t Wa
e th een
temporary
r order on the aa bUt
Engler in D ppe I to the
Michigan Court of Ap 0 th
restr ining order tide.
t the time of thi itin ,
hearing are till being held on the
. ue in the Wayne County C" aait
Court
Democr tic State
Representative Nick Ciarmentaro,
. at a special meeting it
• upporters of oci I ervice
programs last wee warned that
even if the courts overturn the
present cuts, Engler could easily
make more drastic ones when, next
. Changes
continued from Page 1
budget cuts.
Sen. Dan De Grown, R-Port
Huron, and Rep. James O'­
Neill .. D-Saginaw, introduced
an education plan Feb 14 which
i uded statewide tax-base
sha g and a proposal which
would allow parents to selec­
tively choose school distrtcts
for their children while extend­
ing the chool year to 200 day.
"The quality and funding
oblems go hand in h nd," De-
a . ,·ItW. i
any educatton. st/atcgy. jf w4
don't address both problem .
Our solution is one that doe ntt
ask for new taxes or put an ex­
traordinary burden on the tate
budget."
The tax-base sharing advo­
cated by DeGrow and O'Neill
would only apply to growth in
commericla and industrial
property. Half of the money
would be remain in the district
while the remaining half would
be deposited 'in the State'
School Aid Fund. Part of the
funds would automatically
reirnbur e in-formula districts
for their loss of local revenue
due to tax-based sharing.
r
by
TO Y
ITO
LANSINO-C mp ign finance
reform continue . to heat up in
. Michig n lawmaker begin to
do battle with a controver ial of­
ficeholder fund .
Officeholder expe n e
fund (OEF ) have long been a
ource of controver y becau e
the fund , collected from cam­
paign fundraiser ,are upposed
to be u ed by officeholders for
expen e incurred while carrying
out their duties.
But ome public official ai­
le gedl y use the fund for pur­
pose that have nothing to do
with holding office.
For example, legitimate use of
the funds would include a legis.
la tor purcha ing coffee f�r office
gue t.
Sen. Phil Arthurhultz, R­
Whitehall, who ha introduced a
bill in the Senate to do away with
OEF, aid some expense by.
p it; i w.N e not. ll'e �,. ,
extreme y que lion tile.
� "''''V ,
"THERE HAVE BEEN oc­
casions where public officials
have used the money for ac­
tivities only peripherally related
to officeholding," Arthurhultz
said.
For example, Arthurhultz
ci ted tickets to athletic events,
yacht club dues and golf member­
ships.
"You 'd have walk a country
mile to get a connection between
being in a country club and car­
rying out the duties of public of­
fice," Arthurhultz said.
Legislators do receive a yearly
Schools of 'Choice'
continued from Page 1
to attend private
The s hoots must be
nonse taria accredited
under existing private school
stands ds. Only families whose
incomes are no greater than 175
percent of the federal poverty
level are eligible. ,
The plan passed over opposi­
tion from unions and the school
system. The teachers union
filed suit, claiming the measure
violates the state consti tution
by using public money for
private purposes and on the
grounds that private school are
not SUbject to state regulations.
ACCORDING TO JOHN
'Chubb, who supports the pro­
gram, and who co-wrote with
Terry Moe a report which
analyzed education reforms and
proposed the adoption of school
choice plans, the Milwaukee
plan does not go far enough. It
helps a thousand students but
does not improve the public �
schools they will be leaving.
Williams thinks her plan will
force schools to reform in light
of losing students and funding.
Many arguments have been
advanced opposing schools of
choice. California Superinten­
dent of Public Instruction Bill
Honig calls it a "dangerous
claptrap" that would lead to
el i te chools for the few and
e c o nd-r ate chool for the
many, but proponents ay the
whole purpose of school choice
i to rid the two-tier education
ystem which already exists.
CRITICS SAY whites would
flock to white schools with an
open enrollment plan, but ihe­
state of Arkansas, which ha a
statewide open enrollment plan,
provides for racial balance in
its plan. -
Detroit School Superinten­
dent John Porter ays cross-dis­
trict choice would hurt the
Detroit public schools if it is
instituted while' inequities in
'school funding still exist.
He thinks the state need a
system that brings per pupil
spending in Detroit and other
poorer districts up to the levels
of more affluent surrounding
districts.
Detroit spends $4,200 per
pupil, while orne districts
spend double that amount.
Porter says the plan would
not offer choice to poor parent ,
and'said that transportation also
would have to be provided if
they choose a chool far away.
HIGHLAND PARK School
Superintendent Eldon Martin
aid, "We have to watch out for
chools of choice with money.
fo llow i ng the young ter to a
new school."
He aid the di trict had to an­
ticipate that parents would take
their children to schools where
the tI gras i greener." ,
According to Chubb and
Moe, chool of choice have a
higher morale among student
and teacher, lower dropout and
ab entee rates, and greater
parental involvement. Parent
would avoid bad chool ,which
would have to ei ther close or
improve.
•
rl
I Alii
nc
dire tl
public i invited.
TB
IC
Methodi
or.
Mr. Espree, tudent at CTS,
ill be in BeD ton Harbor part
of program ponsored by the
Epi copal Church w organized
fter a dram tic event of
humiliation to the hum n spirit,
orm
a up - the C pitol per week.
II f $8 500 But ome think thi
expen C owance 0 , eno gh
from the tate to cover uch item u.
food nd lodging expense in­
curred a a re ul t of their dutie .
They also receive ga oline reim­
bur ement for one round trip to
not
legi 1 tor
down 1 t month, they I 0
recommended n increa e in tbeir
expen e allowance .
The commi ion voted to in­
crea the expen e allowance for
legi lators by $425 nd allow
mileage reimbur ement for all
WHEN THE STATE Officers
Compensation Commi ion
voted to recommend p y raise
for efflceholderslast year, which
"
.. I
I
I