Good! Its time the teachers union realizes that they are public employees and the public has no more money to give. The Hartland community has given the school district every bond issue and millage that they have asked for. The economic climate has changed in Michigan, so now it is time for them to take a cut, like most in the private sector. Its also nice to see that the will not burden the students. Adults made this problem, adults should fix it.

I think it is a shame that a school district as great as ours will be put in jeopardy because of one man.
The Hartland school district is the best in Michigan and as a Hartland resident I have always been proud to tell anyone who asked !
We all need to ban together and fight with all that we have.

Mike Reid
Board President
Millpointe Of Hartland

We can't trust the government to take care of our families. The entire country is bankrupt, and everybody will suffer losses. It's my responsibility to make sure my kids get a decent education, even if Hartland can't provide it. And I'm fine with that.

In the meantime, how about postponing the construction of the sports fields and selling off the board's properties that could be used to generate tax revenue?

I would love to be corrected on a millage or a bond that has not passed in the past 20 years for the schools. There is one huge part of the agruement that doesn't make sense to me. The current system is unsustanable. We have no more money to give, my taxes are high enough. The teachers and administrators are paid by tax dollars. If there is other ways to make the "books" balance, then suggest it. I think that good teachers are worth their weight in gold, but the union system that they have agreed to has put them in this problem. I also don't understand this entilement mentality. When teachers were in school to get their degree, did they not know what the average teachers makes per year? I am sure that HCS pays at least that average. Why don't they switch over to a merit based system instead of being pigeon holed in to a matrix set up by a contract? That way good teachers will get better wages. I don't begrudge anyone making the most money that they can and get higher degrees and schooling should be rewarded, but you still have to live within your means. If you want higher wages, then reduce your benefits. I don't care how you do it, but the citizens are not an endless river of money.

If the Teacher's union is so concerned with the quality of our schools...don't you think that they also should take a cut in their dues!!!!!!! After all the teachers, etc. ARE getting less. As a retired teacher, Union please tell me how you help me keep a job NOW?

The problem is that teachers have reduced their benefits and their pay. Research will show that Hartland's teachers have given up salary increases and benefits the past several years. That is why Hartland Schools have been successful thus far. The problem with Merit pay is that teachers are dealing with a CHILD. There are many factors ( a child's home life, parental values, learning disabilities etc) that come into play when a teacher is trying to educate a child. We can not base the success of a teacher based on their students success since a teacher nor anybody can not force someone to learn.

Ann, I agree with you on the fact that there are other factors that have made the system the way it is. I partially agree with you and Cheryl about the merit pay. I believe that there are systems that could be put into place that would filter out some of that. The big picture is that its broke and the only thing that is going to fix it is ideas and actions. We can no longer just sit around and say its broke, someone has to act. People may not like the Governors idea or method, but at least it is a move forward to fix the states problems, instead of just sitting and spining our wheels.

Hey....don't I remember something about Hartland teachers having a wage freeze over the last 4 or 5 years....they really haven't been soaking the system and now you want to cut their salaries.....I think there is a need to find other pork to cut in the system!!!

That's why merit pay works, and tenure pay doesn't. Human nature dictates that when the rewards are higher for performing, people tend to be risk takers and begin thinking outside their comfort zones in order to succeed. Google the research that Ludger Woessmann recently published. He proves that even when adjusted for cultural differences, the merit system works better than the tenure system.

The bigger problem is how to get the federal government out of the system, and begin letting the local school systems work with the teachers to find systems that work best for their unique environments.

Angela- Have you ever been in a classroom working with children? Maybe you should take the challenge!! We are not talking about a Corporation and Adults. We are talking about CHILDREN!!! A teacher can not control what happens in the child's home environment. Parent do!! Not every child in Hartland comes from the best middle class home with best morals and values!!
Most parent's do not want to take accountablility for their child's education or extend the learning from the school into the home. Is that fair to base a teacher's performance on that???????

I am speaking as a retired teacher who has seen over the years the school population change in attitude from a general respect for learning and teachers to an attitude of resistance and unearned entitlement, so that the high school diploma does not really mean as much as it used to. Perhaps this is because everyone is expected to graduate from high school nowadays. Since I spent most of my time in high school teaching, I could see the gradual lack of academic achievement that teachers had to confront while trying to bring learning up to the levels expected of a high school graduate by our society. For many reasons, not always the fault of the learners, I was trying to fill the holes in their academic backgrounds while trying to prepare them for work and/or college. As the years went on, trying to teach remedial lessons at the expense of high school level curriculum takes its toll on everyone involved. Those in the class from the stable home life and positive role models would achieve and become successful. Give most teachers classes filled with these kind of students and I guarantee you that merit pay would work.

Here is a school in Michigan that came up with a way to evaluate teachers not only based on student performance, but overall job performance. This should be broadly applied to all districts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se_AjM_WYD4&feature=player_embedded

This would help weed out the bad teachers and reward the good ones. I would love to pay the great ones better, but the socialist policies of the teacher's union make it impossible.