The Detroit News. January 10, 2018

Charters key to school choice

In recent weeks, we have offered a variety of opinions in our pages from thought leaders debating the value of charter schools. There are no shortage of viewpoints about these alternative public schools, but we wanted to host a civil discussion. While not a panacea to what ails Michigan's schools, we firmly believe that charters should be part of the equation.

As our year-long series "Fixing Michigan's Schools" continues this week, the debate turns to private school choice — another hotly debated issue (you'll find these pieces nearby). Yet tax credits and vouchers are currently not options that Michigan families can access.

That means charter schools remain the dominant option when families and students are not satisfied with their neighborhood public school. In Detroit's case, charters are the only option in some parts of the city.

We asked education experts from both sides of the debate to offer their opinions on charter schools, regarding whether they are part of the solution to fixing the state's schools — or part of the problem.

Education historian Diane Ravitch concludes charters are a "failed experiment." She'd prefer all the money that is currently going to charter schools be returned to traditional public schools.

But Michigan's public schools are some of the higher funded in the country, despite the rhetoric to the contrary, and more money does not automatically translate into better performing schools.

So as the state's public schools, especially those in challenged cities like Detroit and Flint, work to reinvent themselves, the only valid alternative families have had are the charter schools that have flourished as parents searched for something better.

Are they always better? No. In many cases they are, however. It's hard to argue that Michigan's education woes are largely the result of charters when our middle-class white students have seen their fourth grade reading scores fall to 49th among their national peers while attending schools in districts largely devoid of charters. And in those communities where charters have been a significant presence like Detroit, the charters have academically outperformed their traditional counterparts by significant amounts.

Reports from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University have proven this. That's essential given students in Detroit Public Schools have scored the lowest in the country for years in reading and math.

A 2013 CREDO study found that Michigan charter students gain two months (three months in Detroit) of extra learning per year compared to their peers in traditional public schools.

A similar 2015 study points to Detroit as one of four urban school choice systems that "provide essential examples of school-level and system-level commitments to quality that can serve as models to other communities."

And the Skillman Foundation recently released data that show Detroit charter schools are doing good work. According to a review by Michigan Capitol Confidential: "Detroit charter school students outperformed on the English language arts and math sections of Michigan's standardized test, the M-STEP. The analysis also shows that on average, charter school students had higher graduation rates and college enrollment rates than students who attended conventional public schools."

There is room for improvement. Michigan law allows for a large number of charter authorizers and that has created a somewhat chaotic environment. David Osborne, in his recent book "Reinventing America's Schools," argues cities such as Washington, D.C, Indianapolis and Denver, which have seen charter performance soar, more closely monitor the charter system.

Detroit and other Michigan cities (and lawmakers) should learn from what's working in these places. In the meantime, charter schools are giving families a much-needed choice.

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Lansing State Journal. January 11, 2018

Ingham County Veteran's Treatment Court is here to help

The work of the Ingham County Veteran's Treatment is an example of volunteers making a difference in the criminal justice system and society.

Thanks to the court, which retired 54B District Court Judge David Jordon started in 2010, over 150 veterans have avoided jail time and found a path to a better life as contributing members of society.

According to Jordon, the concept of veteran's court recognizes common problems serving in the military causes, many that are long-lasting without intervention.

"You don't acknowledge any weakness or admit any problems," he said. "When things happen (in the military), you just have to put them aside."

Along with volunteer mentors such as Earl "Gunny" Christensen, a retired Marine and Vietnam veteran who graduated the program after his third DUI brought him in front of the court in 2011, court officials are able to help veterans find treatment for anger, substance abuse, mental health issues and more.

"It is transformational," said Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Russell Church. "Gunny's a clear example. He's a different guy than he was when he first came here."

Ingham County's court, based in East Lansing, is one of 25 courts across the state that provide mentorship and diversion for veterans charged with a variety of crimes - those that don't involve death, great bodily injury or criminal sexual conduct.

The court has achieved a 75 percent 'success' rate - meaning veterans are successfully diverted through counseling or other means to avoid going to prison - slightly beating the 66 percent average of veteran's courts across the state.

More: Fresh start instead of prison has Lansing man paying it forward, a Judy Putnam column

And the Michigan Supreme Court recently recognized the work of these courts with $1 million in grants and support for a mentor training program.

Studies have found that although veteran's courts cost more on the front end, they save money over time by eliminating the costs of incarceration.

Even more important: These save the lives, and improve the livelihoods, of veterans and their families.

