Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger had a good day yesterday. His effort to stamp down the efforts of 26-year old Autumn Smith to force him to face his constituents in a recall vote got a shot in the arm from a willing judge in Calhoun County. Not only that, he got to enjoy his win on Autumn’s birthday. A judge […]

This scenario was entirely predictable. The latest call for an emergency manager in Metro Detroit is coming from an unlikely place — the affluent Northville Public Schools. Stalled contract negotiations between administrators and employees have school board members discussing the possibility of seeking an emergency manager, which under state law must be appointed by the governor. Emergency managers have the […]

It’s been a really tough week in Michigan, but yesterday was the worst day. The Republicans in our state legislature passed a package of four bills designed to strip away significant rights from unionized teachers. Two of them, H.B. 4626 and 4628, were particularly egregious. House Bill 4626 allows schools to fire teachers for almost any reason that is not […]

Oh, great. Rep. Bill Rogers, the guy who sponsored two bills to diminish, threaten and punish unionized teachers in Michigan is now heading up a group reform Michigan’s entire education system. State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, is spearheading an education-reform work group he said will be “proactive instead of reactive” in pursuing changes to education funding and how students […]

Back in March, I wrote about Michigan Republicans’ efforts to further penalize teachers who go on strike in our state. From the article I linked (no longer available): State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, on Tuesday introduced legislation creating penalties for public schoolteachers and the Michigan Education Association for inciting or participating in strikes. House Bill 4466 would fine the […]

To say things are bad for teachers in Michigan is tragic understatement. Layoff notices are being issued around the state (per union contracts) for the coming school year. The most significant was announced this week: Detroit Public School teachers union members get pink slips Detroit Public Schools administrators have mailed layoff notices to the 5,466 members of the teachers union […]

Teachers in the city of Monroe, Michigan have been informed that they will all be given pink slips when the school year ends. The school district is forced to do this because they face a $5.6 million budget deficit for the 2011/2012 school year along with imminent cuts of $470 per student coming from the state under Governor Rick Snyder’s […]

The fun never ceases in Michigan these days, does it? What now? This: Republicans in the state House have introduced legislation to fine striking teachers and even revoke their licenses. State Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, on Tuesday introduced legislation creating penalties for public schoolteachers and the Michigan Education Association for inciting or participating in strikes. House Bill 4466 would […]

Beautiful. Spend three quality minutes with this video. A response from a teacher to a patronizing jerk who asked him, “You’re a teacher, Taylor. Be honest. What do you make?” In addition to being a teacher, Taylor Mali is a slam poet. His website is here. Here’s a transcript of the video (link). He says the problem with teachers is, […]