF THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, MCL 380.1153. SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (2), REIMBURSEMENT SHALL BE ON A PER-PUPIL BASIS AND SHALL BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PUPILS OF LIMITED ENGLISH-SPEAKING ABILITY IN MEMBERSHIP ON THE PUPIL MEMBERSHIP COUNT DAY. FUNDS ALLOCATED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE USED SOLELY FOR INSTRUCTION IN SPEAKING, READING, WRITING, OR COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH. A PUPIL SHALL NOT BE COUNTED UNDER THIS SECTION OR INSTRUCTED IN A PROGRAM UNDER THIS SECTION FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS. 

(2) A DISTRICT OR INTERMEDIATE DISTRICT SHALL NOT RECEIVE FUNDS UNDER THIS SECTION IF IT ALLOWS PUPILS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION WHO ARE NOT RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES LEGALLY. (emphasis added)

Besides it's discriminatory foundation, this is language no doubt perpetrated by the Tea Party members of the House, many of whom have no interest in helping poor urban schools (where most of the LEP students attend) but see this as just another opportunity to further their personal agendas.

Besides an embarrassment to the entire State of Michigan (is this Pure Michigan?), the provision could force schools to have to single out students whom up to this point have remained "off the radar" as far as K-12 education goes. Once the schools have this type of knowledge, to avoid being penalized and required to pay back funds used in error, it's only a matter of time before the feds come knocking at our door to track them down.

Fortunately, it's highly unlikely this restriction will pass court muster.

Thirty-one years ago the Supreme Court ruled that state and local education agencies are required to provide all children equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary levels. In recognition of this important ruling known as Plyler vs. Doe, the Region IX Equity Assistance Center at WestEd is continuing its efforts to raise awareness and encourage all parents to enroll their children in school.

The education of undocumented students is guaranteed by the Plyler vs. Doe decision and certain procedures must be followed when registering immigrant children in school to avoid violation of their civil rights. 

From All Students Who Live in the United States Have a Right to Public Education

Condition of Education 2013

The U.S. Department of Education has published a rather lengthy tome full of interesting facts and figures about academics, school finance, and demographic data effecting elementary, secondary and post-high school education.

The Condition of Education 2013 summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 42 indicators on the status and condition of education, in addition to Spotlights that look more closely at 4 issues of current interest. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which accurate data are available.

To save time, I've culled some of the most interesting facts and trends below regarding K-12 education. Most are direct quotes lifted from the document but a few have been edited for space or to provide additional information needed to make sense of the data. I leave the drawing of conclusions to the reader:

Across OECD countries, the percentage of 25- to 64-year-olds who had earned a college degree was higher in 2010 (22 percent) than in 2001 (15 percent). The percentage of the U.S. adult population with a bachelor's or higher degree was 32 percent in 2010, compared with 28 percent in 2001.  (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is an organization of 34 countries whose purpose is to promote trade and economic growth.)

In 2011, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned almost twice as much as those without a high school diploma or its equivalent (97 percent more), 50 percent more than young adult high school completers, and 21 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree.

Between 1990 and 2012, the educational attainment rate of 25- to 29-year-olds who received at least a high school diploma or its equivalent increased for Whites (from 90 to 95 percent), Blacks (from 82 to 89 percent), Hispanics (from 58 to 75 percent), and Asians/Pacific Islanders (from 92 to 96 percent).

In 2012, the unemployment rate for those with at least a bachelor's degree was lower than the rates for those with lower levels of educational attainment. During the most recent economic recession (December 2007 through June 2009), the unemployment rate increased less for those who had at least a bachelor's degree than for those who had less than a bachelor's degree.

In 2011, approximately 21 percent (1-in-5) of school-age children in the United States were in families living in poverty. For Black children the rate was 39 percent (1-in-2.5); for Hispanic children the rate was 34 percent (1-in-3).

In the fall of 2010, reading scores were higher, on average, for delayed-entry kindergartners (36 points) and repeating kindergartners (37 points) than for on-time kindergartners (35 points). In the spring of 2011, however, reading scores were higher for delayed-entry kindergartners and on-time kindergartners (51 and 50 points, respectively) than for repeating kindergartners (48 points).

