August 2005 K-16 Coalition Funding Petition Drive Underway Alternative Heath Care Proposal Presented Michigan Department of Education Regional Update Catalog/Internet Sales Cost State $246 Million State Continues to See Progress in Lead Testing Grant Funds Released by the Michigan Department of Education 2005 - 2006 Comprehensive School Reform Program 2005 - 2007 Mathematics and Science Partnership Grant 2005 - 2006 William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Grants
Links to current Advocacy Campaigns  Top K-16 Coalition Funding Petition Drive UnderwayThe K-16 Coalition has decided we have waited long enough for the legislature to act on our proposal guarantee school funding. In an effort to force the legislature to act, we are starting an initiative petition drive. Under the initiative process we, as citizens of Michigan, propose a specific piece of legislation in the form of a petition. We then need to collect signatures. When enough valid signatures have been submitted, the legislature has 40 days to pass our legislation. They cannot amend or change our legislation in any way. If it passes, it becomes law with or without the Governor's signature. If the legislature fails to act within 40 days, our legislation goes on the ballot in 2006 and the people will vote it up or down. The process has just started and very soon we will be mailing you details and talking points on the proposed legislation, petitions, and instructions. The proposal would require:
Your local president will receive a packet of petitions, information, and instructions in the mail this week. The petitions must be signed by registered voters according to their county of residence. Petitions must not be photocopied and each petition has room for only 10 signatures. For more information, see our website: www.aftmichigan.org. Top Alternative Heath Care Proposal PresentedThree hearings have been held to review a report proposing a state-run system for school employee health insurance. The Hay Group report explored the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a consolidated health care plan for K-14 public education employees. The report's suggested strategies greatly restrict the collective bargaining of health care benefits at the local level. Further, the Hay Group approach also eliminates the benefits of heath care plan competition on cost and quality. It is our belief, however, that the savings identified in the report can be achieved and exceeded without jeopardizing the integrity of the collective bargaining process or the efficiencies found in a competitive market environment. In response to the Hay Group report, MFT&SRP President Hecker, proposed a model that would control short and long term health care costs through the pooling of large health care claims, competition and improving quality at the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing held on August 10. The model maintains employees' current bargaining rights for health care coverage, the freedom to choose their health plan, and proactive approaches to improve their health and the health of their family members. The estimated first year savings for the proposed model are $156 million, more than reported in two of the Hay Group options. Additional savings can be realized through the use of chronic care management programs, and PPOs. The following elements form the foundation of the proposed model for public school employee heath insurance:
New legislative proposals will be developed in the near future, however, they will not be using Senate Bills 55 and 56. Top Michigan Department of Education Regional UpdateThe Office of Professional Preparation Services will conduct statewide regional information meetings providing an update of important information on the current status of No Child Left Behind policy and other issues impacting teacher preparation and certification, as well as recent revisions to Criminal Checks for teachers, administrators and educational support staff. Agenda items include:
You are invited to attend any session that is convenient. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with meetings starting at 9:00 a.m. Staff presentations will be followed by a question and answer period. In order to help plan for refreshments, you are asked to e-mail your attendance to Denise Dickenson at dickensond@michigan.gov as soon as possible. There is no registration fee for attendance. The 2005 schedule is as follows:
Top Catalog/Internet Sales Cost State $246 MillionA recent report from the Department of Treasury estimates that unpaid sales taxes through offsite sales cost the state $246 million in fiscal 2003-04. In fiscal year 2003 - 2004 sales tax provided 46% of the school aid fund. Seventy-three percent of total sales tax revenue (4.38 cents of the 6 cent sales tax) is earmarked for the school aid fund. The remaining sales tax revenue contributes to the General Fund. Higher Education and Community College are two of the budgets funded by the General Fund. For the current fiscal year the report estimates the state could lose $270 million in sales tax revenues to items purchased online or through catalogs. This figure has grown since 2001, when catalog and Internet sales cost the state and estimated $194 million. By fiscal year 2007, that loss could grow to $328 million unless a new voluntary collection program slated to begin October 1 in 18 states helps trim that amount. While the growth of the Internet has sparked much of the concern about offsite sales, the report said the