It’s been forever since I’ve blogged about the debacle known as the Romeo School Board. Since I’m not a homeowner, resident, or parent of kids in the district I really don’t care all that much about what is going on.

But this news raised my eyebrow:

Recall efforts may proceed against three Romeo school board members, but two others were granted reprieves Friday by the Macomb County Election Commission. story link

What is going on is classically simple. Unions, who have completely bankrupted the district, are upset there there simply isn’t more money to steal from the children of the district. In 2006, they even forced a bond on the community to cover up to 103% of the budget so their employees could get guaranteed raises dispite diving home values, diving tax revenue, and diving test scores across the district.

Three individuals stood up to the unions and did their best to balance the budget. Yes, this involved letting some union employees go and hiring non-union contractors.

And now unions are leading a recall effort.

The joy of being a reformer is that you will be called a heretic. Hopefully, the people of Romeo will stand up and not see these three reformers burned at the stake.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2009 – ROMEO, MI- Today marks the opening day of a brand new school in the Village of Romeo. 350 excited faces greeted the staff of North Macomb’s newest charter school. “We can’t believe that this dream became a reality this fast!” That’s Todd Nelson, the school’s principal. Nelson is a 14 year veteran Principal who came to Romeo after being laid off in Hillsdale last June due to decreased enrollment. He’s referring to the miraculous creation of the new charter school, which sprang up just months ago when concerned parents realized they were left with few options. In May, when the Romeo Community School board voted to close Croswell Elementary School for alleged budgetary reasons, a group of parents met to create an alternative to the struggling school district. Tiffany Johnson, who lives on Tilson Street remarked, “What we love about Romeo is that our kids can walk to their neighborhood school. When we heard the school was starting and they had recruited the best teachers in Michigan who just happened to have been laid off because they didn’t have the seniority to keep their jobs in union school districts, we signed up our Susie right away.”

Of course that is fiction. Yet, I don’t think it’s impossible to believe this scenario is true for Fall 2009. Last Monday, the Romeo Community School board voted to close the centrally located, recently updated Croswell Elementary School because of their lack of foresight. They all balked, laughed even, when I presented them with 5 Money Saving Ideas just a year ago. Today I balk at their lack of foresight and mismanagement. Every member of that board should be recalled as they have failed to lead the district through tough times.

Their administrators all make money college administrators would dance over. Their staff all make too much money with guaranteed raises despite falling test scores and a deficit budget. While the district had the opportunity to negotiate with the unions last summer, they chose to deny the data they had and sign a new contract which completely bankrupted the district. With more than 91% of their overall spending going to employee salaries and benefits (more if you figure in the slush fund known as the Sinking Fund) they have fiscally robbed the education of the children they were voted and hired to serve.

While housing prices in the district slumped 50%, the board planned for an INCREASE in tax revenue from the state. While unemployment soared in the district, they projected that more students would move to Romeo. What we see from that district is backward thinking… it’s time for a fresh start.

Unlike some of my friends who go to school board meetings ready to argue, I think the wisest thing to do at this point is to let those silly elected officials have the district. Many are bankrolled with MEA union dollars or physically threatened into doing the will of contractors who get rich. It’s a tiring game of cat and mouse. They will not be satisfied until they have completely blead the district dry.

With prime real estate and a willing group of parents, the perfect time has arisen for a new option in Romeo education: Charter schools.

Here are the facts:

- A charter school would be entitled to the full per pupil income that RCS currently recieves. If Croswell attracted 300 elementary students, they would instantly generate roughly $2 million in revenue from the State of Michigan.

- A charter school could further get grants from the Federal government. President Obama is pro-charter school and anti-1950s era school failures like we see in Romeo.

- With unemployment hovering around 17% in Michigan and higher in Macomb County, hiring teachers at a fair wage would be a snap. I am convinced you’d have thousands of applicants for the 15-20 positions you’d need to fill.

- The rest of the needed positions, from janitors to food service, could be filled with community members looking for reasonable hourly work.

