Digital Media and Literacy: A Plan of Action
http://www.knightcomm.org/wp-Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Two small things that should always Inform our Understanding (21st Century Endgame Foundations)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Progress on: Building a Grad Nation (Report)
READ THE REPORT http://civicenterprises.net/pdfs/gradnation.pdf
Grad Nation Guidebook http://www.americaspromise.org/gradnation
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010
School Dropout Rates Are Dropping, But Still No Cause For Celebration
High school graduation rates are one of education's perennial bad-news stories. How bad? In 2008, there were 1,746 "dropout factories," high schools that graduate fewer than 60% of their students. But according to a new report released Tuesday, there is finally some good news to talk about. First, the national graduation rate has inched up from 72% in 2001 to 75% in 2008. There were 261 fewer dropout factories in 2008 than in 2002. And during that six-year period, 29 states improved their graduation rates with two of them — Wisconsin and Vermont — reaching almost a 90% graduation rate.
But don't call in the cast of Glee just yet. According to the report, by Johns Hopkins University along with two education-oriented groups, America's Promise Alliance and Civic Enterprises, eight states had graduation rates below 70% in 2008, and 2.2 million students still attend dropout factories. An achievement gap also persists: only 64% of Hispanic students and 62% of African Americans graduated in 2008, while 81% of white students did. (See the top 10 college dropouts.)
These shortfalls carry enormous costs for students as well as for taxpayers. In today's economy, dropouts have few options, a poor quality of life and almost no economic mobility. In 2009, the average person with a college degree earned about $1,015 a week while the average high school dropout earned just $454. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is 5.2% for those with a college degree and 14.6% for dropouts. The Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., estimates that dropouts each year cost the nation more than $300 billion in lost income.
Dropouts are an issue in all communities. And for years, low graduation rates were masked by states and school districts that used misleading counting methods to make the dropout situation appear better than it was. Officials would, for example, only report the percentage of students who left in a particular year rather than the cumulative total for each cohort of ninth-graders. (That's like looking at a credit card's monthly interest charge instead of its annual rate.) But reformers have managed to put an end to that particular habit: as part of the push over the past decade for greater accountability in schools, states are now required to report on graduation rates in a more standardized and rigorous way. (See what makes a school great.)
Now that we have more reliable numbers, the just-released report — which is titled Building a Grad Nation (and for which, I should note, I participated in some of the lead-up work) — found that just as the dropout problem is more acute in some schools than in others, success in addressing the issue is varied too. New York and Tennessee, for example, saw substantial improvements in graduation rates while Arizona, Nevada and Utah slid noticeably in the wrong direction.
And while it's true that some of the recent progress could be the result of quick fixes — like low-quality programs that allow students to earn high school credits without actually meeting standards — one of the report's co-authors, Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins researcher and nationally recognized dropout expert, told me that in order to see the sustained progress that is occurring in some places, "you have to change the underlying dynamics" in schools and school systems. (Read "No Dropouts Left Behind: New Rules on Grad Rates.")
He's right, which is why the Grad Nation report is at once welcome news but also a frustrating example of political impotence. Strategies to substantially improve outcomes can be deployed today. The steps the report identifies are well known and fairly obvious: smaller schools, effective teaching, accurate data and challenging standards that engage students, plus holding schools accountable for graduation rates and implementing early-warning systems that use data to identify and support students at risk of dropping out. Yet the report's authors told me they are worried that the volatile political environment in many states, coupled with almost 700 new state legislators and 29 new governors entering office in 2011, could make it harder to push through necessary reforms.
To help focus such efforts, the report calls for a Civic Marshall Plan. And just in case that metaphor was lost on anyone, Colin Powell, the founding chairman of America's Promise, co-wrote the forward for the report, an open letter calling the nation to action. (Comment on this story.)
Truly transforming America's education system into something envied the world over will require more innovation. Yet in the meantime, as shown by the new data, we can do substantially better simply by acting on what we know now. Which means that Grad Nation is good news but also a wake-up call. Three in four students graduating from high school is nothing to celebrate in a country like ours.
Andrew J. Rotherham, who writes the blog Eduwonk, is a co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education, a nonprofit working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. School of Thought, his education column for TIME.com, usually runs on Thursdays.
