Saline High School posted a video on its website of a school official asking voters to support an upcoming school bond. Two election law experts say this is a violation of the state’s campaign finance law.

In the two-minute video, Doug Bacon, the school district’s director of facilities, expresses his opinion about the district’s funding needs and then ends with the following: “I’d like to ask for your support for our upcoming bond extension on Feb. 22.”

When contacted by Michigan Capitol Confidential, Saline Area Schools’ superintendent Scot Graden said the video was taken down and would be reposted with the ending containing the comments removed.

State law doesn’t allow schools to use public resources to “express advocacy” in elections. Saline has a $22 million school bond extension up for a vote on the Feb. 22 ballot.

“I know that ‘express advocacy’ has been clearly defined as the use of the word ‘yes’ by school staff other than the Superintendent,” Graden wrote in an e-mail. “I could (although I have not) advocated and used the term ‘yes.’ With that said, I don't want to create any confusion related to the issue. I have had the video removed and will have the ending removed before reposting the clip.”

But Eric Doster, general counsel for the state Republican Party, and Bob LaBrant, general counsel for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, both agreed Bacon’s statements crossed the legal line.

“Express advocacy goes far beyond just the use of the term ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” LaBrant said. “‘Support’ seems to be the functional equivalent of the word ‘yes.’ That definitely would be advocacy.”

Doster said there was no question that this is a violation of the campaign finance act.

“‘I want your support’?” Doster said. “Yeah. That’s express advocacy. Absolutely. No question.”

Under the Lake Orion Community Schools' teachers union contract, the average teacher salary was $66,539 in 2009, which is 7 percent higher than the statewide average. The district provides health benefits costing $15,679 for the most commonly selected plan, which is 52 percent more costly than insurance provided to the average private-sector worker in Michigan.

Starting this year, teachers will contribute a nominal amount toward their coverage, but still far below the average 20 percent insurance contribution made by private-sector workers in Michigan. Previously, these Lake Orion school employees contributed nothing toward their coverage.

Many Lake Orion teachers collect substantially more than the average salary — as much as $79,850 for those at the top end who have accumulated additional pedagogy credentials and have more than five years on the job. The minimum salary was $55,017 for those meeting these criteria, which are the only criteria for setting teacher pay, since student performance is not considered.

Employees covered under the union contract receive automatic “step” pay hikes that range from 2 to 10 percent for each additional year on the job until they “top out” on the salary schedule; after that, they collect added “longevity” payments of between $949 and $3,269 each year. Coaching and accepting duties in other extracurricular programs draws additonal amounts ranging from $1,977 to $7,513 annually. Also, 28 different department chairpersons receive an extra $325 annually.

In addition to the health coverage described above, the district provides dental, vision, life ($50,000) and long-term disability insurance. Employees who opt out of the regular insurance because they’re covered under a spouse’s plan still get these additional benefits, plus an additional $100 per month.

Based on the current state-run teacher pension system, a Lake Orion teacher retiring after 30 years will get a $35,933 annual pension (based on the final “step” on the salary schedule), which they can begin collecting from their early 50s on. For many teachers this amount increases by 3 percent each year. Retired teachers also get subsidized health insurance.

Lake Orion schools collected $12,358 per student in property tax levies, state and federal grants in 2008-2009, of which around 70 percent was paid out to employees covered by the union contract described here.