Michigan- News from the Front

[strelnik]

Just in case you wanted to know what's occupying the Motor City and the state which surrounds it these days, here is a compilation of info from various sources. Not enough room to cut+paste all the particulars.

Michigan lost its piece of the $4,000,000,000 first round money for education, call "Reach for the Top" requiring innovative teaching and management. Sec of Ed Arnie Duncan declined to address it directly, but it leaked that there were a few particulars which came to the attention of the committee. Two in particular:

1. Detroit Teachers' union officials refused to allow the teachers to consider a measure in which they would have an end of the week meeting to discuss one or two key issues that impacted their students. The 30 minute max meeting (the idea: keep it simple) could not be discussed unless the teachers were to get minimum overtime of 34.00/hr for the half hour, which would actually be paid as an hour.

2. The vice president of a small suburban state school called Oakland University makes $259,000 annually. He has lobbied for the past several years to keep getting these increases. Apparently he was asked what his plan was for 2010-2011. The answer, allegedly: obtain a 9% raise for this year

The mayor of Detroit has announced that work should begin, if all goes well, on a 178 million dollar rapid transit from downtown, going north eight miles to the edge of the city. Aside from the fact that this train runs on a well-covered bus route and does not link the downtown area with anything, it has just been discovered that no one ever guaranteed the funding. This might be the "if all goes well" caveat that might slow things down.... Someone in the administration was asked why the train doesn't connect the airport and suburbs, since it would have a better chance of attracting passengers. The city declined comment.