Early career educators band together to strengthen colleagues and the union By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For fourth-year educator Danielle Werner, the stress of phoning parents about their child’s misbehavior or lackluster effort is one of the hardest parts of being a new teacher. “In general, I still don’t even like calling to order […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer averted a government shutdown on Monday by signing a state budget sent to her on the eve of a fiscal-year deadline, but she used her veto pen to press Republican leaders in the state House and Senate to return to the negotiating table. Whitmer described the Legislature’s budget as “fatally flawed” in […]
EAST LANSING —The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the education budget signed into law by Gov. Whitmer, along with her line-item vetoes “Aside from the pet projects and vendor contracts Gov. Whitmer line-item vetoed, there are meaningful education programs and initiatives that were also cut. Those are tough choices to […]
Updated Oct. 1, 2019 After revisions negotiated in the State House, the House and Senate passed the 2019-20 School Aid Budget (HB 4242) and sent it to the Governor’s desk on Thursday, Sept. 19. The Legislature’s budget called for a total of $15.23 billion in preK-12 spending. This is a 2.7% fund increase over FY […]
By Brenda Ortega Editor Something was missing from opening day in Grand Blanc Community Schools this year. For the first time in more than a half century, MEA member Vickie Weiss was not in attendance. In June she completed an astounding 55th year teaching elementary school in the district, and in August she passed away […]
A good first step – but only a step EAST LANSING —The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding today’s passage of the K-12 education budget by the Michigan Legislature: “While this budget isn’t everything we had hoped for, it is a good first step to ending the decades long underfunding of […]
September 18, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association We often hear politicians say, “It’s about the kids,” and, “The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” If they truly believe that, they need to craft a state education budget that recognizes a simple fact: Not all students are the same. Unfortunately, the Republican education […]
MEA member Matthew Cottone has traveled to six countries for (almost) free as he aims to help his students better experience the world. Now he wants to share how other educators can follow in his footsteps. The Rochester World Studies teacher will be presenting at a Global Ed Conference at Oakland University on Oct. 19. The […]
At last – Michigan will begin recognizing the important work of Education Support Professionals with an annual award. Nominations are now open for the new Education Support Staff Professional of the Year award – to be presented by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) in partnership with MEA, AFT Michigan, and AFSCME Council 25. Who’s […]
MICHIGAN — As tens of thousands of UAW members go on strike across the country, the American Federation of Teachers Michigan and Michigan Education Association released a joint statement in solidarity with the striking workers. The statement should be attributed to David Hecker, president of AFT Michigan and Paula Herbart, president of the MEA: “From schools […]
