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Posthumus Outlines Education Agenda/Dems: Too Little, Too Late
MIRS, September 5,
2002
For more articles on disabilities and special ed visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Lt. Gov. Dick POSTHUMUS today
outlined his education agenda for the media at Fairview
Elementary School in Lansing.
“As a product of Michigan public schools, the one thing I can
tell is how important a good teacher and a good school is in
the life of a child,” Posthumus said. The Alto Republican went
on to add that it was his public school education that has
allowed him to succeed.
“I am a Republican who supports our public schools,” Posthumus
added.
The Posthumus education agenda was developed in conjunction
with a group of 25 teachers, principals and superintendents
from across the state who were asked by the Lt. Governor to
put together a list of best practices for Posthumus to review.
“I didn't ask these educators their political party because I
didn't care and it wasn't important,” Posthumus said.
The Lt. Governor said that he and his wife, Pam, have spent
countless hours volunteering in their local school's PTA and
believe strongly in public schools.
“That's why my education plan doesn't come from a focus group,
it doesn't come from policy wonks in Lansing, it comes from
the people in the schools,” he added.
Topping the list of his agenda items is the Lt. Governor's
pledge that all children in kindergarten when he takes office
on Jan. 1, 2003 will be reading at grade level by third grade.
Other agenda items include:
- Greater coordination of early childhood services such as day
care, heath care, special education intervention and early
childhood education.
- Empowering parents by promoting efforts like those of Ruth
JONES at Henry Park Academy in Grand Rapids that works closely
with young parents to help them gain the tools and the
confidence to be a part of their child's education and
development.
- Creating a Governor's Principal Academy to find and train
good school principals in the buildings where they are needed.
- Working with state teacher training universities to ensure
young educators are prepared for the academic, physical and
emotional challenges of the classroom and to offer incentives
to keep them teaching.
- Refusing to “let Michigan go back to the days of teacher
strikes” and opposing mandatory binding arbitration in labor
negotiations.
- Protect reforms made to the Detroit public school system and
give Detroit residents a voice in selecting their school
leadership by empowering the Detroit mayor to appoint school
board members and the school's CEO.
- Swiftly implement the new federal testing requirements
created by the “Leave No Child Behind Act” and enact a system
where teachers and parents receive test results quickly and in
time to use in the classroom.
- Work with Congress to increase federal funding for special
education and work with the National Governors Association to
“call on Congress to keep its promise to Michigan's children
with special needs.”
- Lifting the cap on charter schools.
- Expand the number of M-TEC centers in Michigan, continue
partnerships currently developing in Workforce Development
Boards across the state and promote Career Pathways for high
school students and the Career Readiness Certificate for those
with skills.
- Create tax incentives to encourage private developers to
build school buildings and lease them to school districts.
According to Mark BREWER, chair of the Michigan Democratic
Party, Posthumus' faith and work in public education is too
little, too late.
“Dick Posthumus has a credibility problem when it comes to his
support of students, parents, teachers and public schools in
Michigan,” Brewer said. “He's out of the mainstream and he has
a very weak long-term commitment to public schools, teachers
and the families who rely on them. He can try to revise his
record to get elected, but when it comes to taxes and
education he's just not telling the truth.”
Later in the day, in response to the Posthumus plan,
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer GRANHOLM said she
differs from the Republican in philosphy.
“I think literacy is a very good thing,” Granholm said.
"[However] he comes from a philosophy that we should privatize
education in some way shape or form. His support previously of
vouchers . . . this emphasis on charter schools. It's very
important to focus on site based management which is what
charters are all about. But, charters allow for a private
company to come in and siphon off a three to six percent
management fee which is money that should be going directly
into the schools.”
Granholm also added that Posthumus hails from an
administration where teachers “felt kicked in the teeth” and
that under her administration that would change.
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