BY

KIMBERLY

Proposal 'A' Means Many Things

indy Nathan, a
Bloomfield Hills
parent running
for school board,
plans to vote for Proposal
A on June 2. But she
doesn't like it.
Her friend, Bloomfield
Hills school board mem-
ber Linda Finkel, calls it
regressive and has been
lobbying for the propos-
al's defeat. Bloomfield
Hills School Superinten-
dent Robert Docking pub-
licly supports it. Bloom-
field Township officials
are lobbying against it.
Even those in the know
can't agree on whether
Proposal A is good, bad or
indifferent. But on June
2, voters throughout
Michigan will be offered a
new system of school
finance.
"No one is convinced
that this is good or bad,
but it is a carrot offered
to us," says Arlene Selik,
a Huntington Woods
homeowner who has two
children enrolled in the
Berkley Schools, where
school property taxes now
are among the highest in
the state at 41.6 mills.
"I don't like it either,
but it is the best thing
going," Ms. Selik says.
"We need to maintain the
schools to maintain the
values of our homes."
Proposal A, which
comes on the heels of 20
years of legislative bick-
ering over the state's tax
and school finance sys-
tems, is a plan so compli-
cated that it has brought
local politics to center
stage in a year that nor-
mally might be remem-
bered for lackluster
school board elections.
If Proposal A passes,
homeowners get a system
of school finance which
guarantees $4,800 per
pupil for each school dis-
trict in Michigan. Propo-
nents say it is not Robin
Hood legislation, in which

the state takes from the
wealthy to give to the
poor.
With this constitutional
amendment in place,
Berkley for the 1993-1994
school year will see a
$150 increase in dollars
spent per student while
Birmingham will get a
$282 hike.
Proposal A cuts proper-
ty taxes to 18-27 mills (a

mill is $1 for every $1,000
of assessed property
value) and increases the
state sales tax from 4 per-
cent to 6 percent. It limits
annual property tax as-
sessment increases to 5
percent, or the inflation
rate, whichever is lower.
This will not bring
down the amount of
monies spent per child in
the wealthier districts,
which still will see great-
er increases per pupil.
But it will help districts
like Berkley, which pay
proportionately higher
school property taxes and
receive less funding.
If Proposal A fails June
2, voters residing in the
Berkley district will be
asked on June 14 to in-
crease the millage again
and to override the Head-
lee Amendment, which
requires public approval
for local tax hikes and
puts a limit on tax reve-
nue increases from as-
sessments.

If these options fail,
school board officials are
ready to cut all extracur-
ricular activities. This
means larger classes, no
sports or musical perfor-
mances.
In a letter to parents,
Berkley High School
Principal M. Jane Makul-
ski addressed the eco-
nomic uncertainties of
two elections scheduled
for June. If Proposal A
and the millage proposal
two weeks later both are
defeated, a high school
student's day will be re-
duced by one class period.
To prepare, school offi-
cials have begun contact-
ing students, asking them
which class they will drop
in this worst-case sce-
nario.
"It is scary," Ms. Selik
says. "We are just start-
ing to discuss what we
will do with our kids if
this happens. We might
have to send them to pri-
vate school, and we really
can't afford to do that.
"If the schools are not
good, our houses are
worth zero," she says.
The proposal allows for
districts that spend less

"This is a
pick-your-poison
choice."
— Mindy Nathan

than $4,800 per pupil to
have up to a 10 percent
increase annually until
they reach that amount
per student. Districts
that spend the full
amount allotted per stu-
dent are allowed a 3 per-
cent increase.
It does not create a sys-
tematic reform of the edu-
cation system. It gives
more control over educa-
tion to the state. It gives
businesses significant
relief at the expense of
individuals.
"This is a pick-your-poi-

son choice," Ms. Nathan
says. "It is a moving tar-
get."
Jim Alexander, Oak-
land County's Republican
chairman who lives in
Bloomfield Township, will
vote for Proposal A. He
says, "This is an issue
that really transcends
politics."
"This is a compromise,"

Mr. Alexander says, add-
ing he doesn't like the
sales tax increase. But he
says this is a much fairer
way to finance education.
"And the high sales taxes
never kept anyone from
going to Disney World."
(Florida sales taxes are 6
percent. With local
options, Orlando sales
taxes equal 7 percent.)

Hold Tight For
School Elections

T

he Jewish commu-
nity has been talk-
ing about Proposal
A and school elec-
tions, and several mem-
bers have been cam-
paigning for their chosen
school board candidates.
As Gov. John Engler
campaigns furiously for
passage of this constitu-
tional amendment that
goes to the voters on
June 2, Birmingham
parent Wendy Wagen-
heim is on a mission of
her own — to get out the
vote. Twice.
Ms. Wagenheirn fears
voters will not go to the
polls two times in one
month unless they fully
understand the impact of
these elections. In
Birmingham, she has
been hearing rumblings
over putting prayer back
into the schools.
She is working on the
school board campaign of
her friend, Judith Adler,
a parent of two and an
attorney at Jaffe Raitt
and Heuer in Detroit.
And she is sending out a
flyer, urging people to
vote in both elections,
June 2 and 14.
The Jewish Commu-
nity Council has a simi-
lar, yet more specific
agenda. The Council has
mailed out a question-

Wendy Wagenheim

naire to local school
board candidates in
Birmingham, Berkley,
Bloomfield Hills, West
Bloomfield, Southfield,
Novi, Walled Lake,
Farmington Hills and
Oak Park.
Some questions are
typical: age, address, the
role of a school board.
Others focus on school
prayer, use of school
property for religious
ceremonies, and views
on the overall Michigan
education model.
Once gathered, the in-
formation will be avail-
able at the Jewish Com-
munity Council offices.
In addition, The Jewish
News will publish re-
sults of their candidate
survey in the June 2
edition.

co

39