NEWS The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 16, 2005 - 5 State may raise high school grad standards WANT TO DISCUSS LOCAL AND CAMPUS AFFAIRS WITH DAILY NEWS EDITORS? READ ABOUT, AND OFFER YOUR INPUT ON, STORIES THE DAILYS REPORTERS ARE INVESTIGATING BEFORE THEY PRINT? READ THE WIRE, THE NEW WEBLOG OF THE DAILY'S NEWS SECTION. GO TO WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM AND CLICK THE LINK TO THE DAILY'S WEBLOG NETWORK. LANSING (AP) - The Michi- gan Department of Education is researching the possibility of rais- ing mandatory graduation require- ments for high school students, the state's schools chief said yesterday. Michigan's K-12 schools must improve their graduation rates and have more rigorous requirements for students, state superintendent Mike Flanagan told the Senate Education Committee. But it remains to be seen exactly what role the state might play in pushing local school districts to adopt tougher, more uniform gradu- ation standards. Graduation requirements now are decided by local school boards. The only state requirement is a semester of civics. "I'm leaning much more in think- ing we need to have a voice in this at the state level," Flanagan said of graduation requirements. Several states set more exact graduation standards for math, sci- ence and language than does Michi- gan. High standards are needed to better prepare students for jobs and college, said Flanagan, who was hired by the State Board of Educa- tion in May. "We want to participate with you in the process of turning our schools around - not just our public schools, but all our schools," Senate Educa- tion Committee Chairman Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland) told Flanagan during the hearing. Afterwards, Kuipers said the con- cept of the state establishing man- datory requirements for graduation would be subject to debate because of Michigan's tradition of local con- trol over schools. "I don't know where we end up on that issue," he said. Flanagan replaced Tom Watkins, who resigned as schools chief after a public feud with Gov. Jennifer Granholm over his leadership. Flanagan, former leader of the Lansing-based Michigan Associa- tion of School Administrators, was Granholm's favorite for the job. He served as Granholm's education adviser early in her administration before returning to the schools asso- ciation. He also is a former superintendent of the Wayne County intermediate school district and Farmington- Farmington Hills schools. e e Post bnrpcal'ines eXpected to slim dw Associated Press Their bankruptcy filings behind them, Delta and Northwest began a lengthy and costly road to recov- ery yesterday that will likely include cutting employee rolls, pensions and routes. In the end, if they survive, the nation's third- and fourth-largest airlines will be smaller and may look more like the discount rivals that helped send them into bankruptcy. That perspective by analysts, bankruptcy experts and academics was underscored Thursday as Atlanta- based Delta Air Lines Inc. and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp. sought to reject certain air- craft leases. In Delta's case, it also asked a New York bankruptcy judge to allow it to abandon some proper- ties and prevent utilities from turning off its power. "What are they going to look like? They are going to look like Southwest or JetBlue," said Manches- ter, N.H., bankruptcy and restructuring expert Dan Sklar, referring to the low-cost carriers. David LeMay, an attorney who worked on Conti- nental's bankruptcy in the early 1990s, said that air- line raised cash in bankruptcy by selling a valuable trans-Pacific route and a terminal it was building at LaGuardia airport in New York. "I'm sure that both Delta and Northwest will be looking very, very hard at what is absolutely essen- tial to keep and what can be sold," he said. While bankruptcy gives the airlines more lever- age, it doesn't address one of the companies' funda- mental problems - not enough revenue. "There's no motion you can make in bankruptcy court that says, 'Please put $20 million in the check- ing account this week," LeMay said. "People have this impression that in bankruptcy you can do what- ever you please, but that's really not true at all." In Northwest's case, the airline will likely press its pilots to change rules that limit its regional pas- senger service, said airline analyst Ray Neidl at Calyon Securities in New York. Regional flying is important to both carriers. But Northwest, with its large Midwest presence, already does more flights at small airports than any other carrier. Shifting more of those flights to its regional partners will help Northwest get profitable again, Neidl said. Northwest is Michigan's leading passenger air carrier, with a hub at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Yesterday the Air Line Pilots Association said Northwest was reducing flying levels, which would result in 400 pilot furloughs over the next eight months. That's in addition to around 500 Northwest pilots already on furlough, the union said in a state- ment. A Northwest spokesman confirmed the fur- loughs, but had no comment on them.