Over at the fabulous "Empirical Legal Standards" blog, a new program unveiled by the University of Michigan Law School called "Wolverine Scholars" is criticized as a move away from standards and a "rankings grab" designed solely to artficially bump U-M's average Law student GPA so as to also bring U-M up in national prestige rankings (which include GPA as a criteria).

One of ELS's comments points out the "elephant in the room," that the program, which would allow only U-M undergrads with a GPA greater than 3.80 who have not yet taken an LSAT to apply to Law School under "holistic review", would give U-M a perfect opportunity to bypass Proposal 2 (since it can't ask other undergrad schools for racial IDs, and since a student on U-M's own campus will have a reputation including racial identity that can be easily ascertained by fellow U-M Law School admissions officers with a few phone calls) because it further clouds the process and eliminates a standard of measurement (the LSAT test, meaning that future racial compositions couldn't be easily challenged because some of students wouldn't have comparative LSAT data EVEN AVAILABLE for review). The nice think about ELS's though, in a way, is that it ignores the race preference issue and is critical of U-M solely because the new system is standardless and will create other unintended consequences.

Read the whole analysis, and you'll get the gist of what's going on. We're following the story deeper as well, so stay tuned.

Jason Gillman over at Michigan Taxes Too Much raises a nice point about how "non-profits" really exist at the expense of the taxpayer and are "public". While this doesn't change the current interpretation of the law treating non-profits as private entities, it is a valid point philosophically so we reiterated our position generally against the very idea of non-profits (in the sense of government subsidy through by giving tax breaks to donors, not as a concept where someone or group spends after-tax dollars without making a profit).

Regardless, you can catch the full exchange at Gillman's site.

Christine Barry of Blogging for Michigan (BFM) reports on how she hired us to be a surrogate FOIA requester to the Shiawassee County Sheriff's department.  The local news - the Argus - seems to be taking recognition of the value of the local story. We have no opinion on whether the Sheriff's actions were inappropriate, but have no problem helping anyone get public records to draw conclusions for themselves. But the questions Barry asked were specific, and specific enough to get good FOIA results. And the response of the Sheriff publicly in the newspapers suggests some nerve was touched.

Sometimes the "surrogate FOIA" is an appropriate tool for credibility reasons, and will get a job done faster than other methods.  If you need similar work, contact us.

Cross-posted at OutsideLansing.com.

The Howell Public Schools has witnessed its third school board resignation in six months. In addition to the two elected seats in May, that means that the majority of the board will be completely new by the time the next selection is made.

Howell is clearly a district in turmoil. Zarko Research met (and indeed communicated with) for the first time on Monday evening Howell's notorious Vicki Fyke, at a Duncan Hunter speech here in Oakland County we were covering for OaklandPolitics.com. Fyke informed us of Doug Norton's retirement, and attributed part of the cause of that to Zarko Research FOIA work. Nonetheless, we would disagree with that interpretation and suspect Norton's reasons were broader. The ZR FOIA simply wasn't that important and at best only exposes conditions in the district, not creates them. Clearly the district has issues that are affecting a whole range of people, and our reporting can not be a driving force behind that. Here's Howell's press release yesterday:

The Board of Education of Howell Public Schools announces a second Board Member vacancy, effective October 11, 2007.

Parties interested in applying for this unexpired Board Member term should do so at the Board of Education Office located at 411 North Highlander Way, Howell, Michigan.

PLEASE NOTE: Anyone who showed interest in the seat made vacant by Mary Jo Dymond’s resignation, MUST RESUBMIT A LETTER OF INTEREST for filling the vacancy left by Susan Drazic’s resignation.

In order to apply, interested parties must submit a brief letter of intent or Interest in Board Vacancy Form, in hard copy, (no emails or faxes will be accepted) at the Board of Education Office no later than 3:00 PM on Tuesday, October 16, 2007. Material received after this deadline will effectively disqualify the late candidate from being considered by the board on October 22, 2007.

When the letter is submitted, each party will be provided with a more detailed set of qualifying questions which should be completed and returned in hard copy (no emails or faxes will be accepted) to the Board Office no later than 11:00 AM on Friday, October 19, 2007. Materials received after this deadline will effectively disqualify the late candidate from being considered by the board on October 22, 2007.

Qualifying candidates will be screened and interviewed in person at a Regular Board of Education Meeting set for Monday, October 22, 2007, at 7:00 PM.

