For districts with labor contracts expiring this summer, now is the time to begin preparing for your labor group negotiations. Although recent legislation has created a new class of prohibited subjects of bargaining and therefore eliminated some topics from the table, this does not mean that the negotiation process has become easier.

The first few board meetings after newly elected school board members assume their seats can be daunting for new and experienced school board members alike.

MASB is thrilled to announce exciting changes for 2015 as part of our commitment to a 21^st century communications strategy that provides something for everyone.

Intermediate school district boards of education that hold elections under Section 614 of the Revised School Code were not affected by Public Act 233 of 2011, which moved popular school elections to even years in November. Section 614 elections for ISD school boards are still held biennially on the first Monday in June at a meeting of representatives from constituent boards of education. In 2015, the elections will be held on June 1.

In a newly released opinion and order, MERC ruled in favor of Ionia Public Schools in a case that asked the commissioners to decide a handful of disagreements about the impact of the 2011 PERA changes, and which added a number of prohibited subjects of bargaining. These additions included teacher assignment, layoff and recall, teacher discipline, evaluation systems and more.

Education Week released its annual special report Quality Counts 2015 recently, which included its annual State of the States’ report card. Michigan was ranked 32^nd with an overall C- average, just below the national C average.

Since our last update on public acts, the Legislature passed a few new laws that will affect preK-12 schools. Some have already gone into effect and others will soon. The following is a brief description of what’s new from the last few months.

Ever wonder why some school boards can be really effective while others are not? Research recently compiled by the Center for Public Education indicates that there are eight common characteristics for effective school boards, i.e., boards that positively impact their district’s student achievement.

On May 5, 2015, Michigan voters will be asked to approve a 1 cent sales tax increase to help fund Michigan’s roads and schools. This proposal came about as a last-ditch effort by the Michigan Legislature to find a desperately needed road funding fix during the lame duck session in December 2014. 

MASB is governed by a 19-member Board of Directors made up of two directors from each of the eight Regions, and one director each from Groups V, VI and VII.

Directors are elected by MASB member districts to serve up to three-year terms. Ballots for four Regions (1, 3, 5 and 7) and one Group (V) were distributed via email to superintendent secretaries last week for each district to cast its vote in this year’s elections.