On Thursday, March 31, every faculty member throughout Monroe Public Schools was encouraged to attend a union meeting to discuss how to attack the unfair cuts being forced on each school district starting next year.

     Governor Rick Snyder has proposed a budget for next year that would cut at least $470 per student for every district in the state, he wants to cut the Earned Income Tax Credit, and he wants to eliminate pension tax exemptions which would raise taxes on the working poor and on those who have retired.

     Current bills in the Senate that affect Monroe High School as well as every school in the state are House Bill 4152 which would freeze step increases (the increase in a teacher’s salary each year) and cause teachers to pay insurance increases on their own. Another bill is House Bill 4306, which requires school districts to privatize transportation, custodial, and food service work, meaning that individuals in these areas could not be hired unless they worked for a private company. Other bills in the Senate include those to cut salary by 5% and to make school employees pay at least 20% of their health insurance premiums.

     The group of teachers met at Arborwood South Elementary School at 4 p.m. to discuss possible ways of protesting and showing the legislature that what it is considering isn’t fair to teachers, faculty, students, or parents. They had a lengthy discussion over whether or not to support the proposed resolution (which could result in local demonstrations outside of work hours, a statewide march on the Capitol, or a work stoppage through the end of the school year).

     At the end of the meeting, teachers voted on whether or not to support the Michigan Education Association in its attempt to reduce the amount of cuts they will endure from the state.