{"id":2974,"date":"2012-04-09T06:59:20","date_gmt":"2012-04-09T11:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/?p=2974"},"modified":"2012-04-30T06:59:36","modified_gmt":"2012-04-30T11:59:36","slug":"2974","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuts, contracts and concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tom Wheadon & Callie Whiteman<\/strong>
\nmanaging feature & insight<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the summer of 2010, the district has been negotiating with the Midland City Education Association (MCEA) regarding contracts for over 450 MPS employees, the majority of whom are teachers. The MCEA is a labor union which represents these employees while MPS\u2019s bargaining team consists of administrators. <\/p>\n

Due to what both parties acknowledge as tough financial times, MPS has proposed a contract offer for its employees that would see them make a number of concessions. While teachers and the MCEA have stated they\u2019re both willing to make cuts, the debate still rages on as to what extent is necessary.<\/p>\n

\u2022THE ISSUE<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For the past decade, the district has been gradually losing money as a result of declining enrollment and the money they receive per pupil from the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last number of years we\u2019ve experienced a significant loss of revenue,\u201d Linda Cline, the Director of Finance for MPS, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis most current year is $470 less per student. So times over 8000 students, that\u2019s a pretty good chunk of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking into account state changes to school funding and spending, Cline\u2019s projections indicate the district will continue to lose money.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were to spend our full amount this year, we would be spending four and a half million dollars more than we\u2019re actually bringing in through our revenue,\u201d Cline said. \u201cLooking ahead to what we think next year will look like, that figure could go up to $11 million, where we\u2019re spending more than we\u2019re bringing in.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many teachers realize that MPS is hurting financially, there have been some concerns raised over the accuracy of the projections and to what degree the district finds itself losing money.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past several years, we\u2019ve been told, \u2018we anticipate a shortfall,\u2019\u201d English teacher and labor union representative Dawn Moulthrop-Brady said. Last year we anticipated a shortfall, and yet at the end of the fiscal year, they put 2.3 million dollars back into their general fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

This additional money was used to purchase nine new buses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had $2.3 million sitting in excess, that\u2019s great, and that should also say to everyone we\u2019re not in dire financial straits,\u201d Moulthrop said.<\/p>\n

Math teacher Jason Gehoski, who is on the negotiating team for the MCEA, is also dubious of the numbers the district is claiming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trend that\u2019s taken place is that every year we say we\u2019re going to lose millions of dollars, yet seven out of the last 10 years, we\u2019ve put money in the bank,\u201d Gehoski said.<\/p>\n

\u2022MPS’ PROPOSAL<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The negotiations between the district and the union cover four areas: salaries, health insurance, class size and a new formula linking teacher wages and the general fund.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s proposal would see its employees\u2019 wages be reduced one percent for the current school year and a further reduced by seven percent next year. They\u2019d also be required to contribute between 1.9 percent and 4.5 percent of their income to their healthcare coverage, meaning a teacher with a family would see 12.5 percent off their pay checks next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seven percent might sound pretty harsh in the sense of one year, but this negotiation goes back two years ago,\u201d Gary Verlinde, assistant superintendent and the district\u2019s Chief Spokesperson, said. \u201cThe proposals we were making at that time were spread out over a three year contract and they were very manageable. Problem is, we have not been able to reach a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlinde also expressed the need for teachers to contribute towards their health insurance, something administrators have already been doing for two years and which costs over $13,000 per family.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers have not in the past contributed, and that\u2019s one of the things we think that any settlement has to include: fair share of paying for health insurance,\u201d Verlinde said.<\/p>\n

On top of this, the district wants to raise class sizes up to 32 pupils, from the current 30, and introduce the Grosse Pointe Formula, which would potentially see teacher wages reduced even more if MPS\u2019s general fund were to dip below 10 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur discrepancy with that is the fact that the fund balance is controlled completely by the district,\u201d Gehoski said, referring to the Grosse Point formula. \u201cThey can save money and spend money at their will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gehoski is also worried about the implications this proposal would have on teachers if it were to be passed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that some teachers would be financially strapped to the point where they would have to get second jobs,\u201d Gehoski said. \u201cThey would have to leave this profession to go get a different job that supports themselves and their family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moulthrop shares similar concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t fathom why you would want to go that deep, to cut so deep into a person\u2019s livelihood,\u201d Moulthrop said.<\/p>\n

