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 Hughes
Named Acting Superintendent
Gongwer News Service, January 31, 2005
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Jeremy Hughes,
currently the state's deputy superintendent of public
instruction and the department's chief academic officer, was
named the acting state superintendent by the head of the State
Board of Education Monday, succeeding outgoing Superintendent
Tom Watkins.
Meanwhile, Mr. Watkins is headed to a job at Wayne State
University.
Mr. Watkins, who agreed to resign Saturday just before a special
State Board of Education meeting that could have led to his
firing, will not return to the department. John Austin, a
Democratic member of the board, said the resignation takes
effect on March 9 and until that time Mr. Watkins will use
accumulated vacation time.
Earlier Monday, Mr. Austin had said an official within the
department would be named as the acting superintendent until a
permanent successor is named.
Mr. Austin said the board has determined it could name someone
without having to formally meet.
"We have the utmost confidence in Jeremy to step in and lead the
Department of Education during the transitional period between
now and when the board appoints a new superintendent," Board
President Kathleen Straus (D-Bloomfield Hills) said.
The board's next scheduled meeting is next week, and at that
time it will begin the process of discussing how to go about the
search process for Mr. Watkins successor.
If a new superintendent is not named by the time Mr. Watkins'
resignation is official, then the board will select an interim
superintendent, Ms. Straus said.
While Governor Jennifer Granholm formally does not have a say in
the decision, both Mr. Austin and her spokesperson, Liz Boyd,
said she would have some influence on the choice.
Ms. Boyd said Mr. Watkins' successor should be a
results-oriented person and an effective leader. That person
would have experience in the classroom and as a school
superintendent. The candidate should be creative and have a
passion for learning.
That person should also have shown results in improving school
performance, Ms. Boyd said. He or she should both be willing to
challenge the system and have the system's respect. The
candidate should have a passion for early childhood education
and develop a plan to help school districts with declining
enrollments, she said.
"Those are some of the qualities we are looking forward," Ms.
Boyd said. "And we do think this person exists."
Meanwhile, Mr. Watkins said in a radio interview that he would
go to work at Wayne State University, but he did not say at what
post.
Wayne State officials confirmed Mr. Watkins is coming to the
university, but did not say at what position.
This, also "Hughes Named Acting Superintendent," from MIRS,
January 31, 2005...
Deputy Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer Jeremy HUughes
has been named “acting” Superintendent of Public Instruction
until the resignation of current Superintendent Tom WATKINS
takes effect in early March.
The announcement of Hughes' temporary post was made today by
State Board of Education President Kathleen STRAUS.
According to the Straus announcement, if a new Superintendent
has not been named by the time Watkins' resignation has taken
effect the State Board would appoint an interim Superintendent.
Hughes has served in the capacity of Acting Superintendent in
the past when Watkins had taken annual leave time; having the
authority to speak on behalf of the Superintendent and approve
documents as necessary.
"We have the utmost confidence in Jeremy to step in and lead the
Department of Education during the transitional period between
now and when the Board appoints a new Superintendent," Straus
said.
Hughes will continue his duties as Chief Academic Officer for
the Michigan Department of Education, a position he has held
since 2002. Prior to his role in state government, Hughes had
been Superintendent at Haslett Public Schools (1979-89) and
Dearborn Public Schools (1989-2002).
"The dedicated staff at the Department of Education is to be
commended for its focus and commitment to the State Board's
goals of improving student achievement, particularly in our high
priority schools," Straus added. "We are very fortunate to have
outstanding people working at the state level and the local
school level every day to provide quality learning environments
for our children."
The State Board will discuss the search process for the next
Superintendent at its regularly-scheduled Feb. 8 meeting in
Lansing.
Democrats Attack on Bush Social Security
Proposal
Gongwer News Service, January 31, 2005
Saying the as-yet undetailed proposals of President George W.
Bush to allow for private accounts to be part of the Social
Security system would be devastating for Michigan residents,
legislative Democrats on Monday announced they would introduce a
resolution calling on Congress to reject adding private accounts
to the system.
House Minority Leader Dianne Byrum (D-Onondaga) acknowledged
that there are long-term problems with the Social Security
system that will need shoring up. But creating a private system
will have major repercussions for every family in Michigan, not
just current retirees.
Creating a system that allows for private accounts will "take
the security out of Social Security," she told a press
conference.
Resolutions would be introduced in both the House and Senate,
and Sen. Virg Bernero (D-Lansing) predicted if it were allowed
to come to a vote by majority Republicans it would pass.
Legislative Democrats held similar bicameral press conferences
in a number of cities across the state on Monday, blasting
changes in Social Security. Mr. Bush has already labeled one of
his top priorities for his second term changing Social Security
that would allow younger workers to allocate some of the tax
paid to private accounts (called by the president "personal
accounts").
And on Monday the Michigan branch of AARP released a survey
conducted in January by EPIC/MRA that showed most of those
questioned opposing changes that would allow for private
accounts. The survey was done earlier this month of 600 voters,
with an error rate of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
However, the survey results also showed that nearly half those
interviewed, 49 percent, were 56 or older.
Republican spokespersons said the issue has not yet come up in
their caucus discussions. "We've been so focused on getting
people back to work we haven't thought about retirement issues
at the federal level," said Ari Adler, spokesperson to Senate
Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming).
