GRAND RAPIDS, MI ? Opponents of the Protect Our Jobs ballot proposal say it?s not just businesses objecting to the union-backed measure to enshrine collective bargaining in the state constitution.
Citizens Protecting Michigan?s Constitution said five educational advocacy groups representing school boards and administrators have joined the fight against Proposal 2, saying the ballot proposal would turn back reforms and drive up costs.
The Protect Our Jobs coalition blasted the opposition group, calling it ?shadowy? and criticized an ad that said approving the measure would lead to ?Chicago-style? teacher strikes.
?Collective bargaining gives teachers a voice to negotiate for smaller class sizes so they can better educate our kids, time to complete ongoing training required by law and a say on policies that affect their students,? Protect Our Jobs Leaders said in a release. ?Student learning conditions are often improved by collective bargaining.?
Citizens Protecting Michigan?s Constitution spokesman Nick De Leeuw said the Michigan Association of School Boards; Michigan School Association of Secondary School Principals; Michigan Association of School Administrators; Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators; and the Michigan School Business Officials are opposing Proposal 2.
The group said the proposal is an attempt by unions to ?hijack Michigan?s constitution for their own financial gain.?
Attorney General Bill Schuette has said the measure would void all or part of 170 laws affecting public employee unions.
?Locally elected school boards across Michigan are responsible for ensuring our kids get the best possible education and for using our resources wisely, but Proposal 2 would set our schools back, eliminating critical reforms that help students succeed and driving costs through the roof,? said MASB Executive Director Kathy Hayes, representing 600 school boards. ?We urge parents to protect our schools, protect our students and to vote no on Proposal 2.?
MASA Executive Director William Mayes said Protect Our Jobs would cost districts $400 million in potential health care savings alone, forcing districts to cut staff and eliminate programs.
?Principals, like parents, want our students to receive the best education from the best teachers, but Proposal 2 would eliminate teacher evaluation systems and force us back into a seniority system that makes time on the job more important than performance with our students,? said Wendy Zdeb-Roper, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals. ?Proposal 2 threatens critical education reforms that help our kids succeed and we are asking parents to vote no.?
Citizens Protecting Michigan?s Constitution released an ad showing scenes of teachers striking in Chicago and saying approving Protect Our Jobs would lead to such job actions in Michigan.
The group released a Michigan Education Association memo that says strikes would still be illegal in Michigan, but unions would once again be able to negotiate for striking workers to be reimbursed for lost paychecks ? eliminating any penalties for walking off the job.
The group also said the measure would repeal the law requiring school bus drivers to have safety certificates.
Protect Our Jobs leaders lashed out, claiming the ad is ?intended to scare Michigan voters with lies, fear mongering and misleading information.?
The coalition called Citizens Protecting Michigan?s Constitution ?a shadowy front group for corporate special interests.?
?The claims in this ad are false,? Lynn Jondahl, a former Democratic state legislator who also served as the chair of the Michigan Board of Ethics, said in a release.
?Proposal 2 does not change the current prohibition on teacher and public school employee strikes, nor does it change current law regarding safety certificates for school bus drivers, which leave that responsibility in the hands of elected school boards.?
A release from the group said claims in the ad are ?lies.?
?The Proposal 2 amendment language states, ?No existing or future law of the State or its political subdivisions shall abridge, impair or limit the foregoing rights; provided that the State may prohibit or restrict strikes by employees of the State and its political subdivisions.??
Email Dave Murray at dmurray@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @ReporterDMurray or on Facebook.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/michigan-news/~3/B-as1WBwWHw/education_groups_join_oppositi.html
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