- There are hundreds of parents whose children are being displaced. Kids who once walked to school from the neighborhoods are now going to be required to ride buses. I’m guessing those parents would love the opportunity to experiment with a new school. In fact, I have no doubt that there are parents in surrounding communities willing to drive into Romeo to try something outside of the union box.

- There is plenty of data to back that a public charter school can provide an equal or better education. My own children attend one!

- Once a new charter is formed, they would be wise to hire a charter school company to run the school. Here’s a link to get you thinking.

- Other then procuring a rental/purchase agreement for the otherwise vacant property, the Romeo Community School board would have no say. It would truly be a new day for education in the village.

- All of this really could happen by September 8th 2009! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. A charter board would need to be created to start the paperwork immediately. It is plausible. E-mail me if interested and I’ll help get the group meeting!

Some may dismiss me and say, “Adam, why should we listen to you? You don’t even live here anymore?” True, I moved from the district in August. (sadly) But I continue to be concerned because this is an issue of justice. It sickens me to see reform-minded board members intimidated and threatened. It sickens me to see 1950s era unions having more say in the district then the parents. It sickens me that money is wasted on overpaid administrators while the education of the districts children continues to decline.

Someone has to encourage others in Romeo to stand up and scream outragiously “ENOUGH!” There is another way. There is a way where that coin is flipped and dollars are spent on education. There is a way which truly puts the kids first and the unions in their place. The time for school reform has passed. The time to take action and educate children in a responsible way has arisen.

The question is, are there parents in Romeo willing to lead that charge? Or will 2009-2010 just be another year of fighting a battle against 1950s era unions?

About a year ago I wrote a post for our school district in Romeo, Michigan called, “5 Money Saving Ideas for RCS.” (Romeo Community Schools) Of course, it fell on deaf ears as they approved a budget that spent money the district didn’t have.

So here they are, a year later, and that budget exploded from their lack of foresight. The things I stood up and asked about 18 months ago have all come true:

- Declining home prices in the area means less tax raveneue, which means few dollars for the district.

- Hundreds of families (including my own) moved from Michigan to other states. That means, fewer students to educate, and fewer dollars for the district from the State of Michigan.

- The teacher’s union successfully negotiated for a contract which guaranteed money that didn’t exist. While the district deficit spent during the wealthiest 10 years in the town’s history… it was ill-prepared for the bubble to burst.

- The district spent $300,000 on a master plan which banked on 20 more years of growth. When in fact, the entire economy was built around the Ford Plant… a plant which produced an engine dealers couldn’t give away, much less sell. (The Ford F-150)

So, it’s with great sadness that I’m observing (from afar) the district on the verge of collapse. Test scores are diving, enrollment is diving, and maintanence/staffing costs are soaring. The next 12 months will see more of the same together with the loss of schools, lay-off’s of teaching staff, and the cessation of many of the things which attracted parents to the district in the first place.

So, here’s the point:

Nationwide, it is time to fundamentally change how education is funded. While teacher unions hold onto a 1980′s mindset (where 90% or more is spent on staffing), charter schools spring up everywhere. My children attend a non-union charter school… not only are they getting a fantastic education, they are doing it in a fiscally responsible way. Two things that teacher unions promise can’t happen in a non-union environment. I join the President in calling for more charter schools. In the end, this means that less funding should go to the district model of education and more to local charter schools.

Health care for teachers needs to be funded by the states. In fact, give them the same plans the state uses for the rest of its employees as they work for the state by proxy anyway. (Their credential comes from the state, the funding for their salaries comes from the state, testing is controlled by the state, etc.)

Right-to-work should be law for all state-funded employees. Just like the unions have broken (financially) the auto-industry in America, they are breaking the financial back of schools. It’s time to allow teachers, administrators, and other school employees to chose whether or not they will participate in a union. Forcing them to be a part of this relic from the 1930s-1950s is contrary to the free society our nation creates. Conditions which lead to the rise of unions a generation ago are not the same, it’s time to move on.

If anyone should organize in districts around the country it is parents and teachers. They should demand that more of the school funding go to educating children.