Matt Resch, spokesperson to House Speaker Craig DeRoche
(R-Novi), also said House Republicans have been focused more on
state issues and not looked as a caucus at Social Security. All
he knew about the issue - besides the fact that a proposal has
not been formally made - was that a poll showed that half of
Americans did not think they would get a Social Security check
so the system needed to be fixed.
Mr. Bush has not yet released details of his proposal, but has
said it will involve private accounts being set up for younger
workers, and that he would not back tax increases to help pay
for the system.
Several major national newspapers have reported that
administration officials have suggested the changes could
require cuts in benefits for individuals not yet receiving
Social Security benefits, or to individuals receiving Social
Security disability benefits.
Supporters of private accounts in the Social Security system
have said a number of countries such as Chile and Sweden already
have private account public retirement plans, but Rep. Lee
Gonzales (D-Flint) said that recent reports from Chile showed
that the private system there failed to provide adequate
retirement income for many people.
In arguing against changes that would created private accounts,
the Democrats said that creating such a system could mean fees
totaling some $75 billion to Wall Street investment firms, while
netting a loss of $8.3 billion to Michigan's elderly.
And the party said proposals could lead individuals to lose
nearly half their Social Security benefits by 2075.
But asked what should be done to shore the system up - officials
now predict the system could technically be insolvent in 2018
and that the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay all
obligations to, depending on the source, 2042 to 2052 - Ms.
Byrum said a solution has to be found on a bipartisan basis.
Miller Plays Backroom Role in Watkins Saga
MIRS, January 31, 2005
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller (R-Harrison Twp.) may be the last
person you'd expect to play a pivotal role in the ousting of Tom
WATKINS as the state's Superintendent. But it turns out that
Miller was in the mix just hours before Watkins decided to
resign, sending a Jan. 28 letter to the Board of Education and
the governor with her complaints.
While she never mentioned Watkins by name, Miller's gripes
centered on efforts by local schools to raise the cap on the
number of disabled students required to take exams under the No
Child Left Behind Act. Some schools argue they have "failed" the
federally-required Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) because too
many special needs students are being forced to take the tests,
which brings down the overall school scores.
Miller said, "local education officials have been led to believe
by state education officials that the state had applied for and
was denied a waiver from the 1 percent cap by the U.S.
Department of Education."
However she goes on, "As of Jan. 12, 2005, the U.S. Department
of Education has not received an application from the State of
Michigan to waive the 1 percent rule." In addition, Miller is
not happy that the state has not informed school districts that
they have a right to seek an exemption from that rule from the
state.
"Many local officials are unaware of this option as the state
has not done an adequate job informing these local officials of
the flexibilities provided." [by NCLB]
On top of that, Miller reported that it was "truly
disheartening" that the state may lose $125,000 in federal
funding for not alerting high schools at the beginning of the
year that they did not meet AYP standards. That decision is
being appealed. State officials note that state law at the time
mandated the Department of Education conduct the test relatively
late in the school year, which made it almost impossible to turn
around by the federal guidelines. The law was changed late in
2004.
And Miller wants to know why the state has returned $6.3 million
in federal education money to Washington, including $1.8 million
earmarked to "assist the most impoverished students."
"The issues outlined above give me concern that the children of
Michigan are not being served as well as they could," she told
the board.
One State Education Board member pointing to the letter
suggested, "This is why we need a change."
However, the Miller correspondence was never used against
Watkins because he decided to resign rather that face the
possibility of being fired.
Watkins was asked about the Miller allegations during a Sunday
radio interview in Detroit and he said, "I don't have any
knowledge of the letter from Congresswoman Miller." But he added
he always appreciated the assistance of the Michigan
Congressional delegation.
State Board of Education President Kathleen STRAUS has asked the
department staff to research and develop a response to the
statements made by Miller regarding the federal No Child Left
Behind Law. Department spokesman Martin ACKLEY said Straus wants
to stress the State Board and Department's efforts to comply
with this new and "very complex" federal law.
"As this comprehensive new law is put into practice, adjustments
are being made at both the federal and state levels to make for
a more practical application of the new law's intentions,"
Ackley said.
(Contributed by Senior Capital Correspondent Tim SKUBICK.)
It Pays to Have a Fifth-Year Student
MIRS, January 31, 2005
A school district can legally receive the state's
$6,700-per-student foundation grant for a fifth-year high school
student, even if he or she is attending classes at a
post-secondary institution, as long as that teenager is taking
at least one class at a high school, Attorney General Mike COX
opined Friday.
In Opinion No. 7168, Cox answered a question posed in the summer
of 2003 by Rep. Lisa WOJNO (D-Warren), who had asked the
question on behalf of now-retired Van Dyke School System
Superintendent Jim EDOFF.
The state's Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act was enacted to
give high school students more incentive to become "dually
enrolled" at a trade school or a community college, for example.
But in her letter to Cox, Wojno apparently indicated that school
districts are encouraging students to remain in high school for
another year so they can participate in the dual enrollment
program and earn college credits at state expense.
"Nothing in the statutory language precludes this," Cox wrote.
"These students meet the statutory definition of 'eligible'
student if they are enrolled in at least one high school class
in at least grade 11 and have achieved the required
endorsement."
Wojno staffer Bill DRAKE said the representative asked for the
clarification for information purposes, only, and didn't plan to
introduce any legislation on the matter. He didn't indicate that
this was a major problem in the state's schools system.
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