AGENDA Item: Our next meeting under Fundraising!
PUTTING MICHIGAN FIRST
Buying local gives boost to businesses
In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, a growing number of Michigan business owners and consumers are fighting back, one Michigan purchase at a time.
They’re part of an expanding buy local movement, a grassroots campaign that advocates purchasing products and services that are made, grown or performed in Michigan. Buy local groups have sprung up in cities including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Entrepreneurs and large retailers also are getting in on the action, selling more Michigan-made products and services. One Michigander has even launched a school fund-raising program that sells Michigan-produced foods and other goods. “This is something every one of us can do,” said Lisa Diggs, founder of the Buy Michigan Now campaign, which has seen more than 5,500 residents pledge their commitment to buying local products and services from local businesses. “That’s really empowering to people in our state, especially now.” She and other supporters say funneling more money to local businesses helps Michigan’s economy in a number of ways, from building stronger communities to increasing jobs. Evidence that the movement generates a positive effect is mostly anecdotal. For example, when Hudsonville Ice Cream in Holland expanded into metro Detroit in May 2009, it discovered that several supermarkets were enthusiastic about offering a Michigan-made ice cream. Since then, sales have taken off and the company is planning to increase its work force. “We wouldn’t have had the opportunity that presented itself without buy local,” said Bruce Kratt, Hudsonville’s director of sales.
Kelly Martin, owner of Kelly’s Karamels, watches Noah Dreyer, 8, of Bloomfield Township taste treats Thursday at Plum Market in Bloomfield Township. "It’s awesome. Everyone should try them," he said.
Hudsonville Ice Cream in Holland expanded into metro Detroit in 2009. Sales took off. Now the company plans to add jobs.
Buy local movement is gaining traction
Made in Michigan has an allure that is proving good for shoppers, workers
Kelly Martin has experienced firsthand the benefits that can result when Michigan businesses and consumers support each other. In July 2009, she launched Kelly’s Karamels in Troy, making and selling caramel candies based on a recipe from her 90-year-old grandmother. Today, the start-up business is profitable, employs seven workers and plans to operate out of its own facility by year’s end. Martin, 47, credits the buy local movement in Michigan for helping her business grow. The former pharmaceutical executive began selling her candy at a Buy Michigan Festival in Northville. She now lists her business in the Buy Michigan Now directory and holiday gift guide, and several local supermarkets that offer Michigan-made products sell her caramels. “This has really opened up a lot of doors for people like me,” Martin said. “People here are very, very conscious about supporting their own state.” What happened to Martin illustrates the power of Michigan’s buy local movement. Advocates say the grassroots campaign has gained momentum during the state’s deep recession because many business owners and consumers view buying local as a way to support their communities during tough times. But whether buy local is just a fad or something that will endure after the economy rebounds remains to be seen. A wake-up call The movement reached a turning point in December 2008 when top executives of General Motors, Chrysler and the UAW went to Capitol Hill to plead for government help, according to Lisa Diggs, founder of the Buy Michigan Now campaign. The criticism caused many Michiganders to realize that the only people that could help their state are themselves, Diggs said. Buy Michigan Now has attracted more than 2,500 businesses to its company directory. Although no one knows how large the buy local movement in Michigan is, more than 960 dues-paying members have joined groups promoting the cause that have sprung up in recent years in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo andJackson. “You do have the power to affect how your community looks and feels by how you spend your money,” said Ingrid Ault, executive director of Think Local First of Washtenaw County, which has 224 members. How much of a boost? Supporters say the movement is helping Michigan’s economy, but no studies have been done to prove this. Civic Economics, an economic consulting firm, has estimated that $68 of every $100 spent at a locally-owned business stays in the local economy in the form of wages, taxes, community donations and spending on local business services and supplies. In contrast, only $43 stays in the local economy when $100 is spent at a nonlocal business. In 2008, Civic Economics examined the Grand Rapids area and predicted that a 10% shift in market share from chain stores to local businesses across the retail spectrum would result in 1,600 new jobs in Kent County and $137 million in additional economic activity. Although statistics like these have aided the movement, its growth has been hampered by consumers who feel it’s too expensive and inconvenient to buy local products and services. Consumer