Lansing – Lansing Center

Friday, September 7, 2001

Thank you, Chet [Francke], for that generous introduction. I am pleased to be with you for this 7^th annual education summit, and I’d like to thank Chet and Nancy Danhof and all the Michigan Foundation for Education Leadership for hosting another first-rate event.

I’m especially pleased that people of the caliber of Eleanor Josaitis, Noel Tichy, and Elizabeth Hale could be here.

For seven years we have gathered to continue a very important conversation on the challenges and triumphs of Michigan education. And for seven years the centerpiece of that conversation has been the same: how to help all our children become smarter and better.

When you come right down to it, ever since Plato and Aristotle, that’s been the goal of education rightly understood: to help each and every child become smarter and better. That’s aiming high.

If I seem impatient to make good progress toward this goal, I find inspiration in Babe Ruth.

When asked what he did to continually improve his performance, he said – quote – "I think about hitting home runs."

He was never content with singles or doubles or even triples. Nothing less than home runs would do. That summarizes what we need to be about: nothing less than home runs for our children.

My own approach has been guided by basic questions that fit well with your theme this year:

We take it for granted now, but Proposal A – the school funding solution approved by the people of Michigan in a landslide back in 1994 – broke a decades’ old logjam in our state.

Nowadays the success of Proposal A is nationally recognized.  Michigan stands apart from almost every other state in the union. What sets us apart is that we have never got tangled up in litigation over school finance. Most other states did, and at present there are more than 20 states in litigation: California, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Vermont, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and many others.

Earlier this year, an unlikely supporter emerged: Former President Bill Clinton publicly noted that Michigan’s Proposal A would be an ideal solution for Arkansas, which is struggling with equitable school finance.

Our treasurer, Doug Roberts, likes to tell a story that puts the achievement of Proposal A in perspective. Several years back he was speaking at the National Association of State Treasurers and explaining how Proposal A came about. At the end of his presentation, a treasurer from another state raised his hand and asked: "What was the court decision that forced Michigan to reform its school finance system?"

When the audience heard that there was no judge or litigation involved, they were amazed that we in Michigan did it on our own. Actually, we did have a little pressure – a few million outraged property tax payers!

Because of Proposal A, public schools are fairly and generously funded. Let us not forget: Back in 1993, when discussion of Proposal A started, a school district that spent $6,500 per pupil was considered rich. Rich. So rich, less than 10 percent of school districts – around 50 schools – spent more than $6,500. This fiscal year, every student in every school district was scheduled to receive a foundation grant of at least $6,500.

We were on target to make what was extraordinary in 1993 ordinary in 2001. Unfortunately, the Legislature’s failure to enact the budget agreement means some districts will receive slightly less than $6,500.

The good news, however, is that even in view of severe state budget constraints, the average increase in this year’s foundation grant is 4.4 percent – which, I might add, is well beyond constitutionally required spending.

At the same time, most state departments and agencies are experiencing net reductions.

Education spending is increasing. It reflects my administration’s commitment to keep education our state’s number one priority. We will leave no child behind.

Another benefit of Proposal A is that our communities are no longer engulfed in endless rounds of millage elections that sapped the resources and good will of so many communities.  Michigan citizens have been freed up to concentrate on the central goal of education: making all of our students smarter and better.

Proposal A has ensured that public schools have the resources needed for a high-quality public education. Total state and local funding for our schools has grown from almost $8 billion in 1989-90 to about $13.5 billion for the current fiscal year.  This 71 percent increase compares to an inflation rate of 37.4 percent over the same period.

So there’s no question our schools are much better off now than, say, ten years ago.In fact, spending on school aid far exceeds the entire general fund budget.

I’m also convinced that we’ve made progress – objectively measured, verifiable progress – in helping our children succeed. Look at test scores.

In fact, I would like to take this occasion to recognize four Michigan high schools that did best on the MEAP.  They are winners of this year’s Governor’s Cup. The Governor’s Cup is awarded to the high school in each athletic conference that has the highest number of Michigan Merit Award recipients. This year’s four new "State Champions":

• In Class A, Utica Eisenhower High School. 452 of their students won Merit Awards.

• In Class B, East Grand Rapids High School – and I understand that Superintendent Jim Morse of East Grand Rapids is with us. 172 of your students won Merit Awards.

• Our Class C champion is Kalamazoo Christian High School. 100 of their students won Merit Awards.

• Our Class D champion is Muskegon Catholic Central High School. 46 of their students won Merit Awards.

Congratulations to you all. You make us proud.

While I’m at it, I’d also like to recognize last year’s Governor’s Cup winners since that award was given out after last year’s education summit:

• Our Class A winner was Ann Arbor Pioneer, with 289 Merit Award recipients.
• Our Class B winner was Mattawan High School, with 152 recipients.
• Our Class C winner was Calumet High School, with 83 recipients.
• Our Class D winner was Western Michigan Christian High, with 41 recipients.

My hat’s off to all of the teachers, principals, superintendents, and parents who helped our young people do so well. Congratulations!

We also have an award called the Golden Apple, which recognizes the "highest achieving" and "most improved" elementary schools in the state.

I will soon be announcing the 40 "highest achieving" and nearly 100 other "most improved" elementary schools around the state that will be receiving a Golden Apple Award.

Now, we all know the important role teachers and school leaders play. This summit is attended by professionals who know that strong leadership is key to helping students become smarter and better. So you will be pleased to hear additional good news that I am announcing.

Through the good work of MVU, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is awarding a $6 million grant to be used for the professional development of Michigan principals and superintendents.

The goal is to improve school leaders’ knowledge and use of technology.

We hope to reach at least 80 percent of school leaders over the next three years. The grant, by the way, is just the beginning – it will be matched by funds and services from a veritable Who’s Who in the Michigan education community, including the:

• Michigan Virtual University,
• Michigan Association for Secondary School Principals,
• Michigan Association for School Administrators,
• Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals,
• Michigan Association of Non Public Schools,
• Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning,
• Michigan State University,
• Michigan Department of Education.

This grant is significant because it supports a major new initiative we’ve launched to help Michigan educators become computer literate and technologically confident. t builds on our first initiative, the Teacher Technology Initiative, which is providing laptop computers to nearly 90,000 K-12 teachers throughout the state.

At this point more than 70,000 teachers have their laptops. One of my staff members actually had every teacher at his son’s high school orientation say, "Here is my phone number, but if you really want to reach me, send me an e-mail. I check it two or three times a day."

Our Laptops’ initiative complements our second initiative, which offers teachers more than 700 free mini-courses in information technology and professional development.

Our third initiative hones the technological skills of the men and women who lead our schools, and the Gates Foundation grant goes a long way toward making that possible.

All three of these initiatives are important to our strategy of preparing Michigan students and workers to thrive in the New (Knowledge) Economy.

By way of conclusion, we can see much progress has been made in Michigan public education over the past several years.  From test scores to technology initiatives, Michigan is ahead of the pack.  But we can do more.

While we are hitting lots of singles, doubles, triples, and occasional home runs, I believe we can hit even more homers. We want to see even more schools earning Golden Apples … more children reading and succeeding.

So let’s keep aiming high for our children’s sake.

Thank you.

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