During the interview process, each candidate should be prepared to give a brief oral statement. The board will then do its evaluation and decide on the appointment.

The candidate appointed, as early as October 22, 2007, will serve only the unexpired term until the point of the upcoming School Board Election currently scheduled for May 6, 2008.

Philip Westmoreland, President

Howell Board of Education

UPDATE: RepublicanMichigander, a former Howell resident, has excellent ongoing coverage of the issue. 17 people applied for the first seat, and no doubt most will double up for the second. Fyke is among them, apparently.

As most people now know, Michigan government shut-down last night for a few hours while most of us slept. It came back online at 430am with a bunch of new taxes, mostly increases in income tax and a few services added to the sales tax mix (23 services, to be exact).

While the Governor has seemingly won this victory, there are some possible responses. All involve the people and petition-process. While a referendum on budget matters can't directly be called by petition because it is constitutionally excluded from the process, an amendment proposing tax reform, like a FairTax, would be the best use of scarce signature-gathering resources and money to obtain them. Another option would be enhanced Constitutional protections against future tax increases.

And in the meantime, the establishment on both sides appear to be trying to blame this shutdown crisis on term-limits, rather than accept the responsibility individually. According to their logic, if legislators had "better relationships" with each other, this wouldn't have happened. Think about that for a minute - they are right. It wouldn't have - taxes would have been increased much faster and earlier, with less thought and less fighting for the people to ensure additional spending reforms in the process. That's perhaps the most damning argument against term-limits - I don't know if I want my legislators to have "better relationships" and be more cozy with others including lobbyist (I heard one commentator suggest that term-limits lengthening would hurt special interests, but for some reason all the lobbyists support the lengthening -- I can't imagine why they would if it hurt them). If term-limits increase coziness and cause tax-increase compromises, is that what tax-control activists want?

Many have commented on and complimented OaklandPolitics.com, the new Oakland County political news source and community builder. The geographic niche there should be obvious.

Now, Zarko Research & Consulting announces "OutsideLansing.com," a statewide community designed to fit the "center-right" niche (coincidentally referred to by Newt Gingrich in his Saturday speech). OutsideLansing.com is not like the leading liberal blog/communities of the day - we neither arbitrarily censor and we encourage a broad-based community that isn't "automatically partisan," as Newt pointed out. This new community also isn't meant to compete with purely conservative forums like this very one at RightMichigan.com. It fills a niche somewhere in between that and the reasonable left and will hopefully be a place where some civil interplay among the often vitriolic competing sides. Hopefully, this can occur with some respect. It will also focus more on original journalism of a statewide nature, although commentary and editorializing is not discouraged. The name was meant to suggest that we should not, as many journalists have become, look on Lansing as insiders and that much of the political news of Michigan originates elsewhere anyway - hence OutsideLansing.com.

Check out our mission and editorial policy for more information. I'm looking for a few front-page authors, but I'd prefer at least an even mix of news writing to commentary if you're interested. Like OaklandPolitics, I'm also going to sponsor a small prize for the best investigative journalism on a statewide issue that is posted first to OutsideLansing.

Truly,
Chetly Zarko

Crain's Business Detroit reports that the City of Ann Arbor may 'take advantage' of the housing market recession to purchase more property for its "Greenbelt". If you follow the logic, you'll see that Ann Arbor is bringing upon itself much of its own difficulties.

"In the last six months, with the downturn of the housing market, a lot more developers who bought land are coming to us, a lot more farmers who sold options that fell through are coming to us," she said. "It's an increase in the amount of properties coming our way."

With the soft market, she said, the commission hopes to find more opportunities to save land — but also save money.

"And frankly, we're the only ones with money to spend on land in the area," Rubin said.

First of all, what arrogance. "We're the only ones with money to spend"? This is the government folks. And there's plenty of folks from the U-Michigan juggernaut with money too, so its not quite true. But it is true that the market, at the margins, is suffering oversupply because the whole state is bleeding jobs. But get this - part the reason Ann Arbor has the "money to spend on land" is because it taxed the land in a special millage a few years ago, so it could buy the land now. Tax it, and it will go away.

The voters of Ann Arbor approved the greenbelt program in 2003 as a way to preserve open space or farmland. Revenue is being generated for the plan in the form of a millage that began in 2004, expected to generate $84 million during its 30-year lifetime.

The city is purchasing development rights and land with a $20 million pool generated by bonds that have been sold against future millage income.

