The Latest on the K-12 Budget: Revenue, MPSERS, and an “Historic Coalition”
While Friday gave us the final revenue estimates that will be used in negotiating the final K-12 budget, the headline of this week is the "historic coalition" of school management and labor groups putting forward a joint proposal to lower pension costs for districts and employees, returning money to classrooms and paychecks. In a joint letter sent to every member of the Michigan Legislature and the Governor, MASSP and a coalition that included…
Reviewing Recent Changes to MI’s Cardiac Emergency Response Law
During day three of the NFL draft that took place in Detroit this past weekend and with Damar Hamlin looking on, Governor Whitmer signed into law some changes to Michigan’s school cardiac emergency response law. Since 2014 Michigan has had a law on the books requiring districts to have a cardiac emergency response plan that includes training, the use and maintenance of AEDs, and a cardiac emergency response team, so this isn't…
House Reports Excellent K-12 Budget Rec
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Education voted out their version of the 2024-25 K-12 budget on Thursday and it was, by far, the best of the bunch. The headline is that the recommendation allocated an additional $291 million to reduce district MPSERS obligations, a change that will result in huge, ongoing savings for local districts. Even with that sizable allocation to reducing district costs, the House still managed a…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The House Education Committee met Tuesday to take action on two issues, first reporting out HB 5231-34 and 5269 (a package of legislation aimed at increasing transparency for charter schools including posting salary information on their website similar to the way local districts are required to post collective bargaining agreements), and second taking testimony on HB 5450-51 (a two bill package that would require MDHHS to develop information regarding the safe storage of firearms and require school districts…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The Senate K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee met Tuesday and became the first of the two chambers out of the gate with their proposal for the 2024-25 School Aid Fund budget…the Senate proposal gives somewhat larger increases to the foundation and At Risk than the Governor's proposal, but dedicates ZERO dollars to reducing district MPSERS contributions while still repurposing $670 million that would otherwise go to pay down the state's MPSERS debt. Right after that…
Senate Reports First Legislative Budget Rec of the Year
The Senate is the first of the two legislative chambers out of the gate with their 2024-25 budget proposal, voting their bill out of subcommittee on Tuesday. Where the Governor's proposal gave across the board 2.5% increases to most of the core line items schools rely on, the Senate proposal spends more on some (e.g. foundation allowance and At Risk) and less on others (e.g. CTE, isolated districts). It also doubles down…
Supremes Hear Oral Argument in ORS Lawsuit
On Tuesday, The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Batista v. ORS, the lawsuit seeking to stop the Office of Retirement Services (ORS) from artificially capping the amount of a school administrator's compensation that counts toward calculating their MPSERS benefits. Specifically, the Court asked legal counsel to address two specific questions that were of issue in the Court of Appeals decision being challenged: Does the state law (MCL 38.1303a(3)(f))…
Where Things Stand With ORS Lawsuit
The next step in the lawsuit brought by MASA against the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (Batista v. ORS) is quickly approaching with oral arguments in front of the Michigan Supreme Court scheduled for April 16 or 17. As a reminder, the primary focus of this lawsuit was originally to stop ORS from enforcing its Normal Salary Increase (NSI) schedule, which imposed arbitrary limits on how increases in a school administrator’s compensation…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The House Committee on Education kicked off the week with a special Monday evening hearing at Sterling Heights High School focused on school safety and mental health, with stakeholders (including Chippewa Valley High School Principal and MASSP Board of Directors Region 9 Representative Todd Distelrath) emphasizing the strain on all educators and schools due to high student-to-school mental health professional ratios and exacerbated mental health needs post-COVID, underscoring the necessity for increased…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee took testimony, but no vote on HB 5174, which would mandate that MDE work with Gift of Life Michigan to develop a one hour instructional unit that schools would then be required to deliver to all 9th graders in the state…MASSP and other education associations have raised objections to the bill and are working with the sponsor to see if we can address those concerns, but…