There is an assumption at the Romeo School board that if you don’t attend their 6 hour pointless meetings, that your opinion doesn’t count. I am certainly hoping that our community will wake up and start to see how members of the board are sitting by idly while Romeo Community School officials mismanage millions of taxpayer dollars. In November, our opinions are all that matter.

I’ve been very vocal about the sinking fund. This bond issue, the election of which was 90% financed by the companies awarded the contract, rewards the school district with an estimated $2.3 million for building maintenance. School board officials lied to the public and lied to the press when they assured everyone that if the bond passed the items the public deemed most needed would be completed. Here we are a few months later when the checks are being written and the priorities the public identified have been ignored. 

This appeared in last week’s Source newspaper:

 

Concerns were expressed by board members after a preliminary estimated budget for the total cost of all the projects for the next four years was released. The cost for all the projects, which the community compiled with the administration and the board, exceeded $14 million.

The sinking fund will only bring in approximately $9.2 million, or approximately $2.3 million a year. Schwark said this summer’s projects shouldn’t affect the district’s ability to complete most of the major projects on its want list. However, based on the early cost projections, she said some of the major projects for some of the buildings may not be accomplished during the next four years. (emphasis mine)

 

In other words… officials at the district will do whatever they want. In other words… the contractors who financed the bond election are getting to decide how to spend the $2.3 million according to their schedule!

And yet, there is no accountability. 

A couple months back I posted some ways the district could save money. In fact, I was talking about saving millions and millions of dollars by making some pretty simple choices. The easiest way to save money for the district was to make minor adjustments to the health care benefits, freeze raises, and renegotiate with teaches who had an open contract. Of course, the 4 members of the board whose elections are largely paid for by the unions would have nothing of that. (Wreford, Heir, Wilson, and Murray)

Vice President Kathy Wreford said everyone involved worked very hard to make sure the teachers’ contract was fair and appropriate. link

For whom? Giving teachers $278,000 in back pay isn’t fair to the district in any way. Giving teachers a pay increase and not adjusting the cost of health care to reflect current economic conditions is not fair or appropriate. While the teachers of the district work very hard and do an excellent job, it is irresponsible to not renegotiate an open contract in what Superintendent Joe Beck calls, “these toughest of financial times.” In the same action the Board praised itself for raising the fund equity balance (rainy day fund) it also spends from it while the public nods in agreement. Brilliant!

The school board is not leading. They simply refuse to take the districts finances to a place that is “fair and appropriate” for the times we live in to benefit the students. The unions and the contractors are leading the district. (Were they on the ballot? Did you see them? No, but they wrote the checks to get what they wanted passed!) They determine how the schools will spend money, what the curriculum will be, how the buildings are maintained, and how the districts employees will be managed. 

Let’s hope that brave people will be elected in November who will stand up for the children of this district and stop vowing their allegiance to a broken system. 

When they first started building on the corner of M-53 & 32 Mile Road I hoped that they would either open a Starbucks or Tim Hortons at that location. The latter was realized this week. 

For those outside of the upper Midwest or eastern Canada, Tim Hortons is a donut and coffee chain co-founded by Toronto Maple Leaf hockey legend, Tim Horton. Tim died in a car accident in 1973, but the donut chain bearing his name lives on. 

Let’s be honest. It’s a local thing. They don’t serve the best donuts in the world and their coffee isn’t the best. I personally prefer their sandwiches and soups more than the donuts. Nonetheless, Tim Hortons is a phenomenon as a franchise. Owned by the Wendy’s Corporation, it is slowly fanning out from Eastern Ontario and now into a bunch of places in the United States. 

It’s a big deal to have them here in Romeo. I hope they do quite well. (So far, mediocre opening.) The Village has long been cold to franchise restaurants and I hope Tim Hortons opens the door to many other chains that would make the 32 MIle area a stopping point for visitors. Romeo is a very unique village which is struggling, like most of the area, is struggling financially. Yet if the village can figure out how to maintain the village feel while gaining some flagship retailers, it will secure Romeo’s place as a “cool city” once and for all.