convenience A March 2009 survey by the consumer and product research firm Mintel found that only 1 in 6 adults, or 17% of respondents, buy local as often as possible. That contrasts with 27% who don’t care where their food and services come from and 30% who say they would purchase local goods and services but don’t know where to find them. “We are a society of convenience and price,” said Kriss Giannetti, president of JXN Local First in Jackson, which has struggled to increase interest in buy local efforts. To overcome these perceptions, several entrepreneurs in Michigan have established businesses to help consumers buy local. In September, James and Patti Travioli of Mt. Pleasant officially launched MadeInMichigan.com , an online marketplace where vendors can sell their local products directly to consumers and businesses. “People are seeing all the jobs lost. They are getting kind of fed up and trying to do whatever little thing they can,” said James Travioli. Another company, Argent Tape & Label in Plymouth, sells “Grown in Michigan” and “Made in Michigan” stickers to help businesses identify their Michigan-made products. So far, despite very little advertising, Argent has seen a steady demand for the stickers, said Melissa Toth, the company’s marketing specialist. School fund-raisers In Waterford, former teacher Neil Yaremchuk recently formed the Made in Michigan Marketplace, a fund-raising program for schools, churches and other groups that feature 19 of the state’s products, all under $15. He is in talks with several schools interested in the program. “We don’t just make things here. We make really good things here,” said Yaremchuk, who drove 16,000 miles around the state this year looking for Michigan products and meeting with business owners. Many of the state’s supermarkets also are playing a key role in the movement by featuring more Michigan produce, baked goods and other foods. This year, Meijer is increasing its spending on locally grown fruits and vegetables to $60 million, up 20% from 2009 levels. At Wal-Mart, 4.5% of the total produce it sells in the U.S. comes from local farmers, a number it plans to double by the end of 2015. Last year, Kroger spent more than $400 million on Michigan agricultural products, in addition to selling hundreds of Michigan-made food items. State advantage “I view the buy local movement as building a big lifeboat for us,” said Jim Hiller, CEO of Hiller’s Markets, whose seven stores sell more than 5,000 products made or grown in Michigan. Though he admits that the effort has probably decreased his company’s bottom line, Hiller said he wants to help the state be successful. Michigan has an advantage over many states when it comes to buying local. It is blessed with a large and diverse agricultural industry, with 1,588 licensed food processors, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The state produces more than 200 commodities on a commercial basis. How hard is it to buy local in Michigan? Earlier this year, Jennifer Berkemeier, special events director at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit, set out to buy only local products and services for six months, blogging about her experience onbuymichigannow.com . To her surprise, the 44-year-old Farmington Hills resident discovered that despite her busy schedule and full-time job, it only took a little bit of extra time and effort to shop at independent stores and purchase Michigan products and services. And contrary to perception, buying local didn’t cost her more money. Berkemeier estimates that she could find Michigan vendors for 80% of her purchases. “It wasn’t hard at all,” she said. “The biggest eye-opener was realizing how many locally based stores there are.” • CONTACT KATHERINE YUNG: 313-222-8763 OR KYUNG@FREEPRESS.COM 
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
CREATIVITY WORLD FORUM 2010
A World of Learning and Some Really Great Thinkers
November 17th, 2010 by Jillian DarwishDoes 1300 hours in school this year sound like a long time? What about 1800 hours at work? If you are in a school or in a workplace that hasn’t fundamentally changed since the concept for these institutions formed close to two hundred years ago, 1300 or 1800 hours probably sounds like a very long time indeed.
The good news is that since both offices and schools are created constructs, they actually can be re-created, according to Sir Ken Robinson with whom I had the great joy of having lunch this week at the invitation of the Kirkpatrick Foundation. The question of course, is how do they need to be re-created? This is the central question central that drives our work at KnowledgeWorks.
Some interesting answers came from the Creativity World Forum 2010 this week in Oklahoma. The Forum featured Daniel Pink, David Pogue, Blake Mycoskie and Erik Logan in addition to Sir Ken Robinson. They each had much to say to answer the question, “How do our schools and workplaces need to be re-created to match the demands of our times?”
Sir Ken Robinson:
• People need time to do what they love. This feeling will create enlivening and self-propelling energy to learn and create.
• If we want the best from people we must leave room for nonlinear developments and widen the aperture for what defines success.
