By RACHAEL A. SWEE Y
c.
"ITS Hl'I*tING the ho over homes.·
holds again, • Montallm id. "If
•
1
revol
?
•
HOWEVER, HE SAID no
matter what happens ith
health care reform, nior citi­
zens will not be left out in t
cold.
"Seniors are some of our
most vocal, active citizens and
no on wants to hurt them,·
Carr id." (Lawmak ) will
be working to the beet of our
ability to make ure niora
are not going to be falling
through the cracks •
Carr id Congress may try
to develop relativelyinexpen­
sive private insurance cover­
age for the elderly but any'
specifics will not be narrowed
down until the spring. There
would probably still be federal
coverage similar to Medicare,
but. it 0 ld mi.ght ta
By Klmb rly Whit
c. 1,.,.N.w. S.rvlc.
tional competitive manner, it
will make the transition to the
workplace difficult for them and
their employers.
Teaching tudents how to
reach group consensus and em­
ploy group analytical skills .
growing in importance, Flagter
said.
through t� existence of compe­
tition.
need to learn different kills that
will ist them in uceeesfully
adapting to the workplace, Ryan
said teach at Andrews Ele­
mentary School have alr dy
been teaching ome of these
skills to their students.
"Several teachers from my
building have gone toconfer­
ences where they've learned co­
operativ-e techniques, and are
applying them in the classroom,"
Ryan said. Presently, no group
or individual has sought to es­
tablish a charter school in Three·
Rivers' chool district, said Dr.
Allen.
Three Rivers Community
School Dis . ct DBI!� �78
serving grad K-12 a
tuden: t ceordi to 1
sus Bureau information.
LANSING - Educator in
Three Rivers are not certain that
charter schools are the answer to
improving public education, but
they do believe changes in public
school education are n ry
to maintain competitiveness.
Under recently passed legis­
lation, charter schools - or pub­
lic school academies, are defined .
as nonprofit corporations. They
may be established by school dis­
trict boards, intermediate school
boards, the board of a commu­
nity college, the governing board
of a state public university or a
ce tied teacher.
t:i-re not out to destrOy the �
pabiic chool sy!rtem ... we're just
looking for more innovative
ways of educating children, " said
Tim Goodrich, chief of s�ff for
Sen. Paul Wartner, �Portage.
Goodrich compared the im­
plementation of charter schools
to the break-up of the Bell Tele­
phone system, saying the intent
behind forming charter schools
is to foster continuous improve­
ment in public educat ion
soon. .
"I would li e health insur­
ance but it's too expensive,"
Chandler said. "It' impossi­
ble to pay for it working 25
hours a week on minimum
wage."
Chandler currently relies
on Medicare to cover all' her
health care costs.
"I THINK WE'VE done a
very goodjob so farteachingchil­
dren, but we need to redefine our
curriculum and adapt to these
changed needs," said Dr. Janet
Allen, superintendent for Three
Rivers Area Schools.
Dr. Allen said that such skills
as technological, cooperative
working and team skills as well
as critical thinking need to be
emphasized in schools. Although
children are learning in public
schools, Dr. Allen said the expec­
tations of the community and
t workplace changed.
According to DIe Flagter,
U niserv director for the Three
Rivers area Michigan Education
Association, workplace condi­
tions and ethics are slowly
changing in the United States.
"The individual effort we all
worked under in the United
States is changing to a coopera­
tive environment," Flagter said.
He added that if students
aren't taught to work coopera­
tively instead of in the tradi-
HE ADDED THAT state
government hould rebuild the
public education system with
uniformity and more equitable
funding in lieu of offering alter­
natives in the form of charter
schools. .
"The infrastructure and the
technology just aren't in th
cl room,· agter .
Dan ya nclpal of An-
drews Elementary School in
Three Rivers, agreed that more
equitable funding for public
schools-is needed.
"I'm certainly in favor of equal
education for all. We certainly
have areas in the state which
receive more money per pupil
than we do, and I question the
fairness of that, " Ryan said.
Contending that students do
MEDICARE IS THE fed­
eral heath care insurance pro­
gram for people 65 and over.
Eligibility is based mainly on
qualifications for Social S�-
·tf·
However, there are limitS-
•
nsurance
Though Michigan's cost of
auto insurance ranks 19th high- .
est in the Union,' factors such as
these make it higher than it
should be, McKeague said. Even
though Michigan's no-fault law
was designed to lower the num­
ber of lawsuits for benefits,
there are still more suits than
there should be, she added.
"Costs for lawyers and rnedi­
cal benefits drive insurance
(OO8ts) up," McKeague said.
than the rate of inflation, said
the director of government rela­
tions at the Michigan Chamber
of Commerce.
If the state can get a handle
on the price of health care, the
008t of insurance will go down,
Nancy McKeague said.
"The largest costs in auto in­
surance are to pay for damage to
the vehicle and damage to the
person," McKeague said.
By Jennifer L Summerfelt
C.plml N.w. Servlc.
LANSING - No one enjoys
paying for auto insurance, and
many motorists feel it 008ts too
much, but how did it get so high
in Michigan in the first place?
It is no wonder auto insur­
ance in Michigan is so high with
the 008t of medical care and the
price of new cars rising faster
WILLIAM BALLENGER,
editor and publisher of Inside
Michigan Politics newsletter,
said our insurance prices are so
high because Michigan is the
only state that has unlimited
medical benefits.
·We are not the most expen­
sive state, but rates would be
lower if we had some sort of cap
on benefits," Ballenger said.
Insurance companies are un­
der enormous pressure because
there is no ceiling on the amount
of benefits that can be awarded
for an accident, Ballenger said.
All Michigan motorists must
carry unlimited personal injury
coverage, but less than 1 percent
of drivers per year use over 1
million, Ballenger said.
"Even though just a sliver of
1 peroent (of motorists) get such
huge amounts, they get a lot of
attention,· Ballenger said.
"Companies are forced to jack up
rates for the rest of the popula­
tion."
. Doug Cruce, president of the
Michigan Insurance Federation,
said factors such as carjacking
help raise the cost of insurance.
,
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