MEA VOICE At Issue
MEA initiative can build foundation for school success
Fair taxes, a level playing field
for business, and adequate
school funding are the keys
to ensuring equal educational
and economic opportunity.
Anyone who wants to ensure equal educational and economic opportunity for all Michiganders—including the 1.7 million students in public schools—needs to know that:
- We must make taxes fair.
- We must level the economic playing field for business.
- We must fund public schools adequately and equitably.
As a school employee, you know that
public education is where we train our
future workforce, teach children about
their role in our democracy, and groom
the next generation of civic leaders.
You know that your students are worth fighting for—and so we must collectively stand strong. In order to make a difference in the lives of students and members, and everyone else in Michigan, a long-term strategy is needed to ensure that we all are given the opportunity to share in the American dream.
MEA has a long-term strategy called TEF, which stands for Tax structure, Economic development policies, and Funding for schools, to build a foundation for school success where taxes are fair, economic development policies are sound, and public schools are funded adequately.
“It’s a shift in basic thought,” says Mt. Pleasant teacher Rick Trainor. “We’re going to shift from viewing our students as resources to viewing our students as assets. Assets are things we invest in. And when you invest in assets, they increase in value.”
MEA committed to long-term strategy
Over the next year, MEA is committed
to pushing this strategy as a way to help
increase the capacity for you to do your
job. You’re already held accountable for
student results despite not having the
necessary resources; this initiative aims to
secure what you need to get the job done
right.
Educational and economic opportunities for many Americans are on a steady decline. This alarming problem is creating a huge disadvantage for a large number of Americans, including you and your students.
The future of public education—and that of our students—depends on safeguarding the principle of equal opportunity for all, particularly with regard to educational opportunity. But, through decades of failed public policy, this fundamental principle is fading away.
“The trends that impact public education are headed in the wrong direction,” says Ed Hurley, a researcher for the National Education Association.
Since the 1970s, teacher salaries have barely kept up with inflation. America’s school infrastructure is literally falling apart. Circumstances for educational support personnel and higher education faculty are no different. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to improve the lot of our members and students.
“We move one step forward, and state economic development and tax policies take us two steps backward,” says MEA President Iris Salters. “It’s a no-win situation.” The obstacles standing in the way of making public schools great developed over many years and they cannot be resolved overnight. If we want to close achievement gaps, improve our members’ lives, and make public schools great for every child, we have no choice but to develop realistic, long-term strategies designed to reverse these trends and build a solid foundation for school success.
Leaders, staff attend training
In May, MEA members and staff gathered in Lansing to learn more about the connections between taxes, economic development and funding for schools. Several other states are also focused on this plan, which offers real potential for association members to make a difference in the lives of students.
One of the key messages of that May training hit home for Chris Korbel, who teaches computer maintenance and networking for the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District (TBAISD).
“The people who can least afford to pay taxes are the ones who are paying a higher percentage of taxes based on their income,” says Korbel, who is president of the TBAISD Education Association. “I didn’t know that before.”
Compounding this problem are illconsidered economic development policies. Just like current tax structures, these policies are preventing us from achieving adequate and equitable funding for our schools.
Nationwide, state tax subsidies offered in the name of so-called “economic development” have an annual price tag of over $50 billion, Hurley said.
Typically, these incentives and abatements are offered to big business with no strings attached. That means there’s no recourse—no fallback—if a company fails to deliver on its promise of job creation.
And the education community usually has no say in these decisions, decisions that take potential resources away from already under-funded public schools.
“As educators, we worry about the dayto-day things in our classrooms and what we need to do with our kids tomorrow,” says Cheryl Lake, who teaches in the Orchard View Schools near Muskegon. “A whole lot of us never focus on the big picture and how all these things are interrelated.”