Hold onto your wallets because the fun is set to begin again tomorrow.
Last week the Michigan House, in response to the temper tantrum thrown by the Detroit Federation of Teachers (which to be fair, was in response to the gross ineptitude of one Judge Steven Rhodes), passed yet another in a long line of “life preservers” to the failed Detroit Public School district.
Despite having been “locked out” by administration (seriously, that is what the DFT was using as a speaking point on every local talking head show last weekend), things went back to normal by Wednesday.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept of how calling in sick en masse is somehow the equivalent of being “locked out” from your place of employment…but I digress.
Unlike the bailout proposed by the Michigan Senate, the House package is about $200-million lighter than the Senate’s, and is choked so full of poison-pill provisions that it is guaranteed to cause even more problems.
“Not to worry! With a little elbow grease and some friendly verbal persuasion, we’ll have you upright and humming along the road in no time,” our relentlessly positive Gov Snyder allegedly remarked about the latest DPS bailout.
{More below the fold}
Some of the highlights of the House package passed after last week’s all-nighter:
– A ban on strikes by employees. Parents and Superintendents will now be allowed to bring action against striking teachers (HB-5387).
– The creation of an education trust fund (HB-5383) to coincide with community districts (HB-5384) to be set up within Michigan. This apparently doesn’t include the Tobacco Settlement Fund which has been (ab)used by previous legislatures to pay for pretty much everything except what it was originally created for.
– NO Detroit Education Commission. (HB-5384) Another layer of bureaucracy whose ultimate purpose is to give thumbs up or down to any new schools opening up within the City of Detroit (which in reality will be used to put the brakes on charters which Michigan democrats hate with a passion…see below for why). The democrats mucked this one up so badly with amendments in the wee hours of the morning that the final product was undecipherable.
And don’t get me started on Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo screeching like a banshee during several turns at the lectern last week (I’m sparing everyone the misery by not including the link for this one).
Here’s what we haven’t seen so far from our non-representing representatives up in Lansing:
– Where will the remaining $2.8-billion/$3-billion come from to pay off the DPS debt in its entirety?
– When will we see an audit for the $2-billion DPS bonded out to maintain and improve its buildings?
– Why is there no mention of the fact that DPS is apparently graduating students, who by and large, cannot read or count?
– Why haven’t we seen a push to investigate the wrong-doings within DPS? The feds obviously have no problem doing it? And apparently, it’s even easier than we were first led to believe (all the more reason to crack down on it).
– Will anything be done to put a leash on the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren. Incessant race-baiting is getting very old.
It’s amazing how much one can learn about John Rakolta Jr. by looking at who he is chumming around with.
OABTW, did you know that DPS recognized “Teacher Appreciation Week” last Friday?
I’m serious. Go and see for yourself.
Monkey business aside (in Lansing & Detroit) personally speaking, neither of them will have either the integrity or the fortitude to address any of the questions that I’ve mentioned above.
So what should Lansing do?
I would propose that Lansing do what Lansing has already done with failing public school systems: Shut them down.
What?
You didn’t know that Lansing has done that already?
Highland Park Public Schools…effectively gone and replaced with charters.
Inkster Public Schools…shut down with students being absorbed into surrounding districts.
Buena Vista Public Schools…dissolved.
And Muskegon Heights…gone to charter (while cutting its debt).
So to bottom line it: Real leaders make hard decisions.
You either play kick the can down the road and slowly bleed the public treasury dry while assuaging your conscience or you do what needs to be done.
Whether it is done this week or next month, the choice should be readily obvious!
(10)Nuh Uh.