Yesterday Mike Harding filled the pulpit at Romeo. It was fun to see Mike again and hear about his new ministry, 831 House. Here’s a little video about their ministry in Gulf Shores. 

Mike was the guy who convinced Kristen and I to relocate to Romeo just over five years ago. Shortly thereafter he felt strongly like he needed to leave the church and go back to help the family business. As he said yesterday, even when he did that he wasn’t entirely sure what God was up to. None of us were.

Here’s a little video about what Mike and Cynthia do. 

The most basic of questions now has a new meaning. At least where I live. You ask a shop keeper it and he asks you. Same with neighbors, teachers, folks at church, bank tellers, waitresses, and pretty much everyone I come into contact around town.

“How are you doing?” It’s a basic, friendly question with a new double meaning. Meat and potatoes midwest meets Wall Street. 

People are really asking if you are making it. “How are you doing?” means, is your business doing OK? Is your restaurant or corner store going to survive the economic down turn? Will you keep your house? Will your kids get to go to college? Will you get laid off? Have you found work? Will your marriage survive? Do you have anything to do with the auto industry?

Some people call this a recession. I think that’s a polite thing to say as a depressed Michigan looks for a new industry. The future is bright for our state as soon as we forget about the past and look toward the future. I truly believe that out of this terrible time will come the next great innovation the planet needs. Michigan will not be known as an automotive state in 50 years… and that new fame is being decided upon right now! These are excitingly scary times. The smart will thrive while those holding to the past will go bankrupt. 

The most basic of questions is an upper midwestern nice way of asking, “Are you going to make it?” I’ve heard people answer that question with, “Oh no… we’re fine. Things at work are going really well, a little slow but really well.” Recently I overheard a small business owner get asked, “How are you doing?” He told the customer… we’re down about $40,000 on sales this year. I wondered, was that what the question the customer really was asking? 

Friends and neighbors and shop keepers and waitresses and everyone else, how are you doing? To quote our old pastor, Ray Pritchard. “We don’t know about tomorrow but we know who holds tomorrow. That makes today a good day to run to the cross.” In Christ, everything is going to be OK. How are you doing?

Truth is a pesky thing. For some, truth is allusive because lying is just so much more convenient. For others, truth is about all they have so we cling to it.

Last week, I offended some folks at the Romeo Community Schools by posting 5 suggested ways that they could save $2.1 million without a single person losing their job. In fact, with their own numbers saying they’d only need to shave off $1.3 million, there is a good chance that if they tried to shave 5% off their payroll costs– they could actually have a surplus. 

That post was very popular. While it wasn’t commented on, it was read by hundreds and hundreds of people. 

My post was offensive because it shared truth. To summarize the thought, I suggested they could save money by adjusting the co-pays of employee health care, freezing increases for the next school year, contracting out non-instructional jobs to non-union companies, and sweetening buyouts for the teachers at the top of the payroll. Interestingly, of the emails I received none of them questioned the validity of my arguments. No one argues that what I’ve written is truthful… those things would save the district money!

Yet it is offensive to suggest that the board tell union employees that they can’t meet their demands. I am told that I am idealistic and naive. So while there is general agreement that my suggestions would save them money, it’s “not possible” to actually do any of those things!

Here’s a reality check. You cannot provide a world class education for 5000+ students with the leftovers the union contracts allow. ($5 million of a $48 million budget is used for everything not related to staff expenses… less than 1/10th of the money the district receives pays for everything beyond staffing. It’s a fact, not an opinion.) And parents are not fooled by the political maneuvering. They know they are being lied to. And I’ve met one too many families who tell me, “If I could I would move to another district.” How about that Bulldog pride? The best students from the best families will not accept leftovers!

Why is truth so offensive? Because it suggests that people will have to deal with a change in their lives. Will teachers really care if they have to pay a slightly higher co-pay for prescription drugs? I doubt it. If you get past the 1964-style meetings where they all wear the same color t-shirts and really ask a person… “Would you mind paying $20 for a $500 prescription instead of $10 if it means 14 people keep their jobs?” What reasonable person would say no to that? What about saying, “Look, the economy in our area is really struggling. Not giving you a signing bonus and a 2% raise this year will allow us to put more dollars in the classroom.” No one would like it but a reasonable person would get it and accept it. 

