ALL SCHOOLS PRIVATE? Gov. Snyder's Reform Plan Challenged by MSU Educator
February 27, 2013
By: Dave Rogers
Dr. David Arsen, author of a "blockbuster" article on Gov. Rick Snyder's education finance reform plan.
"This is a plan to privatize Michigan's public schools," declares David Arsen, professor of K-12 Educational Administration at Michigan State University about Gov. Rick Snyder's school reform plan.
In an open letter on school finance published in New Educator magazine, a biannual by the Office of MSU Education Dean Donald E. Heller, Dr. Arsen "unbundles" the governor's plan of last fall prepared by the Oxford Foundation of Lansing.
http://edwp.educ.msu.edu/new-educator/2013/faculty-viewpoint/
The goal of Oxford's finance reform is to "lessen the burden of government" through a 21st Century "Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace" learning model in which funding is student, not district centered. It would allow nonpublic and home school students maximum access to public education resources.
"The Oxford funding proposal and HB 5293 represent a truly dramatic strategy to shift the provision of Michigan's educational services outside locally-governed schools," wrote Arsen. "They would establish the closest approximation to a universal statewide voucher system ever implemented in the United States."
HB 5943 allows any entity (businesses, municipalities, cultural institutions) to establish public schools and removes enrollment restrictions on cyber schools.
Arsen presented statistics showing a nearly 25 percent reduction in Michigan local public school revenue per pupil in the past decade. Between 2002 and 2011, real per pupil funding of Michigan's public schools fell by $2,643 or 24.5 percent. Consequently, virtually all schools have cut services, said Arsen.
He noted that Massachusetts, the highest performing state on most student outcome measures, spends about 40 percent more per pupil than Michigan, commenting: "Our revenue decline has not yet hit bottom. The Oxford proposal does nothing to arrest this disinvestment. Instead, it creates new drains on available school funds."
The plan has not moved ahead, wrote Arsen, analyzing: "But with so many high-voltage policies commanding Lansing policymakers' attention at the end of 2012, progress on these landmark policies stalled, leaving them for the current legislative session."
"[T]he Oxford funding proposal and HB 5923 fail to solve the actual problems facing Michigan schools. Instead they would worsen those problems and create a host of new ones, concludes Arsen, summarizing:
"While claiming to advance a plan for globally competitive schools, the drafters propose a set of policies found in no high-performing nation's educational system.
"While claiming to advance a modern 21st Century system to replace the old 'factory' model of schooling, they in fact offer a plan based on the grim principles of 19th Century piece work production that relied not on collaboration but rather on the coercive measurement of individual effort.
"The proposals are not based on empirical evidence of what works but rather on faith."
Wendy Zdeb-Roper, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) called Dr. Arsen's letter "brilliant" and recommended reading for colleagues.
Steven Norton, of the "Wear Red to Support Public Ed" campaign, proclaimed Arsen's article "a blockbuster" in a Facebook posting.
Norton is an organizer of Michigan Parents for Schools (MPFS) group that states: "Education is Michigan's investment in the future. This is not the time, as our state and communities are facing economic setbacks, to be pulling the props out from under our public schools. It's time to make our voices heard. We have joined together to inform our fellow citizens about the issues facing our schools and to help all of us express our hopes and concerns to our elected representatives."
Arsen holds a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and is an economist with specialization in public policy analysis. His current research focuses on educational finance, school choice, charter schools and the privatization of education services.
A study examining school spending in Michigan, results of which were released last year, found that charter schools spend nearly $800 more per pupil on administration and $1,100 less on instruction, said Dr. Arsen, lead researcher on the project. The study controls for factors such as funding levels, student enrollment and school location.