(From The Detroit News, January 19, 2010)
By KAREN BOUFFARD
Lansing — Michigan filed its application for federal funds to launch education reform with strong support from school districts but a dearth of union backing.
Michigan sent Monday its request for a slice of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top money with hopes that its plan is strong enough to win based on significant education reforms passed by the Legislature in December and the Obama administration’s commitment to improving education in Michigan and especially Detroit.
While about 750 Michigan school districts and charter schools signed the state’s application, only 48 union locals did so. The reforms passed by lawmakers raise the high school dropout age to 18, link teacher evaluations to student performance, allow state takeovers of failing schools and open more charter schools.
“We had some very bold legislative changes that were signed into law to improve our application and more than 750 school districts signed, so we feel very confident that our application will be one of the strongest that the U.S. Department of Education will have to consider,” said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the state Department of Education.
Like Florida, Louisiana, California and other states with tough reform packages, Michigan won few signatures of support from unions, a shortcoming that could cost it points when up to 30 states send in their forms.
Still, one expert says the strength of Michigan’s tough legislation and its refusal to water it down to win union support could make the state’s application hard to turn down.
“(The lack of union support) might not hurt Michigan as much as you think,” said Joe Williams, executive director of New York City-based Democrats for Education Reform. “It looks like Michigan is the poster child for how Race to the Top was supposed to work.
“Michigan goes in and does this sweeping reform plan. It’s raised the bar for a lot of other states.”
Some states, including Colorado, which had been considered a frontrunner in the race, passed weaker reforms than initially proposed to garner support from unions, Williams said.
The Obama administration will weigh the value of collaboration with local unions against its desire for states to adopt tough education reforms.
Application forwarded
The American Federation of Teachers-Michigan, which represents Detroit Public Schools, sent a blanket letter of support over the weekend, but stopped short of issuing agreements from its roughly 50 local bargaining units.
The Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union, issued a statement last week recommending locals not endorse Michigan’s application.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan, and State Board of Education President Kathleen Straus signed the application over the weekend, and it was forwarded to the U.S. Department of Education on Monday afternoon, Ackley said. The state won’t publicly release the final application online until tonight to prevent other states from reading and matching it, he added.
Ackley wouldn’t say how much funding the state applied for, though the U.S. Department of Education estimates Michigan could win about $400 million or more.
The first round of winners will be announced in April. Those who didn’t apply this time will have another chance in June, with Phase 2 winners announced in September.
The applications were due as President Barack Obama was expected to announce plans to expand the program next year by $1.35 billion.
“We want to challenge everyone — parents, teachers, school administrators — to raise standards, by having the best teachers and principals, by tying student achievement to assessments of teachers, by making sure that there’s a focus on low-performing schools, by making sure our students are prepared for success in a competitive 21st century economy and workplace,” Obama said.
Added Secretary of Education Arne Duncan: “This competition has generated an overwhelming response from over 30 states in just the first round of funding. By continuing, we have an opportunity to create incentives for far-reaching improvement in our nation’s schools.”
Union support lagging
Michigan is among several states that have struggled to win union support. Teacher unions in Florida and Minnesota urged their locals not to sign onto to their states’ plans.
One of Rhode Island’s two teacher unions, the Providence Teachers’ Union, agreed Monday to support that state’s application. But the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals’ 10 other locals declined to sign on. The National Education Association of Rhode Island, which represents most of the state’s suburban and rural districts, also has declined to endorse the plan.
“We’re not going to send in a local union signature without analyzing every final word,” AFT-Michigan President David Hecker said.
“If we had three days to look at the final plan and analyze it, we would have sent in the final (memoranda). It’s understandable, but the timing did (cause) a little bit of a dilemma.”
The Obama administration has used Race to the Top funding to push states to link teacher pay to student performance, open more charters and adopt other fundamental education reforms.
Some states lifted the cap on charter schools, while Michigan will allow its best charters to become “schools of excellence” that will no longer count against Michigan’s cap of 150 university-authorized charters.
Michigan’s reform package includes a new fast-track teacher certification process — an idea favored by the Obama administration but which several other states abandoned after objections by teacher unions.