With unemployment high the school district is in the perfect position to negotiate a better deal for the community. Yet they refuse! 

Reasonable people, like the teachers and employees of the district, can see the position the district is in. And they would accept some adjustments to their benefit package if it meant that they would have an over all better work environment. I guarantee it! 

Why is truth offensive? Because not offending people seems easier today. 

Isn’t this question core to a lot of things in our lives? Doesn’t it seem easier to ignore your friend’s bad habits instead of offending them with the truth that smoking will kill them and gambling will bankrupt their families? Doesn’t it seem easier to ignore your friend’s use of a credit card than offend them by suggesting that they cut back on spending? Doesn’t it seem easier to watch your friend cause family problems rather than mention that they need to learn some parenting skills? 

See… not mentioning the truth has horrible consequences. A true friend tells his friend the truth! A true friend pulls their friend aside and offers to help them overcome addiction. A true friend offers to bridge the gap when money is short. A true friend helps a struggling parent. There is nothing better in life than having friends confront you with truth. Trust me, I know. I have true friends who share difficult truth with me. That is friendship! Those friendships make me a better man, dad, leader, and citizen!

Dealing with truth is offensive. And I choose to tell the truth even though I’m labeled “offensive.” Why? Because at the end of the day… truth always wins. It may not make you popular, it might not get you free tickets to the baseball game, it may not get you a raise, it may not get you re-elected, and it may not seem like the right thing to do. But, ultimately, truth wins.

Isn’t this what we teach our kids? Isn’t this what our mom taught us when we were little? Isn’t this what we memorized in Sunday School? 

Deal with truth in your life today. (This goes way beyond the school district, doesn’t it?) 

A local resident emailed me yesterday to ask me to attend a meeting last night where the 2008-2009 budget would be discussed. I chose not to attend for two reasons.

First, the union-backed majority of elected board members (Hier, Wilson, Wreford, and Murray) don’t really want to hear the publics ideas as they’ve already got a solution worked out. Even if I voiced my opinion I’d simply be smiled at and not answered.

Second, my family is more important to me than attending a 4 hour long meeting where the public is repeatedly ignored and slapped in the face.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have ideas. Here are 5 ideas to shave off some fat from the Romeo Community Schools budget. (All of which will be ignored completely!)

A quick review

+ RSC has a budget of roughly $48 million.

+ Roughly 90% of that budget is dedicated to employee costs, about $43 million. 

+ With 653 employees, they spend roughly $66,000 per employee annually.

+ They need to cut $1.3 million from the budget.

+ The remaining $5 million pays for all instructional materials, classroom supplies and equipment, and a billion other miscellaneous things.

+ Most of the 653 employees of the district are union employees, and the largest group– teachers– are working without a contract. Meaning, this contract is open to negotiation.

+ A 5% reduction in overall staffing costs would save the district $2.1 million dollars. 

+ To date, the board has only talked about cutting $1.3 million from the $5 million outside of staffing costs. (With some minor variations.)

+ Note: I don’t have exact numbers because RCS choses to keep their budgets from the people. 

Why did they do this? Because in a union community a budget shortfall means nothing. (Just ask Ford, GM, and Chrysler!) Bankrupting the state or businesses and passing on the burden to responsible taxpayers is the “right thing to do.” It’s a sad day when 1960s union scare tactics work in 2008. But amazingly, the fog of “union is good for our community” continues to destroy the fabric of Romeo. At least for another year.

One of the things I love about my kids school is that they are trying to teach kids how to write by journaling. Here’s what Megan typed in her journal this afternoon.

Paul is crazy I don’t know why. He loves me but he is mean to me. He likes my cat more than his cat. But I have more webkinz than Paul. Paul has two webkinz, and I have five. He is also crazy because I am his big sister. He is crazy that I am his big sister because he said
he is big tooooo. I think Paul is crazy. Don’t you?

Not bad for a first grader.