(0)
Regarding the latest proposed 'ban' on sickouts which Michigan the conservative grassroots (save similar/token/meaningless legislative efforts in the past) has hastily run away from in every single instance previous:
How will ONLY actual parents with kids in public schools (or a superintendent of same) possess the legal power to fight back against sickouts..when these same parents have long been proven to be scared crapless (translation: care less) as to PUBLICLY bucking even Common Core OR the same gutless teachers/administrators? Aren't these the same 'caring' teachers who know full well that their very own (cough) 'forced' words/actions are right now poisoning the very children under their care? Or does 'the job' take precedence over mere morals or the law itself...as it did with many other state employees during the Flint crisis? Why don't we simply give a Michigan "teacher" the power to rat out her fellow employee..if we (obviously) aren't giving them enough opportunities to do so already?
Over 26,000 teachers made Michigan legal history in 2012 during Right To Work. AND during the exact same election cycle (as witnessed both then and now; NOBODY in Michigan either factually includes or strategizes for our equally damaging lame duck). To (effectively) play down that historic riot involving many 'sick' teachers; the MiGOP establishment/conservative grassroots demanded a similarly ineffective 'feel good' bill which WOULD NOT force constituents/'patriots' to march on their local school districts with torches and pitchforks in hand. Where was that 'fix' supposed to (intentionally) go? Nowhere.
When the citizenry of any state is "OK" with being dependent on ONLY the hostage takers (superintendents) OR the families of the hostage's (our children) to broker a solution that has already proven to be 'instantly' riotous in nature?
God help all of us who stand on the sidelines (again) or allow these kids to be used as legislative pawns so that WE (everyday taxpayers) aren't forced to storm 'the compound' ourselves (again) in 2016.
Easy, you contact these people.
It's a power that hasn't been there previously. And I'll venture a guess that if you're a parent who is a little miffed at the idea of having your daily routine up-ended because of something as pathetic as a union show of force to get 15-minutes of fame in the local media, it's a safe bet that at least one parent (or even Superintendent with a tad more interest in keeping their job given the change in environment) will take advantage of that.
KG One
"..it's a safe bet that at least one parent (or even Superintendent with a tad more interest in keeping their job given the change in environment) will take advantage of that.."
What is, has been or will be "the change in environment" forcing my local Superintendent to take advantage of...what? Hasn't he or she hired and promoted every single administrator/teacher that they could possibly get their hands on or unquestionably control since when(?) in terms of Common Core?
The same administrators/teachers keeping their mouths shut UNANIMOUSLY in most every Michigan school district 'today' are going to risk their careers/child's educational futures tomorrow on what?..somebody not showing up for work?
What's next?
Legislation stating that mere taxpaying citizens may only go after or be ENCOURAGED to destroy the career of a state employee blatantly breaking the law IF (and only IF) said employee has your child held educationally hostage?
How many OTHER state employee/departmental/administrative situations should these "only ifs" somehow apply to?
Lansing Capital police running away from a union-based mob scene back in 2011?
Citizens attacked multiple times during Right to Work in 2012 with historically full security details looking on?
Any state employee (or union) who forces anybody else to 'stand down' or simply not show up for work vs the job that they are both sworn and often WILLING to do?
Put it this way:
Name for me more than twenty superintendents or twenty parents in ALL of Michigan's public school districts who have EVER fell on their sword over "union sick days" or for that matter the poison that is Common Core and gutless teachers refusing to admit so publicly for 'their' own kids.
For heaven's sakes people...we aren't even demanding to see (and record forever) what these kids bring home to their parents or are tested on every single day EVEN WITH the long ago advent of standardized electronic classwork and record keeping!!!
Yet those POSSESSING this sad information 'today' (and certainly not sharing it) are going to be the ONLY public school 'narcs' (according to this law) who 'finally' bring down the public school unions while their own KIDS pay not a single price for them doing so.
I don't know a single parent or administrator in MY district who would pull something like that with their career or kid's future in the balance...period.
What is the change in environment?
I just gave four examples in my post above.
Failing public school districts are no longer sacrosanct entities with a death-grip on the public treasury.
You either perform or you get closed down.
I fail to see any reason why DPS shouldn't be number 5.
Because of the billion$ Ron Weiser, Snyder/Calley, Bolger, Richardville, et al., have funneled into Detoilet for propping it up for their handful of billionaire backers Rakolta, Gilbert, Penske, Ilitch, says it won't be #5.
