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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Does It Take A Millage?

I have been hearing, and reading,  a lot of discussion about the proposed county-wide 2 mill education millage. If you are a county resident, you get to vote on it this coming November 3d. And if you've been reading this blog semi-regularly, you know that I have said Please, Raise My Taxes. Still, when I first heard about this county-wide millage proposal, my first reaction was NOT, "Oh, goody! Someone is listening to me." My first reaction was to get even madder about Proposal A than I already am. Under Proposal A, the Ann Arbor schools get pointed at critically because Ann Arbor is a "hold harmless" district and gets "so much money" (when Proposal A was developed, 44 [corrected 10/19/09] hold harmless districts were told if they bought in, they wouldn't lose money on the deal).  Yet thanks to Proposal A, we have lost control of how much money we can raise for our district, because that authority is ceded to a bunch of clueless state legislators. AND, to add insult to injury, we are still a "donor" district, meaning that more of our money goes out of the district than stays in the district.
As far as I am concerned, Proposal A was a deal with the devil. We lose control of our own destiny, and we don't get the security that was promised. So here's the essence of my thoughts. When I said, "Raise my taxes," I had in mind a state-level solution, one that would likely include a progressive income tax, instead of a flat income tax, which is what we have now. It doesn't look like that is happening anytime soon, but understand this: the real action around school funding is happening at the state level. The local millage question is peanuts in comparison.

Further, the choice of a county millage is simply the product of a loophole at the state level. We can't have district operating millages (only ones that cover things like construction). And one thing that I really don't like about this kind of millage is that it seems unfair to some parts of the state. Sure, Kalamazoo and Monroe counties might have supported county education millages, but I don't think we'll be getting all 83 counties on board. Which means even more disparities. And the *only* thing that Proposal A got right was the goal of reducing disparities among school districts.

After reading comments about the millage question on arborupdate.com and annarbor.com, I get the feeling that a lot of people are upset that (here are some arguments that I have heard, along with my response):
  • Teachers get paid too much. I don't believe they do--teachers are generally over-educated and hard-working. Sure, I want the burned out teachers to leave. But the millage vote will not affect their decisions. Why shouldn't a teacher make what an engineer makes? They have about the same amount of education.
  • Teacher health insurance is too good. I might argue instead that other people's insurance is too crummy. But even if I were to agree, it's not something I can control. It's a very clumsy tool to think that voting "no" on a millage will mean that teachers have to pay more for health insurance.
  • I'm suffering, you should suffer too. Well, of course, if you need to--if you are suffering--vote your pocketbook. But remember, it's not about the administrators suffering. It's about whether the kids need to suffer. So if you are not personally suffering, don't rely on this for your agrument. And since as the schools go, so go property values, it's likely that school cuts mean we will suffer even more. Schools are major economic engines, and employ thousands of people who live in our county.
  • I don't like that the district built Skyline--or closed Kettering, or moved the sixth grade into the elementary schools.  It's done. Let's move on.
  • I don't like that the new Ypsilanti superintendent is getting paid so much. I agree, especially since the district is asking the teachers for concessions. But it's done. Next time, you run for Ypsi school board and make a different decision.
  • I don't want money to go to Willow Run--it's not well-managed. I agree that it's not well-managed, but their huge deficit does not make it any easier for them. It makes it harder, and I'm hoping times will change and that the management will change.  
  • If I vote for a millage, I want it to be "value added." This seems like maintenance. It is. That is because of the state budget cuts. Call your state legislators and tell them to fund schools adequately.
  • The schools should cut administration first. I agree. And I think the school boards shy away from that. So why is it that so few people actually ran for school board in the last go-round? You should run for school board! I mean it. I would like to see contested contests in every district in the county. And when you do win the election, remember--even if you cut administrative costs in half, the vast majority of school costs are related to instruction.
  • The millage doesn't guarantee accountability. That's true, but that is not just true about the millage. We need to demand accountability, with or without the millage.
The truth is, the choices we get are shaped by the choices we have. Since I didn't run for school board, I don't get to vote on the superintendent's salary. I don't get to negotiate with the teachers or principals union. I don't get to decide what should be cut from the budget--and I think it's a lot harder than it looks. Perhaps, given a choice of cuts, you and I wouldn't agree. You might want to cut athletics, and I know that sports made the difference in my high school experience. I might want to cut all AP classes, and you might think Advanced Placement classes are essential.

The choices we get are shaped by the choices we have. We can't have a single district millage because that is forbidden by Proposal A. Anyway, would that be for the best? The Washtenaw County area is a more-or-less integrated economic unit. In my neighborhood in Ann Arbor, I know there are teachers from Dexter, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Willow Run school districts. Those are just the ones I know. So what happens to teachers in Dexter or Willow Run will affect my neighborhood.

It's all about the kids. And voting is not enough. Public schools need caring people to run for school board, join committees, advocate at the state level, and volunteer in the schools. So however you vote, take that next step too, and ENGAGE.

But, yes. I am voting yes. I will be putting up a yard sign in my yard. And I have the literature for making a donation to the vote yes campaign sitting in my "in" box. I invite you to join me.