This has to be one of the most perverted abuses of eminent domain around. Raise taxes and drive people away, lowering property values, and buying the property from remaining citizens.

To date, development easements have been purchased on six properties. The plan so far has preserved 703 acres at a cost of $11.26 million. (See box, this page.)

While the easements deals have closed, no raw land purchases have been made.

The program has targeted sites in townships such as Ann Arbor, Webster and Superior and has been recently expanded to include a larger section of Scio, Webster, Pittsfield and Superior townships.

The strategy has been to create clusters of land on the perimeter of the area, said Albert Berriz, president and CEO of McKinley Inc., also a member of the Greenbelt Advisory Commission.

“Rather than shoot here and there, we've begun to create synergies of properties that aren't quite contiguous, but are close.”

The idea, Berriz said, isn't to buy land that might be developed in the future, but to protect the region long term.

“You can't head off development in good times or bad,” he said. “You're banking away, for the benefit of the community, a block of land that otherwise would be developed.”

Hmm. That's the triple whammy. You're preventing other development and thereby draining the community of resources, jobs, and other tax base (so that individuals have a smaller burden spread out over a more developed economy), so that their land values can't rise further.

If it weren't for the fact that Ann Arbor is one of the largest tax consumers from other parts of the state through the subsidization of the University of Michigan and the spinoff from that, I'd predict major problems. But that outside subsidy props up this craziness.'

NOTE: I inaccurately used the term "eminent domain" in referring to this activity. Since the City isn't using the takings clause to procure land, that term is inaccurate, although they are still meddling with the market, and it is still ridiculous.

Zarko Research was at Pontiac High School taping a political rally last night. We found this sign to be a particularly ironic thing to see at a school.

In addition to questions raised by a Pontiac city councilman about alleged "threats" made to stop Pontiac school from hosting a political event (the Councilman referred me to his wife, who refused to answer after a political operative told her who he thought I worked for, which ironically isn't true), the sign was about the most interesting thing we saw in a boring three hours. The meeting, advertised as a "Town Hall", was an orchestrated rally. No "Town Hall" style questions were asked, the audience was all partisan and given pre-fabricated "convention-style" signs saying "IMPEACH", and the 5 person panel a hand-picked, lopsided panel all advocating for an anti-war position. When I was asked by an activist/operative from the other side why certain Congressmen (Knollenberg or McCotter) "didn't show up," I clarified that I didn't know what the representatives' thoughts were but asked why Senator Levin didn't show up (answer: how interesting that Carl Levin, who voted to approve money for the war and is also up for re-election, wasn't "invited") and suggested that the event's rules and organization were so biased as to make such an idea ridiculous. This wasn't a "TownHall," as citizens of the 9th District (I am such a citizen) weren't welcome to ask questions and get response -- Bruce Fealk, its organizer, refused (again) to "give me a quote on [my] camera" when I started asking him questions -- I asked him how it was any different from him expecting answers to questions when he barrages into offices and camps out at private homes, but he just walked away. If Fealk really wanted to reach the public and persuade people from both sides of the aisle, he'd take all opportunities to answer questions (and to both Skinner and Peters' credit, they answered questions!).

Finally, I asked Nancy Skinner one question. Is she running. Her response is that she's not in or out and nothing is official yet. For those of you on the Republican-side "itching" for a Democratic primary, I've never been of the opinion that one side should care about whether the other has a primary or not. It's like sports playoffs - if you win too early sometimes the "rest" is good, sometimes the "rest" causes you to lose momentum (Tigers, 2006). Sometimes the "work" of playing into extra games both "steels" you (Piston', 2004) and sometimes it "drains" you (Pistons, in 2005). At best, Skinner adds unpredictability to the race and maybe slightly drains Peters (or even wins), at worst, she could help the Democrats. But it doesn't change the fact that there's a general election in November.

Gary Peters, who didn't give a speech like Skinner, was only available in the lobby afterwards. A Peters operative quickly pointed me out, suggesting I was there as an operative (which simply isn't true, although I have past ties with Knollenberg's son, I do not work for them currently, and am simply an interested 9th District citizen at this point, just as Nancy Skinner claimed of Bruce Fealk in her speech when she asserted that he wasn't paid for his activism). As he walked by, I asked Mr. Peters what his thoughts on the proposed racinos issue was, a reasonable question that I actually have an interest in hearing about from a perspective other than his race for Congress. His response as he walked by hurriedly was that due to Proposal 1 (2004), the people would have to vote on any such expansion and he left it at that.