• Creativity is practical and can be taught.
• People need time to do what they love. This feeling will create enlivening and self-propelling energy to learn and create.
• If we want the best from people we must leave room for nonlinear developments and widen the aperture for what defines success.
• Creativity is practical and can be taught.
Daniel Pink:
• Don’t think compliance, think engagement.
• Increase engagement by finding room for autonomy. Where is the non-commissioned time in work/school? (Google produces most of its new products from their famous 20% time)
• Change begins with conversation.
• Don’t think compliance, think engagement.
• Increase engagement by finding room for autonomy. Where is the non-commissioned time in work/school? (Google produces most of its new products from their famous 20% time)
• Change begins with conversation.
David Pogue:
• Everyone doesn’t need to do everything. We each need to take one action and that is what creates change.
• It’s not money; it’s ideas that are important.
• For greater innovation, seek joy, play and whimsy (see step 24 on Google maps directions from Taiwan to China!)
• Everyone doesn’t need to do everything. We each need to take one action and that is what creates change.
• It’s not money; it’s ideas that are important.
• For greater innovation, seek joy, play and whimsy (see step 24 on Google maps directions from Taiwan to China!)
Blake Mycoskie:
• Don’t get overwhelmed by complexity, just get started.
• Allow for the unexpected.
• Incorporate giving in whatever you do.
• Don’t get overwhelmed by complexity, just get started.
• Allow for the unexpected.
• Incorporate giving in whatever you do.
Erik Logan:
• Work with people who are smarter than you.
• Seek people who “don’t drink from the same well.”
• You don’t have to be the most creative; you just have to do your part.
• Work with people who are smarter than you.
• Seek people who “don’t drink from the same well.”
• You don’t have to be the most creative; you just have to do your part.
When I look at this list I am inspired by the resonance I see with what we at KnowledgeWorks are committed to creating when we talk about a “World of Learning.” I see a call to engage people (students and colleagues) as individuals, but also as whole people (not just students and colleagues), encourage diversity and collaboration, catalyze agency through authentic and relevant experiences and to think holistically and organically about the process.
What do you see?
Impressions from 2009 (Also see follow-on Videos)
Creativity World Forum 2010
http://stateofcreativity.com/events/cwf/about/
Saturday, October 9, 2010
CONTRAST: U.S. Education Conversation and Michigan Gubernatorial Understandings (Relevance Factor?)
Thursday, Oct. 07, 2010
Waiting for 'Superman': Education Reform Isn't Easy
In the midst of a panel discussion following the Washington premiere of the education documentary Waiting for "Superman" on Sept. 15, CNN's Roland Martin breathlessly told his followers on Twitter that Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, "says they are going to look at making change to teachers tenure in their contracts. THIS IS HUGE."
Martin isn't the only one caught up in the moment. Today, the enthusiasm among education reformers is palpable. And why not? This seems like an amazing time, with NBC hosting a big education summit across its various networks to kick off the school year, a president seemingly committed to bold reform, and a feature film, Waiting for "Superman," from a major studio — made by none other than the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth! (See "Fenty's Loss in D.C.: A Blow to Education Reform?")
Although the momentum seems unstoppable, don't pop the champagne or, worse, declare 'mission accomplished' just yet. Waiting for "Superman" is a hard-hitting documentary that lays bare many of America's education problems. But despite all the attention it's bringing to education, there are still more reasons to bet against reform than for it.
For starters, history doesn't offer much cause for optimism. This isn't the first time substantial reforms have seemed imminent. Education history is littered with big promises, national commissions and task forces, summits, and surprisingly little change. Two decades ago, when then-governor Clinton and the first President Bush gathered the nation's governors in Charlottesville, Va., reform seemed unstoppable. Some progress came out of it — it helped with the development of better state education standards — but it did not herald the revolution many were predicting at the time.
One reason for the slow pace of reform is because American public schools are fundamentally conservative — and because Americans are fundamentally conservative about their schools. In other words, the bias is strongly against change rather than for it, which explains why among parents, change is popular in theory but controversial in practice. (Affluent parents, for instance, support higher standards until those measures show that their public schools are not as good as they should be given the high property taxes these families are paying.) Although opposition to reform is often laid exclusively at the feet of the teachers' unions, it is actually a broader issue. (See pictures of a prestigious public boarding school in Washington.)