P.S. I've been very fortunate that so far I haven't had to remove a single comment or stop anonymous commenting.  That's because people have generally been respectful. Regarding taxes, passions run high. You don't have to agree with me, but please don't be snarky, mean, or rude. Thanks!

11 comments:

  1. You made many, many excellent points. Thank you for taking the time to respond to the variety of reasons (excuses?) for opposing the millage.

    - YpsiAnon

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  2. Thank you for a very well-written and comprehensive overview of the situation and convincing reasons to vote yes.

    The only one you missed is the naked-self-interest reason: Maintenance of property values. For better or for worse, home values are tied to perceptions of public-school quality. And large companies' decisions about where to move their new sites and jobs to are very much informed by both the quality of public schools and the capabilities of the population which derive from education.

    Given the extremely messed up political and funding environment that stupid, short-sighted decisions have given us (and you forgot to add term limits to the Big Book of Engler-Era Catastrophes), a property owner voting against this millage is cutting his or her own throat.

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  3. Schoolmuse,

    Thank you for your thoughtful post. I've also been pleased at the respectful debate going on online about the WISD millage.

    I do think your argument that we should go ahead and reward the abysmally poor record of financial dealings in the Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Willow Run (and you forgot Saline) school districts by approving this millage essentially because:

    a. It's not that teachers have overly generous benefits packages - it's that ours are crummy; and

    b. What's done is done (as far as past financial mistakes go).

    In the real world of the small businesses that pay the bulk of the taxes and employ the bulk of the people in this state, your arguments don't hold up. They only make sense in the insular and economically clueless world of public education.

    More on this can be found at http://dcon2012.wordpress.com.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Let me try that again, so the second paragraph makes sense! :)

    Schoolmuse,

    Thank you for your thoughtful post. I've also been pleased at the respectful debate going on online about the WISD millage.

    It seems to me that our argument that we should go ahead and reward the abysmally poor record of financial dealings in the Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Willow Run (and you forgot Saline) school districts by approving this millage essentially boils down to:

    a. It's not that teachers have overly generous benefits packages - it's that ours are crummy; and

    b. What's done is done (as far as past financial mistakes go).

    In the real world of the small businesses that pay the bulk of the taxes and employ the bulk of the people in this state, your arguments don't hold up. They only make sense in the insular and economically clueless world of public education.

    More on this can be found at http://dcon2012.wordpress.com.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Schools are being asked to do more with less. More data tracking. More assistance for students that are falling behind. More testing. More tough standards that are not appropriate for every student. It doesn't make sense. There needs to be money to pay for this and that means taxes from somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Many people are in bad shape, and everyone has took a hit on housing.
    The problem with the millage is the funding mechanism at the state level is still very poorly set up, so bennies and pension get funded first still, not taking any hits in these days. Of course, now salaries are stagnent, so an overall slow down of staff costs are underway.
    A big problem with the millage is that it won't be enough money, because housing is still going down, so it won't be 11 million for the schools in town, it'll be less, and it'll continue to go down,and it'll go to districts that aren't the person paying, always a dicey thing to ask someone to do, and that people everywhere are taking tough hits, very, very tough hits, and it's hard to pay for someone else's status quo when they are losing their house and/or job.
    What can the schools do? We'll be about to find out.
    I am undecided about how to vote. There's a lot in a school system that is overkill, and then other parts are underfunded and badly managed.
    If you have ever worked in a factory or plant about to be closed, you will know some of the upcoming sentiments staff will have.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Most recent anon--your points about the state are very well taken. It is frustrating that this millage is the only thing we get to vote on, but that's the way it is.

    I haven't worked in a plant that's about to close, but I have worked where there were significant layoffs, and it is stressful. There are school districts where that is happening now. For instance, this summer in Detroit some teachers with 15 years in the district got pink slipped. And there are many other districts in southeast Michigan in the same boat. Another kind of stress comes when class size gets above 30 or 35 kids. And that is frequently a result of layoffs or attrition and not hiring replacements.

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  8. Funding it always a big problem and it is kind of sad to see money get siphoned from other districts which can support themselves. Poor money management by the government in general is to blame.

    Brandon
    www.alumniclass.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey, wait, the Ann Arbor Chronicle stole the title of my blog post! Just kidding--I don't care about that. If you're still waffling, though, the Ann Arbor Chronicle did just put together (today) an excellent summary of the issues, along with some links.
    http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/10/19/does-it-take-a-millage/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Absolutely, the people left behind struggle with their own stress of trying to make do and scramble around differently. I predict lots of para professionals now in these large classes, taking on much larger teaching roles, basically becoming the other teacher, because 30-35 kids is simply too many, and will cause a lot of trouble for everyone, especially the kids.
    Scrambling around and fighting for the leftovers- resource partitioning- is an unpleasant experience for everyone, and will take some mighty good governance.
    Some things will likely just have to go, but what?? Even with the millage,the school district is going to take some severe hits.

    ReplyDelete
  11. There are far too many things that our public schools have not yet done to reduce administrative and other non-instructional costs. The time is not ripe for giving them more money to prop up a failing model.

    Vote NO on the WISD millage in November!

    ReplyDelete

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