From 1980 to 2011, the percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds enrolled in preprimary programs increased from 53 percent to 64 percent. The percentage of these children who attended full-day programs increased from 32 percent to 59 percent during this time period.

From school years 2010–11 through 2021–22, public elementary and secondary school enrollment is projected to increase by 7 percent from 49.5 to 53.1 million students, but decrease in Michigan by as high as 5 percent.

The percentage of public school students in the United States who were English language learners (ELL) was higher in 2010–11 (10 percent) than in 2002–03 (9 percent). In 2011, the achievement gaps between ELL and non-ELL students in the NAEP reading assessment were 36 points at the 4th-grade level and 44 points at the 8th-grade level.

From school years 1980–81 through 2004–05, the number of children and youth ages 3–21 who received special education services increased to 14 percent of student population, as did their percentage of total public school students. The number and percentage of children and youth served under IDEA have declined each year from 2005–06 through 2010–11 to 13 percent of student population.

In school year 2010–11, some 20 percent of public school students attended a high-poverty school, compared with 12 percent in 1999–2000. In 2010–11, some 24 percent of public school students attended a low-poverty school, compared with 45 percent in 1999–2000.

From 1992 to 2011, the rate of nonfatal crime against students declined from 181 to 49 crimes per 1,000 students at school, or from nearly 1 in 5 students in 1992 to about 1 in 20 students in 2011; away from school, the rate of nonfatal crime against students also declined from 173 to 38 crimes per 1,000 students.

From 1955 to 1985, public school pupil/teacher ratios fell from 26.9 to 17.9. Over the next 23 years, the public school pupil/teacher ratio declined by two additional students per teacher to 15.3 in 2008. There were slight increases in 2009 (15.4) and in 2010 (16.0). Private school pupil/teacher ratios decreased more steeply over this period, from 31.7 in 1955 to 12.2 in 2010. As a result, pupil/teacher ratios have been lower in private schools than in public schools since 1972.

From school years 2000–01 through 2009–10, total elementary and secondary public school revenues increased from $522 billion to $627 billion (in constant 2011–12 dollars), a 20 percent increase, adjusting for inflation. From school years 2008–09 through 2009–10, total revenues for public elementary and secondary schools decreased by about $1 billion, or less than 1 percent.

From 1999–2000 through 2009–10, current expenditures per student enrolled in the fall in public elementary and secondary schools increased by 20 percent, after adjusting for inflation. The relative increase in expenditures per student for instruction (19 percent) was greater than that for administration (15 percent) but smaller than that for student services (35 percent).

When adjusting for inflation, combined salaries and benefits have remained at 81 percent of expenditures since 1999. In 1999-2000, 65 percent of expenditures were for salaries and 16 percent for benefits. In 2009-10, 60 percent of expenditures were for salaries and 21 percent for benefits. The portions of expenditures for purchased services (9-10 percent) and supplies (8 percent) have remained steady.

In comparing international expenditures for education in 2009, countries with greater Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (in U.S. dollars) spend more money on K-12 education. There is a strict correlation to this relationship. In other words, a country's wealth (defined as GDP per capita) is positively associated with expenditures per full-time-equivalent student on education at the elementary and secondary level.

Despite significantly changing demographics (race, ethnicity, economics, and special needs) and higher academic requirements, in 2011, the average reading score for 4th-grade students measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (221) was not measurably different from the 2009 score (221), but it was higher than the scores on assessments between 1992 (217) and 2005 (219). For 8th-grade students, the average reading score in 2011 (265) was 1 point higher than in 2009 (264) and 5 points higher than in 1992 (260), but was not always measurably different from scores on assessments given in other years. In 2009, the average reading score for 12th-grade students (288) was 2 points higher than in 2005 (286) but 4 points lower than in 1992 (292).