The sign and councilman's comments prompted this letter and Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Pontiac's superintendent:

Dear Mr. Calvin C. Cupidore, Jr.:

I was at the Pontiac High School last night videotaping a political rally. I took the attached photo of a sign apparently directed toward students.

It is misspelled. It's amazing to me that hundreds of teachers would walk by this and not see to it that it was corrected. Not only does such a sign (errantly) teach students by example, it is embarrassing to find at a school district. I would hope you correct the situation forthwith.

As to the political rally, pursuant to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I request all records related to or that document any threats or communications with the district regarding the rally. A city council person claimed in a speech that threats had been made to stop the rally. Additionally, I request a copy of the contract between the rally organizers and district to lease the space, the school policy on leasing space for non-school purposes, and any check and invoice related to that contract. Finally, I request any e-mail or other communication which you or other administrators, or any member of the school board, received or sent on the topics of the rally, the war in Iraq, or any political candidate for office over the last two months.

Thank you for your time. Documents may be faxed to the number below, and email returned here.

Truly,
Chetly Zarko

Check this out. The State of Michigan Treasury bureau is repeating a fuzzy math trick in claiming that the state is a "loser" of revenues on the interstate Internet Tax compact "deal" where 22 states and retailers agreed to "voluntarily collect" taxes on internet transactions. The State never had the money to start with, and whatever it gets is money beyond what it would have received without the compact, but the Treasury representative says Michigan is "losing" $10 million a year. The trick is the same we see done by universities and Granholm in explaining tuition or seeking other taxes when they say we're "cutting" their budgets from "expectations". That is, we're actually not increasing their budgets as fast as they'd like and they call it a cut.

According Mark Hornbeck of the Detroit News Lansing Bureau, Dale Vettel, director of Treasury's tax policy bureau testified:

Michigan signed a pact with other states three years ago to recoup a chunk of the $264 million a year it loses in uncollected tax revenue on Internet and catalog sales to state residents from out-of-state companies.

But so far, this state is losing $7 million to $10 million annually on the deal.

Dale Vettel, director of the Treasury's bureau of tax policy, told lawmakers Thursday that Michigan is gaining $8 million to $11 million from about 1,000 retailers that are voluntarily collecting the sales tax in the 22 states that belong to the so-called Streamlined Sales Tax Project.

But, at the same time, Michigan is losing an estimated $18 million in revenue each year because, to make its tax laws uniform with the other states in the project, it had to stop taxing some items. The biggest losses came on formerly taxed prepared foods, such as party deli trays sold at grocery stores and baked goods sold for on-premises consumption at bakeries.

"So at this time, we're not breaking even," Vettel said to the Senate Finance Committee.

So much is said in that clip that it begs some analysis. First, Vettel's claim "we're not breaking even" contributes to the headline editorialization (the Detroit News missed the bias it relayed) that Michigan is "losing" on the deal. No, it's gaining every dollar that otherwise it would not have collected because no one was collecting those taxes prior to the voluntary arrangement. It's not "losing" 18M a year, its simply not gaining as much as the theoretical potential if the entire loophole were closed (and even then, I predict other loopholes would arise or become more used).

But more importantly, catch this point, "to make its tax laws uniform with the other states in the project, it had to stop taxing some items." Wow. That suggests that Michigan's sales tax is out-of-line with other states and not already competitive, meaning 1) we should reform the tax so that we're not losing other sales and business to out-of-state flight 2) the Governor's now-hopefully-dead 2% "service tax" is even more out-of-line in the context of the current sales tax not being "uniform" with other states. Unless you had radically different compositions of overall business and income tax burdens (like none, in the FairTax type of proposals), it makes no sense to have a sales tax that is different from other states. Any attempt to overtax simply causes you to lose business, kill jobs, and ultimately reduce your revenue in the long-run as the tax causes capital flight. This quote is proof we need tax reform (even if allegedly "revenue neutral") to bring out taxable terms in line with other states (although to be "in-line" would require reductions according to this point) That also means spending control and reform.

Unfortunately, Hornbeck identifies the Governor's response and even one of our own Oakland County Republican State Senators.

Skimpy collection of Michigan's 6 percent sales tax on out-of-state purchases has become a sore point in recent years, particularly in a state with declining revenues and a $1.8 billion deficit projected by the state budget office for the coming year. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed various tax hikes to help close the yawning gap.

