The Daily Mining Gazette - Published: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 Print Article | Close Window Educators, legislators discuss state of local schools By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer HANCOCK — Although an educational legislative meeting Monday failed to elicit many answers for local K12 administrators, it did confirm consensus on several main issues. State Rep. Mike Lahti, D-Hancock, and aides representing U.S. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, met with 45 school board members and administrators Monday at the Copper Country Association of School Boards Legislative Breakfast held at the Ramada Inn in Hancock. Organized by the L’Anse Area Schools, the event was co-sponsored by Hitch Inc. The federal No Child Left Behind Act was a hot topic, with educators and legislators agreeing that it needed serious revision. “A lot of it is unfunded and is difficult for schools to comply,” said L’Anse Public Schools Superintendent Ray Pasquali. Amy Berglund, representing Sen. Levin, said the Act was up for reauthorization soon. “The senator has serious concerns about the way the whole program has been administered,” she said. “In concept, he supports what NCLB was expected to do for students in need but the lack of funding has hindered a lot of schools in their efforts.” Sheri Davie said Sen. Stabenow had the same concerns as her senior counterpart in the senate. “Of course local government has issues with unfunded mandates,” she said. “I’m optimistic that we will see some changes.” Both Davie and Berglund urged educators to continue to voice their concerns on the Act. “We put this back on you for comment,” she said. “Are you seeing more technology, smaller class sizes, more after-school programs? If it’s not working, we need to hear from you.” Davie said letters and documentation from administrators help legislators advocate for better educational programming. “Resolutions from school systems help us carry the battle flag a little higher,” she said. Funding for the No Child Left Behind Act is received from Title 1 funding, which has declined for rural schools during a program change. A previous formula was based on children who received free or reduced lunch, but current funding is based on a census poverty system. Administrators say the new formula negatively impacts rural public schools. “That mandate is underfunded nationwide but those federal dollars now favor large urban districts,” said Chassell Township Schools Superintendent Mike Gaunt. Hancock Public Schools Superintendent John Vaara added that he’s seen a 65 percent decrease in Title 1 funding in his district. “Because of the way it’s funded, kids are getting hurt,” Vaara said. Baraga Schools Superintendent Norm McKindles shared his research into Title 1 funding for Upper Peninsula Schools. “About 60 to 70 percent of U.P. schools have seen a 30 to 60 percent decrease in Title 1 dollars,” McKindles said. “Those programs that used to be funded through Title 1 are now a small version of the programs they used to be.” Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw Public Schools Superintendent Darryl Pierce said the formula shift has negatively impacted his district, where 60 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch, but the new formula looks at census data instead. “We’ve got some affluent retired people in Eagle Harbor that skew that census money,” he said. McKindles added that although the state has the flexibility to shift those dollars, he believes state legislators haven’t done so for political reasons. “The formula is a huge factor that favors urban areas, so we lose,” he said. McKindles said he goes to Washington twice a year and has met with Sens. Levin and Stabenow and Rep. Stupak to advocate for more funding for the rural schools in their districts. “They’ve seen the spreadsheets, but I don’t know where it’s gone from there,” he said. Chassell Township Schools Board of Education President Doug Hamar asked Lahti his thoughts on House Bill 4042, scheduled to be discussed today by the House Education Committee. Lahti said he was not in favor of the bill, which requires compulsory school attendance for children up to age 18, instead of age 16 as is currently required. “The problem is that if people don’t want to be in school, they’ll be no help to anybody and be disruptive,” Lahti said. Brad Baltensperger of the Houghton-Portage Township Schools Board of Education said the rationale behind the bill was in today’s economy, a child without a high school diploma would not have a chance at a successful life. “You’re setting up a vicious cycle of failure, returning that person to a community that doesn’t have a chance to improve,” Baltensperger said. Related to that, Copper Country Intermediate School District Director of Career and Technical Education Bill Rivest said funding for vocational programs was woefully inadequate. “There are kids that don’t fit into the normal school system, who often come with a lot of baggage, and need counseling when there’s no funding for that,” he said. “Making a mandate without support isn’t going to be helpful.” Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Schools Superintendent Jan Quarless agreed with Rivest that more attention and funding needs to be paid to students not intending to pursue a college degree. “We need electricians in this state, and we don’t have any because we keep telling all of our kids they need a college degree,” he said. An Iron River native, Quarless said when he was young it was obvious that some kids would be heading to the mines and not to college, and there was no concern about that. “We have to quit saying to kids ‘get that four-year education, get that four-year degree, and we’ll get you a job in our state,’ because the truth is, we won’t,” Quarless said. “We need to recognize that the No Child Left Behind document is a monster we’ve created.” Educators also voiced their disapproval of the recent change in school board elections, which are now held in November and overseen by municipalities instead of the former May elections which were organized by school districts. “When we controlled it, we could afford it,” said C-L-K School Board Vice-President Wanda Frimodig. Vaara and Pierce said in addition to being more costly, there were ideological reasons to not have the elections in November. “If it’s a separate election in May, then whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican doesn’t come into it,” Vaara said. “I don’t think school board issues should be in a political arena; they’re separate issues,” Pierce said. “You get into a November election and anything can happen.” Energy efficiency programs, a mandate requiring school employee fingerprinting and other issues were also discussed at the meeting. Davie, a former school board member in her home district, said she had a reasonably good understanding of the issues educators were facing, and thanked them for their service. Berglund, the wife of a schoolteacher, said she also empathized with the districts’ funding challenges. Lahti encouraged the administrators to continue to contact him with any concerns, educational or otherwise. “I recognize that we need jobs in Michigan, and that’s directly tied to our educators,” he said. “You all have one of the most important jobs there is.” Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com