Again, despite significantly changing demographics (race, ethnicity, economics, and special needs) and higher academic requirements, for grades 4 and 8, the average mathematics scores in 2011 on the NAEP were higher than the average scores for those grades in all previous assessment years dating back to 1990.  Twelfth-graders were most recently assessed in 2009; in that year, the average 12th-grade mathematics score was 3 points higher than in 2005, the first year that the revised assessment was administered.

In summary, the average reading and mathematics scores on the long-term trend National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were higher in 2008 than in the early 1970s for 9- and 13-year-olds; however, scores for 17-year-olds were not measurably different from the early 1970s.

The percentages of high school graduates who had taken mathematics courses in algebra I, geometry, algebra II/trigonometry, analysis/precalculus, statistics/ probability, and calculus increased from 1990 to 2009. The percentages of high school graduates who had taken science courses in chemistry and physics also increased between 1990 and 2009. This trend held for all racial/ethnic groups.

The gap in the status dropout rate between high-income and low-income families narrowed between 1970 and 2011, particularly during the past two decades, when the gap narrowed from 21 percentage points in 1990 to 11 percentage points in 2011.

Between 1975 and 2011, the immediate college enrollment rate increased from 51 percent to 68 percent. In 2011, the immediate enrollment rate for high school completers from low-income families (52 percent) was 30 percentage points lower than the rate for completers from high-income families (82 percent, based on a 3-year moving average).

Source citation:

Aud, S., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Kristapovich, P., Rathbun, A., Wang, X., and Zhang, J. (2013). The Condition of Education 2013 (NCES 2013-037). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC. Retrieved 5/28/13 from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

 

 

 

The First Decoration (Memorial) Day in Grand Rapids

"In the years following the Civil War, most residents of Grand Rapids wanted little to do with anything that reminded them of the horrors of the late war.  From time to time, veterans would gather to remember and renew old acquaintances, but no real military organization existed for several years following the war.  Grand Rapids was not alone in this respect.  For nearly a decade following General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, many states appeared to ignore the need for a militia.  Some states even went so far as abolishing their positions of state adjutant general and handing the duties over to other appointed officials.  The result was a slowly emerging militia that more resembled the disorganization and informality of the prewar citizen-soldiery than the trained and seasoned veteran corps of the late war.

"…in May of 1869, area veterans gathered in distinct groups for the first time.  The occasion was to honor their war dead on Decoration Day, a tradition begun several years back in the south when women decorated Confederate as well as Union soldiers' graves.

"Decoration Day was a rainy Sunday, and services were held at four cemeteries.  On the west side, Colonel Thomas Foote led a soldier's committee that met at Engine House No. 3 at one o'clock in the afternoon.  Together with about twenty other soldiers, they marched to the Greenwood Cemetery followed by a procession of citizens in carriages.  The solemn group used flowers to cover the graves of seven soldiers, concluding with an appropriate memorial service.

"Colonel Pierce headed up a group of soldiers that met at the old National Hotel at two o'clock before heading out to the Oak Hill Cemetery.  Despite pouring rain, an address was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Fletcher followed by the decoration of sixty-five graves.  Captain Coffinberry, founder of the Grand Rapids Light Guard, chaired the ceremonies at the Catholic Cemetery later that afternoon.

"The general ceremonies commenced at five o'clock beginning with a procession from Luce's Hall, led by General Innes and the Valley City Brass Band, to the Fulton Street Cemetery.  The group encircled the grave of the late Reverend Cuming, who had died of illness contracted while chaplain of the Third Michigan Infantry.  Thousands of veterans and citizens gathered despite a persistent rain."

From Baxter's History of Grand Rapids excerpted in Britten, David G., Lieutenant Colonel, Retired. Courage without Fear: The Story of the Grand Rapids Guard. Xlibris 2004

Misleading the Public Again

The following was stated in a report by MIRS today (Lawmakers Tout Per-Pupil Funding Hikes For Schools) on the reporting out of the school aid bill by the School Aid Conference Committee in Lansing. It obviously came from Republican talking points that try to frame the state's effort to fix a problem with the state retirement system they created as an actual funding increase for public school districts:

Likewise, Sen. Howard WALKER (R-Traverse City), chairman of the Senate' school aid subcommittee, touched on the issue.  