"Prior to looking at the opportunity to increase taxes, we need to look at legitimate taxes that are not currently collected," said Senate Finance Committee Chair Nancy Cassis, R-Novi.

The Governor's DNA says tax increase. No surprise. But what's Cassis talking about. I sympathize with collecting what is due, but exactly how does Cassis propose to get this trivial amount of uncollected amount?

"If Grandma buys a sweater through a catalog, it's very difficult to balance the tax revenue benefit with the cost of collection," Vettel said.

It's not worth it. Go after the low hanging fruits - hundreds of millions in expenditures in health insurance reform, prison service outsourcing, and reduced spending.

Finally, and very telling:

Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the sales and use tax laws were too many and varied to foist upon interstate commerce, some states started banding together in 2000 to make laws uniform and therefore make it easier for businesses across the country to collect sales tax and send the receipts to state treasuries. The Michigan Legislature voted in 2004 to conform its sales and use tax laws to those in other states. Absent a federal law the states must rely on businesses to voluntarily collect the taxes.

"I don't understand voluntary compliance. Why not a federal mandate? All states must be having the same problem," said Sen. Gilda Jacobs, D-Huntington Woods.

It'd naturally be a Democrat that doesn't "understand voluntary compliance" and would ask for a "federal mandate." America is built on voluntary compliance - even if you have federal mandates, compliance with those mandates (as opposed to individuals holding yet another Boston Tea Party and not complying) is still ultimately voluntary. Sure, there is a logic to uniformity, and the ridiculous complexity and out-of-line nature of Michigan's pre-2004 tax proves the complexity of the system - but the Court ruling obviously had the reformative effect of creating some state cooperation where state's opted to do so (but they weren't required). And that's better than the federal government picking its own one-size fits all version and ramming it down Michigan's and everyone's throats. Why not a federal mandate, Gilda? Because there's a certain genius in no mandates. Because the Court isn't a legislature, and it wisely only set broad guidelines here.

In a time of fiscal crisis, the President of Michigan State University gave herself (or asked and allowed the Board of Trustees to approve) a 25% raise. And the Top 555 employees averaged at least 5.5% raises, while the rest of the school's employees averaged 3% raises. And the school's overall employee based increased, with 2% more total employees hired.

Zarko Research publishes here a listing of the 2005 "Top 555" employees, the 2006 "Top 555" employees, and the entire 11,000 employee database here (WARNING - 2MB in Excel Format), all obtained through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In our Top 555 listings, we provide a series of statistical analyses to provide context. And the context is shocking when MSU is asking its students and parents to pay 9% more in tuition this year, and blaming it on lack of state legislative appropriation.

But if you think that's rough, wait until we post cross-year analysis of the University of Michigan databases, including its mammoth 38,000 employee structure.

Piling up disgusting irony upon irony, and heaping dirt on her own reputation, Governor Jennifer Granholm and others conveyed themselves disrespectfully in today's Detroit ceremony to "bury the N-word."

Let's begin with a premise. Burying the N-word from one's vocabulary is a good thing. I can't imagine using the word in a conversation, and condemn its use whenever it used (despite recognizing the stupidity of governmental efforts to crush its use).

But holding a mock funeral for a word is almost humorous. And if it was just that, it'd be fine. But the ceremony was heaped with calculated political manuring ...err, maneuvering.

Here, the Detroit News reports that our Governor chose to use the opportunity for political rhetoric, rather than wise self-introspection. Granholm said:

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, speaking today at a symbolic NAACP funeral for the "n" word, called for the burial of several other practices she said target blacks, including predatory lending, high insurance rates and Michigan's recent ban on affirmative action.

Michigan voters last year approved a measure that bans the use of racial and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring and contracting. That effort was pushed by Ward Connerly, a businessman who led a similar successful initiative in California.

"We need to kill his efforts," Granholm said.

Granholm also called for universal health care and an end to the war in Iraq.

