If ever you want evidence that Betsy DeVos bought and paid for the legislature in Michigan, consider the decision just made by the State Senate to take money approved by voters for their public schools and give it to charter schools. More than 80% of the state’s charters operate for profit. They get worse results than the state’s public schools. The state has minimal expectations or accountability for charter schools. Why are they getting more money?
“The Michigan Senate passed a controversial bill Wednesday that will allow charter schools in the state to collect revenues from enhancement millages levied by intermediate school districts.
“Republicans said the bill would treat all students — whether they attend traditional public schools or charter schools — fairly, but Democrats said the legislation was stealing money that voters approved for traditional public schools and shifting those funds to charter schools.
“I introduced this bill because there are 14,000 … students in Kent County that aren’t being treated fairly,” said Sen. David Hildenbrand, R-Lowell. “And there are 56,000 students in Wayne County that aren’t being treated fairly either.”
“But Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, said voters approved the millages with the knowledge that the money would go to traditional public schools in their county.
“This bill takes school funding, which is already stretched to the max in the state, and tries to stretch it even further,” he said. “This is corporate welfare. It’s stealing.”
“Enhancement millages can be used for just about anything by a school district, including lowering class sizes, hiring teachers, upgrading technology or purchasing materials.
“The Wayne County school districts could be hit the hardest if the legislation receives final passage because the county has more than 100 charter schools. The county approved a 10-year enhancement millage in 2016 that is raising $80 million annually that is split among the county’s 33 public school districts.
“Hildenbrand said his intent with the bill is that it won’t affect existing millages, only when a renewal or new millage comes up before voters. But in its analysis of the bill, the Senate Fiscal Agency concluded it would apply to existing millages, too.
“And Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said the language in the bill is so vague that charter schools — some of them for-profit operators from out-of-state — could claim the funding.
“The language matters and it was ambiguous at best and at the very least it’s showing that we’re putting profits before educating all of our students,” Ananich said.”
Why fund failure?
POSTED the original article at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Senate-passes-controversia-in-General_News-Charter-Schools_Language_Legislation_Michigan-171019-36.html with a comment leading back here.
“Robbin the Hood”
Robbin the hood
Of public schools
Swappin with flood
Of charter tools
Over the Hedge
With his merry men
Robbin the Hood
Has struck again
From A Damthology of Deform (vol 1)
http://damthology.blogspot.com/
We have passed the point where logic and reason no longer prevail. The goal is to promote privatization, even when the results do not merit expansion. Florida has made the same reckless and senseless decision to move even more public money into private hands rather than fairly fund public education. Both states need to change leadership if the people value their public schools and want them to serve future generations.
“Unreasonable Reasoning”
Reason only works
With reasonable folks
It doesn’t work with jerks
And doesn’t work with jokes
It doesn’t work on those
With evil moneyvations
Unreasonable to suppose
That reason rules relations
Past the point of reason is RIGHT. This is because of the LIES from the charter school industry aided by politicians. SICK.
So, we have politicians who USE the populous for their own GREED and POWER. Is this what this country has boiled down to…TYRANNY by Coporatons aided by politicans for campaign contributions?
Yes, exactly so, retired teacher.
And it’s happening not just in a couple of states, it’s happening in more and more of them.
Reblogged this on The Most Revolutionary Act and commented:
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District voters approved these funds for financially stretched public schools – a new bill would transfer it to struggling for profit charter schools. Corporate welfare at its sleeziest. g
So Michigan has an education crisis (because of the charter school industry) and an opioid crisis (http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/michigan_opioid_heroin.html). OMG.
OMG.
And each crisis was precipitated by a billionaire family.
Funny how no matter what crisis you look at, there always seems to be a billionaire at it’s root.
It’s like they are crisis trees or something.
“The Crisis Trees”
The billionaires are crisis trees
With crisis in their leaves
And crisis always brings disease
And takes away like thieves
They are weeds … crises weeds. For instance, poison Ivy, or poison oak, or sumac.
Let’s take the DeVos family, and stuff them in a huge burlap sack filled with these weeds.
Really Lloyd?
You’re losing your touch. . . Did you not forget to include the razor blades, steel wool, and nails from Home Depot into the mix of poisonous weeds?
If you are going to do something, do it the right way.
Weed Killer
Insecticide
Grass killer
They have a lot of poisons at Home Depot just like Washington DC does.
To their thinking, they are not funding failure. They are funding profits for a member of that fraud club network.
Yes! They will not fail to take more taxpayer money for their own profits. Failure to the middle and lower classes and success for the monied class. Makes sense.
Charters are Cash Cows
from:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/20/a-dozen-problems-with-charter-schools/?utm_term=.64eac9a1220b
Why not we have a governor who poisons cities. Makes people want to move here, right?