Nearly $160,000 was not enough for the Clarkston Education Association to sign on to the Race to the Top federal program.
The CEA’s concern was heard and agreed with but the Clarkston Board of Education voted unanimously sign the Memorandum of Understanding to participate on Jan. 6.
‘I am going to vote yes on the outside, but no on the inside,? said Trustee Joe Armstrong. ‘I think Clarkston has a great school district. Can it improve? Yes, but I don’t know if this will make it improve.?
The district could receive $159,345 if Michigan is chosen to receive the Race to the Top stimulus funds.
‘The money has so many strings attached,? said Brooke Davis, Clarkston Education Association President, who declined to sign onto the Memorandum of Understanding to participate in Race to the Top federal school funding program.
‘If you look at it on the surface, it isn’t a bad idea,” Davis said. “But when you look underneath, I believe this will cost Clarkston money in the long run. With all the strings attached and every piece of legislation being passed because of this, it will cost more money to test more, evaluate teachers more, and take time out of schedules already too busy to evaluate.?
Deadline to sign was Jan. 10. Board members agreed the state didn’t release information needed to make an informed decision nor included costs of implementing new mandates imposed with the funds.
‘We still have the right to say this is going to cost too much, it’s going to cost more than $159,000, we are not going to play ball,? said Trustee Bruce Bomier. ‘But I think there are bigger issues on state finances that we need to do than this.?
Superintendent Dr. Albert Roberts reminded the board the district would have to follow state reform requirements whether or not the memorandum was signed.
‘They did pass the laws,? said Roberts. ‘They are in existence. We will still be bound to do all the work they are requesting. There is a need for reform in the state and school districts have not been the fastest to implement changes. They are looking at it from the perspective of kids not being served at all in urban areas. I am not supporting it because the process was poorly done. There will be hidden costs. We will have to struggle with our resources to accommodate.?
Another question raised at the meeting was would Clarkston still have the same opportunity as everyone else when they applied for grants, or would not signing cast a shadow on them.
The education reforms include the state intervening in low-performing schools, requirement for administrators to be certified, annual evaluations of teachers based on student performance, fast-track teacher certifications, and raising dropout age from 16 to 18.
‘Reform is not a bad word,? said Secretary Cheryl McGinnis. ‘But one size does not fit all. We have students we are not reaching and it would be wonderful if words on a piece of paper and rules made students learn better and teachers teach better, but that is not going to happen. I think there is truly a tremendous amount of things that happen to those kids before they get to all of our doors, either the door of the building or door of the classroom.?
‘This is a weird situation we are being asked to do,? said Davis. ‘Lansing has hurriedly pushed something on us to get legislation that may or may not qualify us to get some money. Clarkston does not need to be told what to do, we do a good job.?
The Memorandum of Understanding requires signatures from the superintendent and school board president. Signature by union representatives was optional.
‘If I was asked to sign something at this time as a representative of the association, I philosophically disagree with the legislation that Michigan put forth in order to qualify for this,? Davis added.
States chosen for Race to the Top funds will be announced in April. Michigan could receive up to $400 million.