MEA members, This morning, I received a letter from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that I thought you should all see: As a new school year is upon us, I wanted to reach out and tell you again how much I respect and appreciate the hard work you do on behalf of our kids. Preparing our students […]
MEA President Paula Herbart used her monthly “Labor Voices” column in The Detroit News to slam various schemes being floated by Republican leaders in the Legislature to bond, restructure, or reamortize the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. A pension is a promise of a secure retirement, she writes, but too often in Lansing pensions […]
During her keynote speech at MEA’s Summer Conference last week, MEA President Paula Herbart blasted the so-called “pensions for potholes” scheme and urged public school employees across the state to raise their voices to oppose the risky shell game. Add your voice today—Contact your lawmakers using our Action Network page! By many accounts, including by […]
Serving as a state representative isn’t much different from being an elementary school teacher, according to educator-turned-lawmaker Lori Stone (D-Warren), who told her story to attendees at MEA’s Summer Conference last week. The 14-year classroom veteran and MEA member said every legislative session starts with the pledge of allegiance. Seats are assigned. “And I still […]
EAST LANSING – MEA President Paula Herbart blasted the so-called “pensions for potholes” scheme today, and urged public school employees across the state to raise their voices to oppose the risky shell game. By many accounts, including by some conservative economists like Patrick Anderson, the reckless road funding scheme is irresponsible. Raiding pension funds for road […]
While the Legislature has been off for nearly a month on their summer break – despite next year’s state budget being unfinished – concepts continue to float around the Capitol about how to pay for needed road repairs. The latest bad idea involves various ways of borrowing against school employee pension funds to fill the […]
The Michigan Supreme Court this week agreed to hear a case involving an appropriation of tax dollars for private schools by the Michigan Legislature in 2016. A coalition of education groups sued the state over a $2.5 million appropriation of tax dollars to reimburse private schools for certain expenses related to state health and safety […]
A backdoor voucher plan that failed to pass in the wild Lame Duck legislative session in December has reappeared in a pair of House Bills that got a hearing in the House Education Committee this week. HB 4626 and 4627, first introduced by term-limited Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw) last year, would create a new type […]
As spring heads into summer, state budget negotiations will heat up along with the weather—especially given big differences between the education priorities of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican leaders in the state House and Senate.
Friday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed HB 4206, which allows schools to forgo making up days from this winter’s record-cold emergency days. In particular, up to four days declared as a state of emergency between Jan. 29 and Feb. 2, 2019, can be requested by districts to the Michigan Department of Education to count as […]