Of course, the unions obviously have a hand in today's debate, too. Although we like to think of teachers as a breed apart, their special interest groups — the two large national teachers' unions — are basically the same as any other special interest, and the politics just as brutal. In fact, combined, the two national teachers' unions spent more on federal campaign contributions than any other interest group from 1989 to 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And that is just the national teachers unions, not the thousands of state and local ones. That adds up to a lot of money to keep various reforms at bay. And to keep various reformers at bay too. In Washington, for example, Politico reported that the American Federation of Teachers spent about $1 million in the run-up to last month's Democratic primary to help defeat Mayor Adrian Fenty, who had ushered in sweeping changes to the city's school district.
All this helps explain why John Wilson, executive director of the biggest teachers' union, the National Education Association, is nonplussed by Waiting for "Superman" and the slew of other education documentaries that have come out in recent months. "I think the films are a blip," he told the Sacramento Bee. "They will come and go, but the union will still be there, our members will still be in these schools." Sure, this may sound a little thuggish, but it's a political reality education reformers had better understand.
In American politics, concentrated special interests can do a lot to slow or thwart reform. Think about policy battles on issues as wide-ranging as energy, guns, tobacco, health care, the environment, or telecommunications and cable television. When it's the general interest pitted against an organized special interest, bet on the latter. (Comment on this story.)
In addition to the cultural and political entrenchment, the process of how funding gets allocated as well as how the various federal, state, and local rules constrain schools leaves surprisingly little room for innovation in education. Coupled with American education's anemic research and development infrastructure, the reality today is that we know a lot more about what does not work than about what does. For example, it's clear from abundant research that paying teachers only on the basis of their degrees and years of experience is not in the best interest of students or teachers. As the National Council on Teacher Quality, a research and policy organization whose board of directors I chaired for several years, put it, "the evidence is conclusive that master's degrees do not make teachers more effective." Such clarity does not mean, however, that the reforms to fix these problems are obvious. The education field still has a lot to learn about how to effectively differentiate salary and incorporate elements like performance into compensation. (Watch TIME's video "Can Michelle Rhee Save Our Schools?")
Consequently, there will be a lot of trial and error along the way. Each failure provides critics with plenty of fodder and complicates the politics that much more. For example, when researchers at Vanderbilt University released a study in September showing no large improvements in student performance from a teacher merit pay pilot program, these findings were widely cited as definitive evidence of the folly of performance-based pay. But it was just one study of one program, hardly the last word. Meanwhile, the political debate about charter schools remains largely focused on the low-performing ones rather than what we can learn from those that are delivering transformative results.
So what's the takeaway? Certainly not that reformers should take their cue from Dante and call it quits. But they should realize the enormous work and time genuine reform will take. Building the capacity to deliver substantially improved education while simultaneously addressing the politics is an incredible two-front effort. Despite its promise and impressive accomplishments to date, the reform community is not yet prepared to do so at scale. Genuinely bold reformers are still more likely to lose elections than win them, and truly aggressive reform activity is still concentrated in relatively few places.
That's a problem because if there is a lesson from the last two years of education activity, it is that nothing happens absent tenacity and intense pressure for reform. Despite the rhetoric about changing teacher tenure, for example, Weingarten is still struggling to find a middle ground that satisfies her members and actually alters the reality in schools. Don't tell Roland Martin, but this past weekend there she was on CBS Sunday Morning, explaining why tenure isn't a problem anyway.
Andrew J. Rotherham, who writes the blog Eduwonk, is a co-founder and partner at Bellwether Education, a nonprofit working to improve educational outcomes for low-income students. School of Thought, his education column for TIME.com, appears every Thursday.
