Goals of the Caucus
· Seek equity and adequacy in funding for every public school student and not divert public funds into the private/parochial sector. This would include continued opposition to increasing the charter school caps, until full accountability is in place and with only moderate increases in the cap until valid data is available on improved student performance. This equity goal includes the adopting of a mechanism to eliminate the unequal fixed levels within the Foundation by a phasing upward of the support level to the upper limit. This equity goal at this time has as its most critical element to have the state again accept its responsibility to assist local public school districts to construct, to renovate, and to technology retrofit school buildings. We seek a total modification of the School Bond Loan program that would include increased availability, elimination of state interest charges, and relief program for those districts in the Fund who now have catastrophic debt. We continue to seek modification to the Foundation formula to provide increased assistance when a high increase in pupil enrollment for the state is projected and for the state to provide assistance to all declining enrollment districts. We continue to seek elimination of any proration of At Risk funding in the State Aid appropriation. We continue to believe that the adequate and equitable funding of public schools would be enhanced by completion of an adequacy study.
· Monitor and influence the annual state aid legislation to assure that the Foundation is properly supported from designated and general funds for both K-12 and ISD/RESA districts. Continue to seek full General Fund appropriations to the School Aid Fund. Continue our efforts to have the legislature adopt the operating principle that any tax cut legislation would provide for a replacement of any consequent loss of designated revenues to the School Aid Fund. Continue to seek near full use annually of the School Aid Fund in the School Aid Act. Seek revision of the per pupil allotment of state aid to include a proration entitlement of state aid to follow the pupil to a new school.
· Seek for an increase in state funding for Early Childhood education (0-5), expand the types of assistance available, and to provide more equitable access to the funding assistance.
· Seek equitable help in state fiscal assistance to deal with special educational needs in urban area schools, especially Detroit.
· Continue to work within MASA and with other educational groups to coordinate activities consistent with Caucus objectives and to communicate to MASA and other educational groups, as input to their legislative initiatives, serious Caucus concerns on school issues that reside outside the normal focus of the Caucus.
· Increase our efforts to acquire and to create information relevant to equity issues and to make available that information to our membership and to appropriate groups. Communicate the objectives yet to be achieved, review those that have been achieved, and seek continued growth in membership (for only through a large involved membership can we achieve our goals).
· Support a legal challenge or a constitutional amendment to place within the constitution equity and adequacy for public school districts, if the legislature does not act to provide State assistance for infrastructure needs. If the legal remedy does not prove successful, then support of an amendment to the State constitution would be pursued.