While the state of Michigan has questioned the accountability of charter public schools, some conventional public schools appear to get a free pass.

This week, the Michigan Department of Education released its list of “Priority” schools, or those in the bottom 5 percent of academic achievement in the state.

Lansing Eastern High School and Pontiac High School made the “Priority” list again for the 2013-14 school year, meaning the schools have been on the MDE’s academic watch list for five consecutive years.

Gary Naeyaert, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project, said no charter school could have stayed on the state’s watch list for that long and stayed open.

Once designated as a “Priority” low achieving school, the school district is required to work with the school and implement a redesign plan to improve the school. The entire improvement process is given four years by the state.

“Every Priority School needs to improve, including Lansing Eastern High School and Pontiac High School,” said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the MDE.

Audrey Spalding, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said under state law, the MDE can close a school that has been ranked among the bottom 5 percent of Michigan schools.

“The department has yet to do so,” Spalding said. “It looks like state officials are giving failing conventional schools a pass while cracking down on charter schools.”

The State Board of Education adopted a statement Aug. 12 asking that the Michigan Legislature develop “comprehensive charter school reform.”

State Superintendent Michael Flanagan announced on Aug. 11 that 11 of Michigan’s 40 charter school authorizers were put “at risk of suspension” by him, jeopardizing their ability to authorize any future charter schools.

“Top-To-Bottom Priority Schools” replaced “Persistently Low Achieving Schools” in 2011-12 as the Michigan Department of Education’s system for evaluating academic performance. The TTB list has been criticized for essentially just measuring the poverty-level of the student population of a district.

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See also:

War on Charters Tied To Politics and Union Money

Defenders of Public School Monopoly Slam 'Big Profit' Competitors; Haul In Big Money Themselves

Public Schools: 'Profit' Bad For Others, Good For Us

Administrator Group Rails Against Education 'Profiteers;' Makes Millions Off Schools

New Report Card Compares High School Test Scores and Adjusts For Economic Status

New Report Card Measures Elementary and Middle School Performance By Adjusting For Student Family Income

Almost 220,000 Michigan Students Rely On School Choice

Incumbents outspent their opponents by more than 5-to-1 in Michigan’s nine House GOP primary elections involving potentially serious challengers. Overall, the nine incumbents outspent their rivals $662,107 to $121,978 during the election cycle and $359,534 to $120,754 in the final reporting period leading up to the Aug. 5 vote.

All nine of the incumbents in these featured races voted for the Medicaid expansion and in two of the nine races the incumbent spent more than $100,000 trying to ward off defeat. One of those two incumbents was Rep. Frank Foster, R-Pellston, who lost his bid to hang on to his seat in the 107th District despite spending nearly $165,000. Meanwhile, Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Walled Lake, spent even more — $175,804 — to pull out a win in the 39th District.

In the 107th District, which straddles portions of the Upper and Lower peninsulas, challenger Lee Chatfield, of Levering, defeated Rep. Foster 6,561 votes to 5,570. Rep. Foster outspent Chatfield $164,482 to $58,079 in the race. That means Rep. Foster spent $29.53 per vote compared to the $8.85 per vote for Chatfield.

Inside Michigan Politics founder Bill Ballenger told Capitol Confidential that the $58,079 Chatfield spent could be the most remarkable aspect of his win.

“I don’t find the more than 5-to-1 spending advantage of the incumbents overall to be surprising,” Ballenger said. “That’s in the ballpark of what I might have expected. But when you look at what Chatfield spent, it was nearly as much as the amount the challengers in the other eight races spent combined. In other words, in the 107th the spending difference was much less than the overall 5-to-1 margin. One could argue that Foster just didn’t spend enough.”

Ballenger’s point might explain how Rep. Kesto managed to cling to his seat in Oakland County’s 39th District. As the Aug. 5 primary approached, it was rumored in Lansing that Rep. Kesto was in danger of losing. Ultimately he defeated challenger Deb O’Hagan of West Bloomfield 4,500 votes to 3,223, but only after outspending O’Hagan $175,804 to $14,914 for the election cycle. Rep. Kesto spent $39.07 per vote, compared to the roughly $4.63 per vote O’Hagan spent.

Next door in the 46th District, also in Oakland County, incumbent Rep. Bradford Jacobsen, R-Oxford, was reportedly on the ropes in late July. He ended up winning by a 5,552-to-4,367 margin over challenger John Reilly of Oakland Township. Rep. Jacobsen outspent Reilly $92,839 to $13,131 for the election cycle, which means he spent roughly $16.72 per vote, while Reilly spent roughly $3.01 per vote.

On the west side of the state, in the 79th District, incumbent Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville, defeated challenger Cindy Duran, of St. Joseph, 5,754 votes to 3,022. He outspent Duran $64,380 to $10,663 during the election cycle. Rep. Pscholka spent roughly $11.19 per vote compared to the $3.53 per vote Duran spent.

Near Grand Rapids, in the 72nd District, incumbent Rep. Ken Yonker, R-Caledonia, defeated challenger Gabe Hudson of Gaines Township 6,772 votes to 2,719. Rep. Yonker outspent Hudson roughly $69,295 to $13,583. Rep. Yonker spent approximately $10.23 per vote compared to the $5.00 per vote Hudson spent.

Incumbent Rep. Amanda Price, R-Park Township, defeated challenger Matthew Wiedenhoeft in Ottawa County’s 89th District 6,371 votes to 2,113. Rep. Price expended $38,201 in the election cycle, compared to the $4,036 spent by Wiedenhoeft. That means Rep. Price spent roughly $6.00 per vote, compared to the $1.91 per vote spent by Wiedenhoeft.

In the 86th District, which includes parts of Kent and Ionia counties, incumbent Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, R-Alto, defeated challenger Angela Rigas, also of Alto, 7,492 votes to 3,069. Rep. Lyons outspent Rigas $29,485 to $3,537 in the election cycle. She spent approximately $3.94 per vote, while Rigas spent roughly $1.15 per vote.

One of the more frugal House primary contests took place in the 78th District, where incumbent Rep. Dave Pagel, R-Berrien Springs, defeated challenger James Walker of Benton Harbor 4,347 votes to 1,407. Rep. Pagel outspent Walker $8,501 to $4,035 for the election cycle. Rep. Pagel actually spent less per vote, at $1.96, compared to the $2.87 per vote that Walker spent.

Incumbent Rep. Ben Glardon, R-Owosso, successfully defended his seat in the 85th District, defeating challenger George Sode, who didn’t report spending any money on the race. Rep. Glardon won 6,542 votes to Sode’s 1,350. He spent roughly $44,019 in the election cycle, which comes to approximately $6.73 per vote.

Expenditure totals are based on the pre-primary campaign finance disclosures reported to the Secretary of State and rounded up to the nearest dollar.