"Foundation allowance is what everybody recognizes," Walker said. "But I think it's incumbent on the media and us as legislators to let the public know that the school districts are accruing retirement liability by virtue of their local contracts. 

"The MPSERS payments that we're making in this budget are a huge benefit to the liability which local school districts have accrued." 

This statement is inaccurate and misleading. Simply put, the teacher retirement system was wholly created by the state not the school districts, was dumped onto school districts by former Governor Engler, then was severely eroded as a direct result of continuing legislation taking more and more contributors out of the system through expansive charters, pressure to privatize non-instructional services, and the need by districts to offer retirement incentives forcing more people into the retirement system early due to declining funding support from the state.

A recent report by the Citizen's Research Council highlights the problem:

"Traditional public school districts are required to participate in MPSERS, and they really have no control over their contribution levels," said Bob Schneider, CRC's Director of State Affairs. "From their perspective, a big increase in the MPSERS contribution is effectively the same as getting a decrease in their foundation allowance or other state aid. It means something else has to go to make the budget balance. In effect, the MPSERS costs end up crowding out other spending."

With all due respect, there is little to no valid evidence supporting Sen. Walker's accusation that local district contracts are primarily causing the retirement system problem. This is simply misleading voters and a shell game to hide the fact that the ruling class in Lansing does not want to adequately or equitably fund our public school system.

“Skunk Works” is dead; Long live “value schools!” - Progress Michigan

“Skunk Works” is dead; Long live “value schools!” - Progress Michigan

Coming soon: Kmart "blue light special" schools for low-income, urban kids because Michigan certainly doesn't want them to get the same education Governor Snyder's kids are getting (at $20K+ per pupil). No sir, Richard McLellan wants a low-cost, teach-to-the-test-only school to ensure a large source of future low-skilled, cheap labor.

Don't believe that's what he really is trying to do? Just keep watching, continue to remain silent, and do absolutely nothing like the majority of John Q. Publics are doing.

It's coming so get ready to clip your cut-rate coupons.

The Myth of Michelle Rhee

We're seeing the unravelling of the myths that unwittingly placed Michelle Rhee in the national spotlight as "reformer in chief" for public education, myths created initially and largely at the expense of DC school children and their teachers. They were myths promulgated by the media, particularly those catering to the right-wing, anti-public education crowd.

In my State of Michigan, Rhee was afforded an unusual platform in front of the legislature as reported by Mlive.com in the following post:

Michelle Rhee: Michigan lawmakers need to focus on reforms to help students, not the adults  

Rhee, a 'rock star' of the reform movement, has appeared on magazine covers and in the documentary "Waiting for Superman," and is criticized by union leaders who say her reforms are too dependent on firing teachers and principals.

 

With an overflow crowd in the state Capitol, Rhee was asked about her experiences with issues including merit pay, evaluations, parental involvement and rules the require the most recently hired teachers to be the first laid off.

Yes, he did actually use the term, "rock star." 

And as the next article demonstrates, Rhee was afforded access to the point she actually wrote or at least contributed to the spate of anti-teacher laws that recently passed the state legislature:

Probe shows union-busting Michelle Rhee wrote Michigan anti-teacher law The document from Rhee's group specifically says that it worked on the package of four Michigan education bills. One abolishes "reasonable and just cause" as the only reason for firing teachers and replaces it with any reason that "is not arbitrary and capricious." Another bill axes collective bargaining. A third makes tenure tough and lets school districts easily throw teachers back on probation. 

But as of late (and it does come pretty late), NPR's highly respected and longtime education reporter John Merrow has torn down the facade and revealed, "The empress has no clothes!" But who created Rhee?

Who Created "Michelle Rhee"?  We, the mainstream media, created "Michelle Rhee." Good argument there. Rhee blew into Washington like a whirlwind, where she was a great story and an overdo gust of fresh air. DC schools were pretty bad, and she was candid, accessible, energetic, young, and attractive–everything reporters love. While I don't think my reporting for the NewsHour was puffery, we did produce twelve (!) pieces about her efforts over the 40 months — about two hours of primetime coverage. That's an awful lot of attention.

