Dear Friends,
The Michigan Legislature is at a precipice as to how far services to Michigan citizens (adults and children) will be cut and ignoring the need to restructure howservices are funded, so that our children can continue to be properly educated and our most vulnerable saved from complete destitution.
I want to discuss K-12 education right now. Over the last few years, the income to our public schools has shrunk in some pretty creative ways already. As we all know, a doomsday double dose of base state school funding reductions, is already on the table, up from a single dose. Unless the legislature considers approving additional revenue sources or restructures how all state revenue is generated, restructures how local schools are organized, either a single or double dose of school cuts will be a final reality, with more to come next year. With the next round of revenue reductions, after the previous ones, I believe sports, music programs throughout our state will be shut down and class sizes increased to unacceptable levels, among other harmful changes.
Without state leadership, our kids currently in our schools today, will not get the education our experts say they need and there is no plan being seriously considered, to overcome our revenue shortfall or to legislate new school structures, only talk to take more and more away. My analogy for what is happening is like when a person falls to the ground because they weren't stable on their feet, is for us to respond to their fall by kicking them while still on the ground and hope they will find away to get themselves up before you kick them so much that they never get up. The association of school boards and school administrators are encouraging school board members and administrators to bring local community members to Lansing November 10. (10 a.m. on the Capitol steps. Senate meets at 10 a.m.; House meets at 1:30 p.m.)
I feel that Michigan's sports and band parents are among the most already organized and involved parents/community members, that I know. I know there are other categories of people, but our time is short to get voices heard. I also want to mention that there may be local efforts to keep football going, while other sports are shut down. I intend to work to file equal treatment complaints against any school district that continues a sport for boys (no matter where the funding comes from), that does not also provide an equal level of funding for one or more top sports for girls, equaling the level of funding provided boys. I am proposing that Michigan Women's Forum readers will consider helping to bring additional voices to Lansing on November 10 and to give special attention to asking coaches to help invite parents of their athletes and band students.
We need solutions from our so-called political leaders, not to have them keep kicking us, the vulnerable and our children, when we are down.
Tom Wilson, President
Michigan Gender Equity Team (M GET)
Phillip A. Hart Award Recipient
http://www.mi-gender-equity.com
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