Next...
I've already mentioned Rakolta and whom he has aligned himself in my piece above.
As for the rest of that motley crew, doesn't that backstabbing remind you of people like Bush, Willard and Ryan and a certain candidate for President?
Let's see how well that works out in the end?
That reminds me... ever notice all around the dasher boards at The Joe, it says, Amway? Yeah, sorta forgot about the Wooden Shoe Mafia's Jeb(!) Common Core lovin' DeVoses dabbling around in Detoilet pushing Jenny's DRIC- https://youtu.be/yDU_UEs2U2M
Thanks!
It'll be an interesting balance given how much GLEP/DeVos' are pushing for charters.
And this bears mentioning again: Muskegon Heights went to become a charter, and eventually paid off the old district's debt.
Something for our elected officials up in Lansing should seriously consider while they are working on the latest state budget.
Continual drain on state coffers or something that can be permanently taken off of the books?
Tick-tock, tick-tock...
OABTW, those billionaires (and their families...can't forget about them either), are more than welcome to show everyone just how much they are committed by
flushing their own money down the toiletopening up their own checkbooks and making a generous contribution donation to "rescue" DPS.It's for the children, after all.
I already gave at the office!
Corruptly created "Community Districts" or not...this new "exclusive whistleblower" concept would cover ALL public schools...including any one of those 26,000 nicely dressed suburban teachers caught tearing down tents during working hours/Right To Work as well. A "parent" or "superintendent" isn't the only one in this state "qualified" to legally recognize or prosecute a teacher tearing down tents on top of people with no regards whatsoever for their welfare or the kids inside.
I bring up these "only them" and "only if" (laughable) proposed laws...silence.
It's the exact same problem that we had with the 95% 'aged' tea party here in Michigan.
Everybody was (seemingly) "OK" with this retirement bailout/that carve-out for themselves/their gray-haired friends approaching retirement/already there (more silence)...just as long as every single pension fund was shored up across the state..."damn the details" (or more accurately our children's future).
Everybody doesn't live in Detroit.
Those who don't are saddled with schools pushing just as much corruption and the exact same "we'll burn it down by gosh!" (figuratively) brother-in-arms attitude.
Bail out these unions once again with these "community districts" (whose striking members have no problem whatsoever showing up in Lansing to physically attack whoever opposes them or worse yet physically destroy the assets themselves locally.)..and we'll NEVER see one single parent or superintendent take that mob on again.
Intimidation WORKS.
This was the lesson taught to our children during Right To Work and one that BOTH sides sent during the last election cycle to create the gutless/cowering (patriot-less) political climate that we have now.
And now we want "parents" and "superintendents' (by law) to physically stand up to these people due to our kids knowing full well (from our collective silence 'afterwards' in 2012) that the Michigan grassroots certainly doesn't possess the fortitude to (just like the MiGOP)???
Why don't we just simply gather our kids all under a Capital lawn tent...tell them the 'hushed' story about their angry teachers trying to rip it down all around them...and get 'ourselves' out of there just as quickly as possible?
Last time that I checked, we still have FTW despite the intimidation and vandalism mentioned above.
I also wouldn't be so quick to draw a direct comparison to that (FTW) and this latest example of reaching into the till (general fund) to bailout DPS.
Unlike Team "r" who has this propensity of running away from the people they work for, I'll at least give Team "d" credit for showing up in their community and meeting with their constituents on a somewhat regular basis (with the notable exception of ex-con/sexual predator/overall deadbeat Rep. Brian Banks).
There were teachers who were at these recent meetings stumping for their comrades in Detroit.
There was also myself, along with several of my neighbors, who didn't care for this latest bailout and told them (and the rep) so in no uncertain terms.
The rep didn't have an epiphany (this is an election year after all), but at the same time the relatively large crown in attendance wasn't exactly rallying around the teachers who were there either.
So feel free to take that for what you will.