Did anyone else get that much air time from us? Well, yes, we also produced twelve reports about Paul Vallas in New Orleans. But Vallas never received the positive treatment (or even the coverage) from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Charlie Rose, et alia, that Rhee did back in 2007-2009.

Were we skeptical enough about the 'miracle' gains in her first year? Unfortunately not. So we certainly helped create the public phenomenon that is "Michelle Rhee."

 

Michelle Rhee and the Washington Post Why has the Post's editorial page been so uncritical? Some have suggested that it must emanate from the top of the masthead, from Donald Graham, the Chairman of the Washington Post Company. He denies exerting any direct influence, although he did say that it has been the Post's long-standing tradition to support the superintendent, whoever that may be, because, he told me, "The Post wants the schools to improve."

And now the Huffington Post has chimed in with the truth:

Time to Stop Waiting for Superman  There was no DC miracle. Browbeating students and teachers into raising scores on state tests only makes them better at taking state tests, and reforming our schools in hopes of replicating an illusion is a petty crime against humanity.  Even George W. Bush was forced to admit there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and we've long since gotten over the shock that Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire were juiced more than a Florida orange grove. We believe lies at our own peril. It's time to stop waiting for Superman and focus on the hard work of teaching our children the way we know works.

And who is/was Michelle Rhee anyway? Nobody who was made somebody simply by firing a few teachers and wowing the anti-public education movement. 

Rhee attracted a lot of attention before getting the top spot in DC. When Mayor Adrian Fenty appointed her superintendent, she went from managing an education nonprofit with 120 employees to running a school system with 55,000 students, 11,500 employees and a budget of $200 million. She'd never even been a principal before, and her only classroom experience was Teach for America. (Jason Stanford, The Huffington Post)

So when will this come full circle? When Mlive.com and our Michigan legislature admit they were duped by the radiance of Rhee's self-made glow.

Probably never.

The Common Core State Standards - just another rehashed, botched reform?

It's incredible how much today's education reform efforts are little more than half-baked reclamations of failed past attempts to transform public education into a one-size-fits-all training program for the American business community.

Take for example, Christopher Tienken and Donald C. Orlich's exhortation in their expose, The School Reform Landscape: Fraud, Myth and Lies:

"The Cardinal Principles were futuristic in their specific ideas about socializing all peoples into democracy on a level playing field, but they were more about ideas and less about actions. The 1920s through 1940s saw an explosion of progressive/experimentalist experiments and the eventual operationalization of the Cardinal Principles.

 

"Thorndike's initial study (1901), and then later his 1924 landmark study with 8,564 children, once and for all crushed the myth of mental discipline when his results demonstrated that there was not a hierarchy of secondary school subjects, and no one subject was superior to another when it came to overall growth in intelligence. Thorndike's studies exposed the fundamental flaws in the Committee of Ten's recommendations for one set program of studies in high school.

 

"Unfortunately, it appears as if many of the state commissioners of education and various education bureaucrats in the United States either don't remember Thorndike or did not read the study. This is evidenced by the majority of education bureaucrats who jumped on the bandwagon of the American Diploma Project (ADP) vended by Achieve, Inc. (2008) and now blindly support the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative.

 

"The ADP and CCSS are simply reincarnation of an educationally bankrupt idea that was empirically destroyed over 85 years ago, yet due to a lack of understanding of their own history, education leaders are willing to follow business interests over the cliff of botched reforms again."

Their assertion that few of today's political leaders or education reformers have studies past attempts to reform education are obviously correct given the penchant for grabbing the first idea that comes along, even if it has already been proven a failure. Standardization of education through the CCSS, nationalized assessments, and a common high school diploma path are only the latest example of ignorance leading the blind.

