Jul302019

MEA President blasts “pensions for potholes” scheme during conference speech

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 fixes could undermine the retirement of hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, drive the state deeper into debt, and saddle taxpayers with massive future costs.

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Jun282019

Statement from MEA President Paula Herbart regarding Benton Harbor

EAST LANSING – The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the tentative plan to address the academic and financial challenges facing Benton Harbor Area Schools: “From the outset, we have emphasized the need for everyone involved to engage together in vital conversations about what’s needed to provide Benton Harbor students the…

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May232019

Report finds Michigan public teacher salaries continue to decline amid growing teacher shortage

Michigan Education Association calls for reinvesting in Michigan students, teachers and support staff EAST LANSING – New data from the National Education Association’s annual Rankings and Estimates report found average salary for teachers declined last year, continuing the 12% decline over the last decade when adjusted for inflation. Only Indiana, West Virginia and Wisconsin have…

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May22019

MEA calls on governor to sign “snow day” bill – and on schools to do right by hourly workers

EAST LANSING – With the Legislature’s passage today of HB 4206 – which will allow schools to forgo making up days from this winter’s record-cold emergency days – the Michigan Education Association is calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to quickly sign the legislation.  Doing so will allow school districts to finalize schedules for the end…

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Apr252019

MEA applauds passage of Senate Bill 122

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 25, 2019 Contact: Doug Pratt, MEA Director of Public Affairs, 517-337-5508   EAST LANSING – The Michigan Education Associationtoday issued the following statement applauding the state House for passing Senate Bill 122, which would delay a drastic increase in the weight student test scores have on teachers’ evaluations, making the…

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Apr112019

MEA President lauds Gov. Whitmer’s new Educator Advisory Council

EAST LANSING – On Thursday, MEA President Paula Herbart praised Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for issuing Executive Order 2019-9 creating the Educator Advisory Council within the Department of Education.  The 15-member council will be composed of a broad cross-section of Michigan educators, including teachers, administrators, counselors, specialists, and support staff. The new Educator Advisory Council will…

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Mar42019

Statement of MEA President Paula Herbart on Gov. Whitmer’s Education Budget Proposal

EAST LANSING – The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding reports of Gov. Whitmer’s proposal to increase education funding in tomorrow’s budget presentation: “Research is clear – from the School Finance Research Collaborative to MSU’s recent study – that we can’t keep shortchanging our students and expect better results. Gov. Whitmer’s…

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Feb122019

Statement of MEA President Paula Herbart on Gov. Whitmer’s State of the State Address

EAST LANSING – The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding tonight’s State of the State address from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer:“It is a welcome change for Michigan’s school employees to hear from our governor about the need to respect and listen to educators on the front lines. Michigan teachers and education support…

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Dec132018

Statement of MEA President Paula Herbart on passage of “A-F” grading bill

EAST LANSING – The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the State House’s passage of HB 5526: “Early this morning, the House of Representatives passed another so-called ‘education reform’ bill that does nothing to support struggling schools or increase student achievement.  HB 5526, mandating A-F letter grades for Michigan schools, would abandon…

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Nov282018

Legislators urged to flunk “A-F” grading bill

EAST LANSING – Republican State Board of Education member Tom McMillin today joined MEA President Paula Herbart in urging legislators not to move forward with passage of HB 5526, creating a new “A-F” school grading system. “This new grading scheme will do nothing to improve low performing schools nor will it increase student achievement. However…

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