I mean, if you want to bury the N-word, it might be wise to stay focused on that. The health care and war issues are gratuitous pandering, and prove the Governor is nothing more than an opportunist. But in a double-entendre worth noting, she couldn't resist using her own murderous language in connection with Ward Connerly's "efforts". Sure, she's not advocating murder because she focuses on the efforts, but the entendre is disrespectful and distasteful, and the point clear. If Bull Conner said something about "killing" the "efforts" of a 60s black activist, the message would be clear. Granholm has clearly crossed a line of disrespect in our political culture - and in the process attacked 58% of her constituents. But it wouldn't matter whether it was 5.8% - the polarization of modern politics has been wrought by divisive, mean-spirited, and violent thug politicians like Granholm who choose to polarize. She has learned well from her KKK-defending Democratic Party Chair.

The Detroit News editorial board has chimed in on the Michigan Education Association's ridiculous argument that the actions of union-official teachers on public time should generally be exempt from FOIA.

And they hit the nail on the head. The editorial title says it all: "If taxpayers pay for it, they should see it." And the money shot:

"A private group like the MEA is entitled to keep secrets, but not on public property. If it can afford to be one of the state's most generous lobbying outfits, it can afford to make sure that officers of its locals conduct business on their own computers."

And as to Doug Norton's arguments that I have "an ideological bent" against unions - aside from its absurdity (I grew up in a two union-parent household) - it's "irrelevant." FOIA applies to even those the Michigan Education Association dislikes, as the News points out. If the Freedom of Information Act only applied to those without "ideological bents," it would, of course, apply to no human being. Zarko Research has never claimed to be a non-editorializing news source. And while I struggle to present well-documented and tight original source evidence as often as possible, conclusions are drawn - and my history and potential biases are out-in-the open right here on this site.

And so much for Doug Norton's "friendly lawsuit" statement. Raymond Davis, Howell Public School's attorney seems to put that bold spin (I'm being generous this morning) to rest.

US News and World Report contains this priceless gem from the University of Michigan vice-provost of undergradutate admissions, Ted Spencer. ZR has been a long-time observer of Ted Spencer commentary, as his position at U-M is so central to preferential admissions policy.

U-M's position over the years has been one to oscillate between wonderous optimism for the increases in diversity they attribute to preferences, to subdued realism when the numbers dipped, even in pre-Proposal 2 days and even dips occurring after they self-declared complete victory in the Gratz & Grutter v. Bollinger et al lawsuits. That later realism is more realistic given that these numbers are actually genuinely subject to the same types of natural fluctuations as any market, but its humorous nonetheless because U-M takes credit for the good and bad regardless which it is. Here's the May 2007 version of Ted Spencer, claiming credit for the modest decline.

"You have to look at everything in perspective," says Ted Spencer, associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions. "With the increase in applications, the percentages may not appear as strong, but we didn't lose nearly as many [minorities as other] schools that have dealt with this [did in] their first year."

It's easily documented, but I and other MCRI leaders predicted this general outcome before the election. We told you the sky wouldn't fall, and even the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC - DCR) changed its tune and agreed that MCRI wasn't as expansive as it claimed in 2006. We also predicted that given that Michigan had 4 other state experiences and 10 years of observing California and Texas, 8 years of Washington, and 6 of Florida; that by all rights Michigan should do better "out of the gate" than any of the others just based on learning curves. Of course, part of the reason U-Michigan may have done substantially better is that it pushed much of its admissions up in time to occur before the effect date of Proposal 2, so watching these numbers in 2008 at this time will also be important, but again, I predict it won't be the 4% doomsayers predicted, although its' impossible to know whether it will be slightly more or less than today's numbers because U-M has so mystified the process.

Lisa Roose-Church reports in the Livingston Argus that Howell teachers voted, and are now taking a week to count theit vote, on the collective bargaining agreement signed the night of the election.

This is the same Howell teachers' union that sued Howell Schools the day before the election in a reverse FOIA lawsuit to stop Zarko Research from reporting on their activities (or stop us from doing the research to do meaningful reporting). ZR has now intervened in that litigation, and will report on it as appropriate. But why would it take a week to count 500 votes? Who controls those ballots? Sounds like union politics straight out of an old Hoffa movie. Does the union gain from delay in counting the vote so that the bargaining agreement remains secret longer (the school won't release the agreement until it is ratified)?

Howell Education Association officials are still counting the Howell Public School district's 492 teachers' votes to determine if the teachers ratified their three-year tentative agreement reached earlier this month during a mediation session with Howell Public Schools.

Marybeth Roose, the Howell district's director of community education and communications, said Monday night after the Board of Education meeting that a final tally was not available, but district officials are "hopeful."

HEA President Doug Norton said the union hopes to have a final tally within the week. Once that is done the union's board of directors must approve the deal before it goes before the full Board of Education.