"Education is a Common Good: There Should Be No Losers"

Given the reality that we should be educating all children, it may surprise the uninformed observer that the market-based approach is alive and well in the education field – driving a set of reforms that is slowly eroding our public school system and creating an even wider and more troubling achievement gap; ensuring that more affluent students have access to better schools and more resources, while low-income students receive a second-class education. Last week the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education (BAA), an initiative at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), released Market-Oriented Reformers’ Rhetoric Trumps Reality. The report looked at three key urban districts – DC, Chicago and New York City – that have implemented market-oriented reforms including vouchers, charter schools and pay-for-performance, but failed to deliver on the significant student outcomes they promised would result from such efforts. Key findings include:

• Test scores increased less, and achievement gaps grew more, in “reform” cities than in other urban districts

• Test-based accountability prompted churn that thinned the ranks of experienced teachers, but not necessarily bad teachers 

• School closures did not send students to better schools or save school districts money

Education is a Common Good: There Should Be No Losers | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

On Gov. Snyder's Watch

For a number of reasons, I believe that Governor Snyder, while captivating the electorate in the 2010 race for governor, is an exceptionally weak leader and uses any means necessary (including skunkworks) to distract the electorate from the damage he's really doing to this state.

On his watch, almost 1 in 4 children in Michigan now lives in poverty. Child poverty rose to 24.4 percent in 2011, up from 23.1 percent in 2010 and 14.2 percent level in 2001. Michigan is in the worst third of the nation for child poverty. While he obviously wasn't in the statehouse when the decline began, he can point to none of his policies in lessening this burden. In fact, his only "anti-poverty" theme is to blame it on what he perceives (for political benefit) is a weak public education system. This not only indicates his lack of a moral platform for his leadership style but the very fact that he's lived such a shielded life from reality on the streets that he doesn't even know how to account for poverty.

I voted for Governor Snyder in 2010 because I like thousands in Michigan thought he could turn the state around. Well, he's accomplishing just that although primarily for the benefit of his corporate buddies.

In fact, he's so disconnected from the realities of poverty that he's content sitting at home, satisfied that someone else is working on "potential solutions" to the Buena Vista Schools disaster. Unfortunately, the kids are sitting at home, too. 

Incredibly weak leadership.

And for the record, he's lost my vote.

Michigan may withhold funding from schools that educate undocumented immigrants

The Michigan House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Jase Bolger, has decided through its recently passed school aid budget that public schools will now be required to "police" whether or not an immigrant is here legally.

House Bill 4228 (H-1) includes Section 41 (see page 136) stating:

[SEC. 41. (1) FROM THE APPROPRIATION IN SECTION 11, THERE IS ALLOCATED AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,300,000.00 FOR 2013-2014 TO APPLICANT DISTRICTS AND INTERMEDIATE DISTRICTS OFFERING PROGRAMS OF INSTRUCTION FOR PUPILS OF LIMITED ENGLISH-SPEAKING ABILITY UNDER SECTION 1153 OF THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, MCL 380.1153. SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (2), REIMBURSEMENT SHALL BE ON A PER-PUPIL BASIS AND SHALL BE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PUPILS OF LIMITED ENGLISH-SPEAKING ABILITY IN MEMBERSHIP ON THE PUPIL MEMBERSHIP COUNT DAY. FUNDS ALLOCATED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE USED SOLELY FOR INSTRUCTION IN SPEAKING, READING, WRITING, OR COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH. A PUPIL SHALL NOT BE COUNTED UNDER THIS SECTION OR INSTRUCTED IN A PROGRAM UNDER THIS SECTION FOR MORE THAN 3 YEARS. (2) A DISTRICT OR INTERMEDIATE DISTRICT SHALL NOT RECEIVE FUNDS UNDER THIS SECTION IF IT ALLOWS PUPILS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION WHO ARE NOT RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES LEGALLY.] (emphasis added)

This in effect places local public school officials in the position of acting as INS agents to determine whether an immigrant is documented as a legal resident. To not do so would jeopardize funding. Interestingly, none of the other funds received by a school district would be effected by this new statute so what is the real purpose here and who actually is behind this? Should public school officials be acting as federal agents?