MichiganVotes Bills

Bill moves Michigan away from merit pay for teachers

In the absence of merit, schools would be left to reward seniority

The Michigan House recently passed six bills that favor the interests of teachers unions over students. Among these, House Bill 4354 is the most damaging, as it will dilute the quality of education delivered to public school students.

HB 4354 gives unions power to bargain over subjects that were previously under the control of school boards. The bill, if signed into law, would reverse the 2011 reforms designed to help schools retain and reward the most effective teachers.

The subjects open to bargaining would include, among others:

  • Performance evaluations
  • Staffing decisions, such as layoffs and recalls
  • Merit pay
  • Teacher placement
  • Discipline
  • Classroom observations

“Passing these bills will help attract and retain high-quality educators who can help our kids succeed,” Michigan Education Association President Paula Herbert said, according to The Center Square.

House Bill 4354 will do the opposite. It will require schools to keep underperforming teachers in the classroom and make it harder for them to retain effective ones. Policies governing teacher placement and layoffs will rely heavily on seniority rather than teacher effectiveness, as the current law requires.

High-performing teachers will no longer be rewarded with merit pay. Performance evaluations will place less weight on objective measures like student assessment data. And limits on classroom observations will make it harder for administrators to offer feedback that supports teachers’ professional growth.

Reopening these subjects for collective bargaining would diminish the power of school administrators to uphold quality teaching standards and hold teachers accountable. Watered-down evaluation criteria will weaken schools’ ability to assess teacher performance. And if a teacher is underperforming, contract restrictions on discipline and layoff procedures will make it harder for administrators to take appropriate action.

Ineffective teachers will remain in the classroom, being paid and promoted based on their seniority. Districts will find it difficult to recruit and retain talented younger teachers under these conditions. ”Last in, first out” will once again become the norm when schools need to make personnel changes.

Improving teacher quality is the best way for schools to foster student success. Michigan’s students still struggle to recover from learning losses created by pandemic-era school closures, so this is not the time to undo laws designed to help schools promote and reward their best teachers. Expanding the subjects of bargaining will strengthen teachers unions at the expense of student outcomes.

Molly Macek is director of the Education Policy Institute at the Mackinac Center. Email her at macek@mackinac.org.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

MichiganVotes Bills

Michigan’s 2024 proposed budget includes $2M for Detroit Grand Prix

Detroit Grand Prix proposed to get $2 million from taxpayers in latest state annual budget

The Democrats in Lansing are proposing to give away $2 million in taxpayer dollars to the Detroit Grand Prix. The 2024 appropriations budget is currently in negotiations which means dollar amounts could change. The line item states the money will come for the general fund and will “support capital improvements for the Detroit Grand Prix auto race.”

Legislative leaders say they want to be more transparent when it comes to the $800 million proposed pork projects in the 2024 budget. The line item has more description on what the money will be used for, compared to previous annual budget grants. Though it does not state which elected official is requesting the grant.

Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Inc. is a 501C3 nonprofit corporation organization according to its 2021 990 form, the latest filing on record. The organization’s form showed $11,943,538 in revenue in 2021. Eric Larson, vice president, received $519,240 in total compensation the same year.

Given the revenue, it is not clear why the state is offering a $2 million grant for capital improvements. There was no response from the Grand Prix to a voice mail seeking comment. 

The Detroit Grand Prix notes its mission on the 990 form is to revitalize the City of Detroit and improve and preserve Belle Isle Park. The park has its own nonprofit, Belle Isle Conservancy. It had a total of $2,539,581 in revenue in 2021, according to its 990 form. Revenue less expenses showed ­$-453,660.

This year, the race moved to the streets of downtown Detroit after being held on Belle Isle for year.

Salaries for the Belle Isle conservancy were $1,363,246. The top three known salaries at the nonprofit were $135,821 to $153,994. There were 27 employees listed with title of director who averaged 2 hours work per week each for 2021. Salaries of the directors, chair, and treasurer were not disclosed.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.