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Bill to allow school district transfers is reintroduced
Of The Daily Oakland Press

SYLVAN LAKE - A group of residents in neighborhoods surrounding Square Lake is pleased to see the reintroduction of state legislation that would allow parents to opt out of the Pontiac school district.

Citizens Acting for Responsive Education has initiated a fund-raising campaign to support lobbying for House Bill 4085, which is sponsored by Rep. Shelley Taub, R-Bloomfield Hills.

Taub introduced a similar bill last year, and the citizens group raised $25,000 for lobbying. The measure died in committee, however.

The current proposal would allow intermediate school district boards to decide whether to transfer a neighborhood from one local school district to another if and when proponents present a petition signed by at least two-thirds of the neighborhood's residents.

Another provision of the bill mandates that an election be conducted to decide the issue if 80 percent of residents sign a petition. Other conditions that would have to be met include:

The municipality that the neighborhood lies within must contain at least portions of more than one school district.



No more than 125 students could be drawn away from the school district slated to lose properties.



The school district to which properties would be attached would have to approve the transfer plan in part or in whole.



A simple majority of neighborhood residents would have to vote in favor of the transfer plan.



If an election were held, the district slated to lose properties would have no power to approve or disapprove the plan.

Dan Aldrich, a citizens group campaign activist, refutes claims he and other residents are supporting the measure simply because they want to enhance their property values by becoming associated with a more acclaimed school system.

"That's nonsense," the 28-year Sylvan Lake resident said. "I didn't buy my house just to sell it and move on. This is my home."

Aldrich argued, rather, that he is frustrated with high residential turnover that results when young home buyers move away to put their school-age children in districts other than Pontiac.

"The big issue to me is that, when I walk the streets, I get to know the kids and the people," Aldrich said. "Now, before you know it, they're up and gone."

Pontiac schools Superintendent Mildred Mason said the district will oppose Taub's current bill - much as it did the last one - because it creates opportunity to cripple already struggling districts.

"It's a continuing saga, but the essence of the bill is the same," she said.

"What you really need to do is make your schools the best schools in the world rather than try to disconnect from them and let them erode," she said.

Pontiac, now planning a $99.9-million bond issue to construct and improve district facilities, would benefit from Sylvan Lake property tax revenues if voters approved the request May 3.

But Aldrich said the citizens group will fight the request as vigorously as members did a $455.4 million proposal the district put before voters in September 2003. That measure was defeated by a 2-1 margin.

Defeating this year's bond proposal has became a primary goal among the citizens group members, because Taub's bill would not exempt them from property taxes established before a district transfer was complete.

"It's our main objective now, because, if it passes, we'll still be responsible for (the taxes)," Aldrich said.

Taub and proponents of HB 4085 note that very few school-age children in Sylvan Lake attend Pontiac schools, so would not benefit from the millage. Most go to private and parochial schools or attend public schools in other districts through the state's Schools of Choice program.

Mason argues that improving school facilities in Pontiac would not just benefit children, however, but the district community as a whole. This, she says, is because good schools significantly improve the quality of life in communities.
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THINK GLOBAL
Education is a national disgrace
Web-posted Apr 2, 2005

Trying to keep track of all the testing methods imposed on our public schools is a daunting task, even for educators.

As a result, it's quite possible that Gov. Jennifer Granholm's recently announced plan to create a more rigorous academic curriculum for high school students got lost in the shuffle.

Let's hope not, because one of the reasons behind Granholm's effort - she wants to align the high school curriculum more closely with college entrance exams - should concern all of us.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about one-third of the nation's college-bound high school graduates have to be placed in remedial courses in language and mathematics.

Michigan is not immune from this national disgrace. A recent study by the Mackinac Center in Midland said that approximately $600 million is spent annually by state colleges and universities to teach students what they didn't learn before graduating from high school.

And remember - these are the high school graduates who have the grades and drive to attend college. What about those whose futures don't include higher education? What kind of basic skills are they leaving high school with?

Our public schools face some monumental challenges in the immediate future, and funding certainly is at the top of the list. However, the quality of the education many "graduates" now receive can't be too far behind.