bulk of the $246 million in lost sales taxes in 2004 were in sales to traditional catalog operations. But potential revenue losses from electronic sales are expected to grow from $80 million in 2004 to $140 million in 2007. Since 1999, the state has added a line on its personal income tax forms, the M-1040, stating that individuals should pay use taxes on items they have purchased online or by catalog. For 2004, slightly more than 81,000 taxpayers paid the state $3.4 million in use taxes on those purchases. Last month, Michigan officials along with officials in 17 other states announced they would begin voluntary compliance under the streamlined sales and use tax agreement on October 1. On that date, catalog and Internet retailers will be encouraged to collect and remit sales taxes to individual states and local governments. Unless Congress acts, however, the states cannot compel retailers to collect those taxes. Because sales/use tax is a large portion of Michigan's revenue stream, the MFT&SRP has an obligation to our members to be stewards of this important revenue source. Top State Continues to See Progress in Lead TestingThe July report on blood lead testing of Medicaid-eligible children, from the Department of Community Health, shows that 45 percent of all eligible children have had a blood test for possible lead poisoning by their second birthday, up more than 20 percent over the last year. The report also shows that 50 percent of all eligible children have had at least one blood test by their third birthday. And by the time they are six years old, 56 percent of all eligible children have had at least one blood test for the substance, according to the report. In July 2004, just 35.2 percent of all eligible 2-year olds had been tested for lead poisoning. Just 42.1 percent of eligible three-year olds had been tested, while 47.3 percent of all eligible 6-year-olds had been tested. In 2003, Governor Jennifer Granholm set a goal that 80 percent of all Medicaid- eligible children be tested for lead poisoning by 2007. Lead poisoning in small children, caused mostly if small children eat paint chips from old houses painted years ago in lead-based paint, or breathe in the dust of that paint, can cause learning disabilities as well as hearing loss and other problems. The success of testing children varies widely by county, however. According to the report, in Mackinac County 85 percent of all eligible children - which, admittedly is a small group of 46 - had been tested by the their sixth birthday. In Emmet County, with 169 children eligible, only 11 percent had been had been tested. In Detroit, which had nearly 9,700 eligible toddlers, 71 percent had been tested by their third birthday. In the rest of Wayne County, with nearly 3,600 hundred eligible children, 43 percent had been tested by their third birthday. After extensive discussion on this issue with Governor Granholm's staff last session, the MFT&SRP worked with various senators and representatives on legislation designed to improve lead testing in children. Those bills were enacted into law before the end of the 2004 legislative session. Top Grant Funds Released by the Michigan Department of EducationThe 2005 - 2006 Title I, Part A - Improving Basic Program is a federal grant to help disadvantaged children meet high academic standards through participation in a schoolwide program designed to strengthen the entire educational program, or a targeted assistance program designed to provide additional instruction to low-achieving students. The 2005 - 2006 Title II, Part A - Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting federal grant program to increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools; and hold local educational agencies and schools accountable for improvements in student academic achievement. MFT&SRP qualifying locals and total allocation amounts are listed below:
Top 2005 - 2006 Comprehensive School Reform ProgramThis is a federal reform initiative which focuses on the reorganization and revitalization of entire schools. The purpose of the School Reform Program is to provide financial incentives for high poverty schools to improve student achievement through the implementation of comprehensive school reform programs that are based on reliable and effective practices. MFT&SRP qualifying locals and total allocation amounts are listed below:
Top 2005 - 2007 Mathematics and Science Partnership GrantThis grant is intended to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing he content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. Partnership between high-need school districts and the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty in institutions of higher education are at the core of the improvement efforts. MFT&SRP qualifying locals and total allocation amounts are listed below:
Top 2005 - 2006 William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy GrantsThe primary intent of Even Start is to break the inter-generational cycle of illiteracy and school failure by supporting families through interactive literacy activities between parents and their children, training for parents regarding how to be the primary teachers for their children and full partners in the education of their children, parent literacy training and leads to economic self- sufficiency, and age-appropriate education to prepare children for success in school. MFT&SRP qualifying locals and total allocation amounts are listed below:
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