Teachers rallied in cities around the state Monday to oppose further cuts in education. They also took aim at other cost-cutting moves by state lawmakers. To make their point, Kalamazoo-area members of the state's largest teachers' union lined Westnedge Avenue at four locations in Kalamazoo and Portage, as WMUK's Andy Robins reports.
(Sound of cars honking)
Teachers standing along South Westnedge in front of Southland Mall in Portage got audible support from some passing motorists. They held signs protesting recent cuts in state support for K-12 schools. The rally was organized by the Michigan Education Association. Beth Dawson, a third-grade teacher at Amberly Elementary School in Portage, says the state can't afford any more reductions in education funding. Standing next to Dawson, Portage special education teacher Steve Simunovic offered some suggestions on ways the state could find more money for schools. They include a slight increase in the state income tax or adopting a graduated income tax.
Simunovic also took issue with bills signed recently by Governor Granholm that will require teachers to pay three-percent of their salaries to cover health benefits when they retire. But Simunovic and other MEA members say there's no guarantee they'll actually get any benefits. The provision is part of a reform package encouraging older teachers and state employees to retire this year. Governor Granholm says that will save Michigan school districts more than $3 billion over the next decade.
Although the retirement changes aren't popular with teachers, school officials around the state did get some good news last week on another front. They apparently won't face any additional cuts in the state's current fiscal year as lawmakers look for ways to close an estimated $244-million gap. Even so, MEA President Iris Salters says Michigan can't afford to continue lurching from one budget crisis to the next if it wants good schools. She says the state could stabilize school funding by extending the sales tax to cover services, and by eliminating business tax breaks that aren't creating jobs. But the first idea isn't likely to get much traction in Lansing, where Republicans and many Democrats oppose tax increases.
The MEA will hold a rally at the state Capitol on June 24th to press lawmakers on school funding issues.