Michigan Republicans: Let's Privatize Public School Teaching

[n2doc]

—By Andy Kroll

Thu Sep. 1, 2011 3:00 AM PDT
In Michigan, a state perennially crippled by budget deficits, public school districts across the state have already outsourced their bus drivers, cafeteria workers, sports coaches, and janitors to try and save money. Now Republicans in Michigan's state legislature want to take the outsourcing frenzy one giant leap forward by privatizing public school teaching.

Michigan Sen. Phil Pavlov (R), who chairs the state Senate's education committee, is preparing legislation that would allow public school districts to hire teachers through private, for-profit companies. Privatizing the hiring process would presumably allow school districts to bypass compensation packages sought by teachers unions and let private companies compete for contracts with districts.

Pavlov didn't respond to a request for comment on the teacher privatization plan. But Pavlov has publicly described his plan, which he said was still in the works, this way: "I look at it as offering options. If there is something out there that can offer school officials the same options at a lower cost, schools need to take a look at that. It needs to part of the conversation on reform."

The Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) says that teachers from private companies would be required to have the same credentials as existing public school teachers. Public school districts, MASSP notes, would begin soliciting bids from private "instructional services" companies once existing teacher contracts had expired.

more

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/michigan-republican-privatize-teacher-public-education

[atreides1]

1. WTF

So he wants to increase the number of unemployed teachers and be able to hire instructors willing to work for low pay and no benefits.

They'll get the best teachers that way, right?

[Sal Minella]

12. Easiest way to place teachers who will convince the kids they're

going to suffer eternity in Hell if they don't accept Jaybus right away -- Hoax of climate change, evils of gay marriage, etc. ad inf.

[Bryan Buchan]

2. Never ends....

...this is just the beginning with our Republican-lead state government.

This is not on our local news....as usual. That would actually take some journalistic skill to report on that....instead of regurgitating the AP feed.

Maybe this will make me feel a little better: http://www.snydershow.com/index.php

[adhd_what_huh]

3. soon these for profit companies will bid on which kids they

will agree to teach. Good students are bid up and poor students are left unsold on the shelf. So, if you want a good teacher you had better be a good student or you may be re-stocked. You see, kids are just another commodity for which a profit can be made.

[rurallib]

4. has there ever been a serious study on whether privatizing saves even a penny

from my observations, it seems to end up costing much, much more with the many layers of management in the contracting companies that were never there before.
Plus usually the person who actually does the work - in this case the teacher - gets royally screwed.

My personal experience was in industry where my company 'outsourced' cleaning. The company hired a company that had 3 layers of management, plus 12 very, very poorly paid workers. All this to replace 4 employees that were doing that job.

[CRK7376]

5. At least the Repugs

can't complain about Tenure. How about the firing of private company teachers? Who holds that power - the Principal or the parent company when student test scores fail to make adequate progress?

[david_vincent]

7. On the subject of test scores, check out the current ish of Smithsonian

There's a very interesting article on the Finnish school system. A chart in the article compares the number of standardized tests that the average Finnish kid takes vs. an American kid. American kid: 12, Finnish kid: 0.
Of course, the twist is that in terms of results, Finnish kids demonstrate much better progress than American kids.
The question is why we're so concerned with test scores making adequate progress, rather than students? Learning lives in a human being.

[OHdem10]

6. Did we not learn anything from: 69 Billion Dollars in Fraud

by Military Contractors Iraq and Afghanistan.

Do we not remember the sorry state of affairs
at Walter Reed. Outside Health Care Contractors.

Privatization is not all it is cracked up to be.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. How does privatizing anything save money? There's a third party between employer and employee that

has to make a nice profit.

[n2doc]

9. It doesn't.

It is just an excuse to 1, lower teacher salaries; 2, eliminate tenure; and 3, provide a way to get state funding into the pockets of republican legislators and their families through campaign contributions and crony hiring practices. Oh, and 4, eliminate teacher Unions, who might oppose such actions.

[Spacemom]

10. How hard is it to teach someone

To say "you want fries with that?"

That's where they want us.

[knitter4democracy]

11. I'm one of those teachers--long-term sub for a private company.

What's interesting is that I actually work for the sub company, not the district. So, now there's going to be talks between the two about the principal requiring me to attend staff meetings and work extra hours that the contract says I don't get paid for. I get paid for a half day or full day, so any meetings or detentions after school are all free. The company wasn't fully aware of that (until I told them), and they're not okay with my working for free (seeing as they get a cut from what the district pays me), so they're going to be talking with the district about that. I've been informed that I'm not to work extra until given the green light, though I'm going in today to finish my bulletin boards, etc., and just not telling anyone. I have to get them done for Tuesday as well as a few other things, and that's part of my job.

School districts will spend more than they think if they hire through another company. Teachers work many unpaid hours every year, but if the district is paying another company, that company won't take kindly to their employees working for no pay. This isn't the answer the idiots in Lansing think it is.

[TruthTeller]

13. Help, I'm stuck in MIchigan...

and this was our Welcome Back gift from our critters. This summer they have removed much collective bargaining and increased our health care by sneaking in and out of Lansing. Help!