Verlinde recognizes this potential effect this could have on teachers, but believes there are no other options at this point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something that\u2019s easy for anybody, you\u2019re talking about people and you\u2019re talking about their livelihood,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is traumatic, you have to adjust a lifestyle sometimes and you have to plan for it. We got the best teachers in the world, but we got to keep this district afloat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022THE FAIRNESS ISSUE<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Teachers have also voiced discontent with the administration over the fairness of their proposal considering certain administrators have seen their wages increase up to 10 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe there\u2019s anyone that really wants to lose eight percent in two years when we can put it factually into the equation that administrations salaries have increased,\u201d Gehoski said. \u201cOn another note too, if it gets to the point where we need to give, we\u2019re willing to give, but we want everyone across the board to be giving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verlinde denies this, saying that while certain administrators have been moved and promoted, no one has had their wages increased.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some administrators who have gotten promotions, they take on more duties, work more days, they get paid more,\u201d Verlinde said.<\/p>\n

Both Verlinde and Cline also outlined some of the cuts administrators had been subject to in recent years, including paying for insurance and losing stipends for the cost of cell phone and mileage. On top of this, the number of administrators over the past decade has been cut by 40 percent, though they have also hired managers to take on responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have cut millions and millions and millions of dollars over the past few years from every area of the district,\u201d Cline said. \u201cHonestly, I would say that we probably waited until the end, or when there\u2019s not that much left to be cut, to go to the teachers to ask for the concessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022MCEA’S AND FACT FINDER’S PROPOSAL <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The union has presented their own proposal as an alternative to MPS\u2019s. It too will see teachers make concessions, but to a lesser degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking at the fact that every proposal that the MCEA has put on the board is concessionary, that means that we are not benefitting from any of it.\u201d Gehoski said. \u201cThis means that overall, the contract we\u2019re proposing has us losing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their proposal would see temporary reductions for the next two years and the introduction of three optional furlough days, where teachers work for free for a day and lose approximately 1.5 percent of their pay in total.<\/p>\n

They also offered to pay between 1.75 to 3 percent for health insurance, though they rejected the idea of increasing class sizes and the Grosse Pointe formula, instead putting forward a formula based on revenue.<\/p>\n

In late 2011, both MPS and MCEA separately filed for fact finding. This is when an independent organization comes in to review the situation and make a non-binding recommendation. Kathleen Opperwall of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission Fact Finder conducted this review, and wrote a 13 page report that is available on the MPS website. In it, she advocated for teachers\u2019 wages to be reduced two percent going forward and the introduction of furlough days. She sided with the MCEA concerning health care coverage, rejected a formula and stated only sixth grade classes needed to be increased.<\/p>\n

\u2022WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As of now, negotiations are still under way. The final decision belongs to the Board of Education, but a compromise needs to be made first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what our system is founded on, you get two sides together, bargain in good faith, it may take a while, there may be frustrations, but you just keep working at it until you find a solution,\u201d Verlinde said. \u201cBottom line is we all want the quality of education in our schools that we\u2019ve always had.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is something that both sides agree on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MCEA is always willing to and looking to do its part in helping, we don\u2019t want the district to go broke. That affects students, and we don\u2019t want that,\u201d Gehoski said. \u201cNo matter what happens with contract negotiations, we will always be doing our job to the best of our ability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MPS teacher union remains at odds with district over teacher contracts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MPS teacher union remains at odds with district over teacher contracts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DHSUpdate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Update\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198\"},\"headline\":\"Cuts, contracts and concerns\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1524,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2012\\\/04\\\/2974\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"UPDATE ONLINE\",\"description\":\"H.H. Dow High School's award winning news source\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Update Online\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Wordpress-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/Wordpress-icon.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"Update Online\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/DHSUpdate\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/DowHighUpdate\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/dowhighupdate\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198\",\"name\":\"Update\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/bickmorebd\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE","og_description":"MPS teacher union remains at odds with district over teacher contracts","og_url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/","og_site_name":"UPDATE ONLINE","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DHSUpdate\/","article_published_time":"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00","author":"Update","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DowHighUpdate","twitter_site":"@DowHighUpdate","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Update","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/"},"author":{"name":"Update","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198"},"headline":"Cuts, contracts and concerns","datePublished":"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/"},"wordCount":1524,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#organization"},"articleSection":["NEWS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/","url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/","name":"Cuts, contracts and concerns - UPDATE ONLINE","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-04-09T11:59:20+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-30T11:59:36+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2012\/04\/2974\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/","name":"UPDATE ONLINE","description":"H.H. Dow High School's award winning news source","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#organization","name":"Update Online","url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Wordpress-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Wordpress-icon.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"Update Online"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DHSUpdate\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DowHighUpdate","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dowhighupdate\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198","name":"Update","url":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/author\/bickmorebd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2974"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3078,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2974\/revisions\/3078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}