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Lawmakers
Want to Limit Spending on Administration
Judy Putnam, Lansing Bureau, July 5, 2005
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LANSING -- Four
out of every 10 Michigan school districts are spending 65 cents
or more of each operating dollar inside the classroom, according
to the Michigan Department of Education. Rep. Jack Hoogendyk,
R-Kalamazoo, a member of the House Education Committee, wants
all districts to hit that mark.
He's introduced legislation that would require districts to
spend nearly two-thirds of operating funds inside the classroom,
mainly on salaries for teachers and teacher aides, and supplies.
The bill has the support of House Education Committee Chairman
Brian Palmer, R-Romeo, who says he plans to hold hearings on the
measure.
The state's 553 school districts already spend an average 61
cents of every operating dollar in the classroom, according to
Education Department data from 2003-04.
Hoogendyk said that's better than he thought, but there's still
room for improvement.
Pushing the state average to 65 cents would put a half-billion
dollars back into classrooms, he said.
"Most Michigan families and most people who run a business would
say we should be able to put more than 61 percent in the
classroom to support the teachers," Hoogendyk said.
The 61-cent average is higher than the 57 cents for Michigan in
2002-03 reported by the National Center for Education
Statistics, a federal agency. It reported that Michigan spent
57.4 cents in 2001-02.
At 57 cents, Michigan has among the lowest classroom spenders in
the country, topping just New Mexico and the District of
Columbia.
But the national data include spending on the state's
intermediate school districts and charter schools, which is not
included in the state's report.
Martin Ackley, spokesman for the Michigan Department of
Education, said the department's look at inside-the-classroom
spending by district gives a more accurate picture.
It found that 219 districts spend 65 cents or more; 236 spend
between 60 and 65 cents; 82 spend between 55 and 60 cents; and
16 spend less than 55 cents.
The results are a mixed bag. Bigger urban schools tend to spend
less inside the classroom, while tiny schools are at both ends
of the spectrum. Wealthier schools tended to spend more in the
classroom, but there were exceptions.
Flint and Muskegon, both inner-city districts, for example,
spent 56 cents per state aid dollar in the classroom, as did the
well-to-do Bloomfield Hills schools.
Charter schools are exempted in Hoogendyk's legislation because
their capital costs come out of their operating funds; the
capital costs of traditional school do not. Charters get a
per-pupil foundation grant, but they don't have authority to
levy property taxes to pay for school buildings.
That puts charter schools spending an average of 48 cents inside
the classroom, according to the Education Department.
Ron Koehler, an assistant superintendent for organizational and
community initiatives at Kent Intermediate School District, said
it's not fair to exclude charters.
"If it's good for public schools to direct a certain percentage
to the classroom, certainly charter schools should do the same,"
he said.
Koehler also disagrees with definitions that would count
counselors and nurses as out-of-classroom expenditures. Shifting
money to classrooms would likely cut those services or
transportation, food service or security.
"I think anybody who really believes our schools are fat
administratively ought to come and spend a day or two with
people in our districts," he said.
Hoogendyk said he's been surprised that the legislation,
introduced last month, was criticized by educators. He said
teachers should be happy that he's trying to spend less on
administration and more on teaching.
Margaret Trimer-Hartley, a spokeswoman for the Michigan
Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, said
the proposal is too restricting. Schools provide much more than
academics, she said, including food, counseling and health care.
"In too many places, schools are asked to do everything," she
said. "If that is going to remain the case, we have to allow the
flexibility for them to meet all of those needs and not
proscribe a piece of legislation that would tie their hands."
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