This legislation unilaterally removes local control and input from the decision making process. This is the same tactic Governor Snyder has taken throughout his first term. Rather than reaching a public consensus on local issues, he prefers to circumvent our democratic system to accomplish his desired end. These bills fail to provide objective criteria for determining whether a district should be consolidated. That subjective authority is simply left to the discretion of the state superintendent and treasurer. This legislation also fails to address the underlying social issues these schools and communities are facing. These are profoundly complex issues and can’t be addressed without extensive public dialogue and input. If we force this action on communities we will not see positive outcomes. Positive outcomes are fostered through open dialogue and compromise. Not a forceful hand. In the case of Buena Vista, this legislation may very well be in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which serves to preserve and protect the democratic rights of disenfranchised communities. Most troubling are the unknowns. How will ISDs, the state superintendent, and state treasurer manage their newly designated authority? How will school districts accommodate the needs of these new students and put the proper systems in place on such short notice? As a former educator, I can tell you this isn’t something that can occur over night. Most importantly, we need to have a sincere and open conversation about how we’ve arrived at this point. 55 of Michigan’s 549 public school districts are currently operating with annual deficits. Another 50 school districts will soon be operating in the red. This accounts for 20 percent of our public schools. We’re no longer talking about an outlying 1 percent, or urban centers that have been plagued by rapid declining enrollment. We’re talking about districts all across Michigan, urban, suburban and rural schools that are experiencing financial distress despite two and a half years of “relentless positive action” and “fiscal accountability.” In reality, we’ve experienced two and a half years of austerity measures in the interest of corporate tax breaks. We need to start by answering a very simple question, how did we get in this position? The people arguing for consolidation are the same individuals who advocated for the creation of 278 charter schools and prematurely removed the cap on charters which now account for more than a third of all school districts in Michigan. How does this represent consolidation? We’re at a tipping point. If this legislation passes, it will have a profound impact on communities all across Michigan and further threaten our public education system, which serves to ensure every child in the country has the opportunity to realize his or her dreams. We need to be having an honest conversation about the fact that real per-pupil foundation allowances have declined 25 percent since 2002. We need to have the courage to acknowledge the negative impact competition and for-profit interests are having on our public education system. So long as we have competition in our public education system we will have winners and losers. I don’t believe any child should lose out on their education. Again, we need to ask ourselves, what would we do if these were our children? I respectfully ask that my colleagues take a moment to consider the profound consequences of this legislation. Over the past two days, this legislation has been rammed through the committee process. Each and every party that addressed the committee has expressed honest and sincere concerns about the viability and consequences of this legislation. Similar reforms have taken two years to complete. We have the opportunity to press pause today so we can bring these local communities to the table to discuss this legislation. I hope my colleagues will share my concern.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:26:57 +0000