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Article of Interest - Education

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Byrum Says Study Could Undermine Teacher Benefits
Gongwer News Service, July 12, 2005
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A report due this week on whether the state should set up a system for teacher health insurance was criticized by House Minority Leader Dianne Byrum (D-Onondaga) as a "smokescreen" for legislation that would create such a system and effectively disallow organizations like the Michigan Education Special Services Administration.

But Ms. Byrum's comments drew a blistering response from a Senate Republican spokesperson, who said she was "lying to promote a political agenda."

The report, commissioned by the Legislative Council from the Virginia-based Hay Group, is due Wednesday, although it may not physically be presented to the council until Thursday. The report was to look at whether a statewide health insurance system for teachers would be more cost effective than having districts negotiate health care programs on their own.

While the report was not released, the leaders of the four legislative caucuses were allowed to review a draft of the report and comment on it. John Strand, the Legislative Council's administrator, said the final report could be completely different from the draft.

An analysis of the draft report, obtained by Gongwer News Service, said the state could save between $151 million and $277 million if a centralized system of providing teacher health insurance was created. Local bargaining by teachers would remain, but not affected would be health insurance benefits, the analysis says of the report.

But Ms. Byrum said the $285,000 study is designed to justify SB 55 and SB 56, which would set up a statewide insurance system.

Ms. Byrum charged the money could have been better spent on early-childhood programs or other education related programs although Republicans noted that Ms. Byrum voted for the legislation that established the funds for the report - part of the wide-ranging general government budget bill.

She also said the proposal - if in fact it does call for a statewide insurance system - would create a new disincentive for teachers to remain in the profession.

"We should be doing everything we can to attract well-trained, qualified people to teaching," Ms. Byrum said in a release. But if SB 55 and SB 56 become law, it will drive people from teaching and the ones who will suffer are school children.

But Ari Adler, spokesperson to Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) said, "Rep. Byrum's accusations are based on incomplete information from a draft report that was shared with her office in confidence. She has set a new standard for violating the trust of her colleagues and lying to promote a political agenda."

In response to that, Dan Farough of the House Democrats said, "Senate Republicans have set a new low in turning teachers into political punching bags and treating our kids as pawns to advance an agenda of privatizing local schools and promoting vouchers."

     

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