Snyder’s plan
It’s time to get finances in order
School funding must stabilize, he says
Businessman Rick Snyder says it’s time to stop making schools guess at how much money they’ll have each year. The Republican candidate for governor would stabilize school funding by cutting costs. He would have teachers pay more for health insurance and replace pensions with traditional 401(k)s for new teachers. He would require competitive bidding in school districts and look at more consolidation and sharing of services. “We need to be more cost-efficient,” Snyder said. “I’m not sure we can afford the system we have today.” He also would push for school districts to pool all their insurance needs into one pot, in order to get better rates. Snyder said he knows it could be tough to force changes to teachers’ benefits without cooperation from unions, in particular the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. Many Michigan districts have health insurance through the MEA’s insurance arm, and the union has typically fought to keep it that way. But, “it’s a subject we need to have on the table,” Snyder said. Snyder said he believes his plan can save between $743 million and $1.11 billion: $87 million through pension reform; $156 million to $223 million through insurance reform; $200 million to $500 million through more competitive bidding, and $300 million through more consolidation and service sharing. Competitive bidding is already happening in many districts, but Snyder said he’d like to see it expanded. That doesn’t necessarily mean privatizing, he said. Instead, school districts could bid on contracts from other districts — to provide busing, for example. Snyder said he’d also push for consolidating across districts more services such as business functions, payroll orcurriculum planning. He said he’d also hold schools accountable for the quality of the education they are producing, while rewarding teachers for their success. “Shouldn’t we be able to do an analysis of what are the successful schools, the successful teachers?” Snyder asked. He said he wants to use data to find out what successful districts are doing, and how it can be replicated in others. Student test scores would be part of that data, but he said teachers should not be measured by scores alone. “Too often, we view measurement systems as a way to penalize people. I happen to see it as a way to reward success,” Snyder said. Snyder said he believes successful educators should be rewarded for success with some sort of pay for performance, or merit pay. He is not specific about how this would work, but he said merit pay, often a red flag to the unions, should go to the entire school instead of individual teachers. School-wide merit pay is much more palatable to union officials. “These are tough questions that we need to address, in terms of getting them on the table,” Snyder said. • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI: 313-222-8851 OR MMWALSH@FREEPRESS.COM
CARLOS OSORIO/Associated Press
Bernero’s plan
It’s all about student success
Communities part of the solution, he says
Students convicted of crimes may need to finish high school to get out of jail if Virg Bernero becomes governor. That’s just one of the ideas he has for improving education for Michigan children, outlined in his plan, Education is Economic Development. Making sure those kids have a diploma is not only better for the economy, but it’s also one of the best ways to avoid repeat offenders, Bernero said. A criminal record makes it hard to get a job, and a diploma could put them one step closer to getting hired. And Bernero said there are steps that can be taken now to keep those students out of jail — changing suspension policies, for instance. The solution right now is often kicking kids out of school, but that doesn’t solve the problem, it just encourages kids to drop out, Bernero said. Education would be better served if all schools used in-school suspensions. If in-school suspension doesn’t work, he would then send the student to what he calls right-track academies to turn the kids around. “If you do two things, if you discipline in a serious way and do an all-out assault on the dropout rate, that alone would bring a sea change to schools,” Bernero said. “I intend to lead the assault for the dropout rate and an extension of that, I very likely will lead community involvement in the schools.” While his plan is filled with his own ideas for fixing schools — including universal preschool and all-day kindergarten — Bernero said he also wants to make the community a part of the solution. “I want to build a system that allows for creativity and local ingenuity, that empowers the district so we let them know that failure is not an option,” Bernero said. His school reform would begin with “getting into these schools and talking to the teachers, doing some interviews, talking to parents, to see what’s going on.” Bernero’s interest in addressing education issues is spurred in part by his wife, Teri Bernero, principal of Lewton Elementary School in Lansing. The Democratic candidate also said it’s time to stop pummeling schools with costly, unfunded government mandates, such as annual reports on test scores and documentation for how government funding is spent — work that takes time that could better be focused on education. Let educators have a say in what’s needed to fix schools because they’re the ones who really know what’s going on inside the classroom, he said. He also would expand vocational education and career training. All students do not graduate from college, he said, but all Michigan students need to be able to get a decent job. Like his opponent, Rick Snyder, he also wants to fix school funding and, if elected, plans to create a statewide task force to address the issue. One area that would help save money, he said, is in consolidating duplicative services throughout each county, such as busing or payroll. Many services could be streamlined and run by county intermediate school districts. “Let’s get real about education funding,” Bernero said. • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI: 313-222-8851 OR MMWALSH@FREEPRESS .COM
CARLOS OSORIO/Associated Press
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