Norton said he expects the union board to set a special-called meeting in "the next few days" to deal with the matter and he hopes the school board will vote on the contract at its June meeting.

Norton declined to provide details on the proposed contract, which reportedly allows teachers to keep their union-affiliated health benefits with a contribution of $600 the first year, $750 the second and a tiered contingency plan in the third year.

Pay raises reportedly include a 0.5 percent retroactive raise, since they have been working without a contract since July 1, 2006; a 1 percent raise for next school year; and a 2.25 percent hike in the third year.

Norton told the school board at its May 14 meeting that the contract has concessions that the union didn't believe it would have to make. He declined Monday to be more specific.

"We all had to take stock and allow tough compromises," he said May 14, adding that the district and union must not "mutually address issues" facing the district.

"We are ready to do just that," Norton noted.

This e-mail chain reveals more of the union leadership issues in the Howell school system, along with its paranoid response to a school district request to itemize teaching supplements following the Vicky Fyke book controversy. While it may or may not be the case that such a request put an undue work burden on teachers, one might understand the logical reasons why the district might seek such a list and try to work on ways to reduce that burden, a point well made by yet another rational and professional teacher. That same teacher - in a very professional and jovial tone - also tries to raise an issue of how teachers were under-informed (a point raised by other teachers, despite Norton's attempt to isolate the teacher and claim he's all alone) on the MESSA and insurance issues. Norton's response is to assume that he's being accused of "misleading" teachers on MESSA. His response to the teacher's query on the "slate system" of elections is also quite telling. Norton prefers a "coherent" and smooth leadership. It's unclear whether Norton is opposing the checks and balances system of Constitutional democracy and opposing parties controlling different branches, or supporting the "spoils system" of awarding Executive appointments to the winner of the presidential contest, but it is clear Norton wants his union to all be on the same page. While American democracy is far from perfect - and those "opposing camps" are often in nasty conflict - it is precisely the opposition and melding of opposition in government that creates our "checks and balances" and prevents a monolithic and out-of-control government. On the surface, the Soviet Union seemed pretty harmonious - but the human conflict was just buried, and inefficiency incredible.

3/1/2007
From: Norton, Doug
To: Davenport, Daniel; McDowell, Johnson
cc: Langer, Karen; Schrock, Jason; Carrier, Ryan; Capy, Catherine; Hughey, Jeff; Rowden, Jason

At the last two Board of Director's meetings of the Howell Education Association I have raised the issue about how our HEA Constitution and By-laws requires us to proceed with elections of a slate of officers. I have explained that a member at the 10-12 building has raised a concern about this and that I think we need to consider the issue. You have not been identified, of course. I have explained that our present system originally replaced a system where the president, the secretary, and the treasurer only were elected. In that system the president then appointed the Vice Presidents with the approval of the Board of Directors. At the time of the change it was considered more democratic if the members were aware of who were slated as vice presidents before a vote for president was cast by the membership. This system has been in place for 20+ years.

At each of the Board of Directors meetings referenced above I called upon the Board members to consider whether they think the issue that you bring forward should be considered for action. This would require a vote of the Board in order to develop a proposal and send the proposal to a full membership ratification, since changes in the Constitution and By-Laws require a full membership vote. At the last Board meeting, Karen Langer also raised the issue of whether the Board of Directors should initiate a process to consider a change. I did not make this motion myself because, as with how I feel about the United States system, I think that the members would be ill-served if officers of the association, elected to coherently run the association, were from opposing camps. In my view the election is designed to resolve disputes ahead of time, thus hopefully avoiding internal conflicts within the leadership team that could inhibit its ability to effectively run the association. Despite the clear invitations to consider change, not a single A.R. present has made a motion to consider change in this area. This includes your own A.R.s from the 10-12 building. You are certainly welcome to come and address the Board of Directors on this matter yourself of course.

On your continued implication that you are being mislead on MESSA: I must say to you that you are expressing an opinion held by a very, very small number of members if any beyond yourself [ed note: ZR has identified a number of individuals with professionally stated concerns, although it isn't clear that "mislead" is a term that was ever used]. We will have a General Membership meeting soon where you will have another opportunity to express your opinion to the membership and get its reaction. In the meantime, we continue to seek answers from the district on the facts attached to their proposed health system and although it is deeply troubling how reticent they seem to be to provide those facts, we can clearly see that it has serious flaws. Unlike MESSA, where the members have a long track record to rely upon, this proposed system is relatively untested. Just ask Pinckney teachers how they now feel about the new health care system that they recently accepted to find out about all the hidden flaws that can be confronted to the great detriment of the members.

