Once again, Gov. Rick Snyder has demonstrated that he’s not interested in playing partisan or populist politics – much like he intimated with his “one tough nerd” 2010 campaign credo – as evidenced by pursuing an education plan that may not sit well in some of the state’s rock-ribbed Republican communities.
One aspect of the Snyder plan is to require all districts to participate in schools of choice plans, as long as their schools have empty desks available for outsider students.
Some middle-of-the-road school districts in the Detroit suburbs, particularly in Macomb County, jumped on the schools of choice bandwagon and now regret it.
School officials complain that they spend big bucks on advertising their school district’s offerings but, in order to compensate for state funding cuts, they are pressured to reduce programming for sports, music, the arts and other extracurricular activities.
But they’re stuck in a trick-box because if they chop those extras, parents will simply move their kids to another school district. The result? The district facing cuts has fewer students to attract per-pupil state funding but they also impose reductions on extracurriculars that amount to minimal savings.
For these districts, populated by a large number of independent, moderate, ticket-splitting voters, the Snyder approach may not bode well for his 2014 re-election campaign.
What’s more, officials in the blue-blood districts in Oakland County, such as Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham and Avondale, are already sending signals that they are outraged by Snyder’s plan to expand schools of choice. For them, it’s a fairness issue.
Bloomfield Hills Superintendent Rob Glass was quoted saying that property owners in his district pay extra taxes for extra education services.
“To make that same option available to others who have not made that sacrifice, or that choice to invest, doesn’t seem fair,” he said.
Make no mistake, this issue could evolve into as much of a controversy as Snyder’s decision to tax pensions.