Hopefully you find this email to be coherent. I understand that you do not always find my communications to be such and about that I am saddened.
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From: Davenport, Daniel
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:23 PM
To: McDowell, Johnson
Cc: Langer, Karen; Schrock, Jason; Carrier, Ryan; Capy, Catherine; Norton, Doug; Hughey, Jeff
Subject: RE: Important message from the HEA Executive Committee

Hi-

I don't know of anyone who was asked to make such an inventory but I imagine it relates to the recent book challenge. I mean, inventorying textbooks certainly isn't in my job description but it isn't out of the question for me to contribute my thought to the process, especially when it benefits the whole district. It is probably to our benefit to start identifying weak spots so we're better able to defend ourselves against attacks that come from our own board!

I've talked to two ARs about the process of selecting representation. I would like to see membership have the opportunity to decide if we want to continue with a straight-ticket system when we feel so poorly represented. I know this isn't an issue until the next time we vote but I'd like to see it addressed. Especially since confidence in the union is waning. The rhetoric in this message is a perfect example of why people at the high school feel poorly represented. That along with the bizarro use of lime green initiatives [ed note: reference to the T-shirts] that we never consented to. It makes us feel like all we have is empty paranoia and no real argument [ed note: this seems to be a great description of the reaction of union leadership to every individual union member's expression of even the slightest concern].

The other issue I still haven't seen addressed is real answers about health benefits. I've said from the beginning that we need to have someone outside of MESSA talk to us about health benefits so we can make an informed decision. Now we'll have to take what we can get. Clearly it would've been better to settle for status quo rather than be strong armed into something else, especially for those of us who make the least.

I'll admit that I feel unrepresented by the union but my only recourse is to continually express my concerns in the hope that it will lead to change. There are only 3 jobs like mine in the district and we'd rather not bargain alone. *grin* [ed note: this hardly seems like an unprofessional way to express concern]

-Dan

p.s. I can't remember if there is another rep I should be including on this. I apologize.
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From: McDowell, Johnson
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:57 AM
To: All HPS Teachers/Principals
Subject: Important message from the HEA Executive Committee

Howell Teachers,

We write this email in great dismay at the recent action by the Director of Curriculum to place a great burden on the already overworked teachers in this District. By now you may have received the recent email from Jeanne Farina regarding the logging and listing by teachers of supplemental materials used in their classroom. If you have not, it is quoted below. Not only does this possibly violate the contractual agreement to not force teachers into non-teaching duties, but it also places a great burden on teachers to perform the District’s work without any fair compensation.

As one elementary teacher wrote:

“If I were to include all materials, including teacher professional books containing worksheets, my classroom library, guided reading library, poetry, read alouds, biography library, videos, maps, posters and anything else I am forgetting, I would have to list close to 1000 items?! This is NOT an exaggeration! I have spent years building a curriculum that the district has failed to provide me-- and now I'm supposed to spend a weekend sending her a list? Perhaps I should send HPS a bill?”

At this time, the Union leadership suggests that you do not use the supplemental materials you have in your classroom until the District devises a plan that does not constitute a hardship for teachers and require teachers to perform non-teaching duties.

If these supplemental materials are those which you have personally purchased, it is suggested that you begin taking these materials home.

If you find that you simply cannot take these materials home because the District has not provided you with any other curriculum to teach, then please make this situation known by emailing Jeanne Farina and the members of the School Board. School Board member’s emails can be found on the District’s website.

If you have supplemental materials in your classroom that the District has purchased, we suggest that you not use them until the District has sent a representative to log and list these materials and have them approved by the Curriculum Council.

Yours in Solidarity,

HEA Executive Committee

Jeanne Farina’s email:

“At our recent principals’ meeting we discussed the need to identify all supplemental materials used by our teachers. Supplemental means – anything used with a group of students to enhance the approved core curriculum.

Please ask your teachers to list these resources on the attached grid. We will compile the lists by grade and subject. The information will be discussed and approved at the next K-12 curriculum meeting. We are compiling these lists for core subjects only, at this time. (E.g. Math, Science, Social Studies, and ELA)

Thank you in advance for your assistance.”