If you know a veteran, or are one yourself, and you need help: Reach out and take advantage of this great program. And sincere thanks to those who now serve in a different way: Helping veterans return to society.

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Times Herald (Port Huron). January 11, 2018

Boat rentals more good news for city, river

Katie Stepp has a good idea — even if it is not exactly an original idea. She proposes to bring a boat livery back to Port Huron to rent out, initially at least, a couple of pontoon boats from Desmond Marine downtown on the Black River.

"There's a lot of water around us and I don't think people take advantage of it enough," she told Liz Shepard.

Fifty years ago, the Port Huron area and every town along the St. Clair River and lakes Huron and St. Clair had boat liveries. Probably none of them rented vessels as nice as the pontoon boats that Stepp is offering. Most of them, for most of the year, did a brisk business in small fishing boats.

That business collapsed and never recovered from Gov. William G. Milliken's April 1970 order banning sport fishing in Lake St. Clair because of dangerous mercury contamination in walleye and perch. No fishing meant no boat rentals. Milliken lifted the ban about six weeks later, but the imposition of catch-and-release only regulations for the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River and consumption restrictions elsewhere didn't save the boat liveries.

So, yes, it is logical that the Maritime Capital of the Great Lakes should have boat rentals available to those who want to enjoy our blue waters but can't afford to or don't want to own a boat. But it also is a measure of how the St. Clair River and the local environment has turned around since those frightening days.

It also is a reminder that we need to continue fighting for environmental regulations and enforcement that will keep that from happening again. Banning fishing in Lake St. Clair was a national scandal on a par with the Flint water crisis. We must not allow it to happen again.

We have pure waters and a place to rent boats to go along with freighters passing close enough to touch and the drama of icebreakers battling winter. We are still missing a few things that might go along with the Maritime Capital of the Great Lakes.

Loading and unloading freighters at Port Huron's Seaway Terminal probably isn't going to happen again. St. Clair County ports do offload important amounts of coal — for DTE power plants — and aggregates, so we can hold onto that part of the title.

We aren't seeing cruise ships, though.

While Ontario cities have formed the cruise ship coalition — supported by a $250,000 provincial tourism grant — to protect the market they've cornered, Michigan and the Blue Water Area continue to watch those ships pass it by.

Our Canadian neighbors expect the Great Lakes cruising industry to quadruple in the next few years. Maybe some will wash up here.

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Petoskey News-Review. January 12, 2018

Proposed regulatory approach could weaken environmental protection

If we needed help securing a houseful of hens, foxes' well-known hunting and eating habits would keep those creatures fairly low on our list of potential picks for the job.

When we learned about a set of bills in the Michigan Legislature which would revamp the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's regulatory and permitting processes, we saw potential for similarly ill-suited parties to gain control over environmental protection decision-making.

Three bills under consideration in the Legislature, each introduced by state Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, could shift control over various environmental matters from the DEQ to three separate appointed boards.

Senate Bill 652 would establish an Environmental Rules Review Committee to oversee all rule-making of the DEQ. The 11 voting members, appointed by the governor, would include a majority to be selected as representatives of various industries, along with others who represents constituences such as the general public, environmental advocacy and the medical profession. No more than six voting members could be of the same political party, and decisions would be made by a majority vote.

Bill 653 would create a Permit Appeal Panel, a 15-member panel in the DEQ that would be appointed by the governor and have the option to modify or reverse decisions made by the DEQ.

Under Bill 654, an Environmental Science Advisory Board would be created in the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, with the nine-member board required to advise the governor on issues affecting the protection of natural resources of the state. It would have the ability to make inquiries, develop studies, have hearings and receive public comment to assist in its deliberations.

We're concerned that some of the changes proposed for the state's regulatory processes would open the door to conflicting priorities when it comes to shaping environmental protection policies. Depending on appointment choices, we see potential for business interests — perhaps with financial objectives at odds with an active environmental protection program — to gain disproportionate clout in steering how rules are set and applied.

Along with that potential, there's another element of the proposals which we find particularly worrisome. The proposed appeal process for DEQ permitting decisions would be limited to those who applied for the permits in question, excluding affected nearby residents or property owners from this form of recourse.

In a recent News-Review story, Casperson noted concerns that DEQ staff have overreached in some of the agency's actions, and that his goal is to address some "biased and unreasonable opinions" among department members.

We see protection of natural resources as a viable aim for state government, one that can help uphold citizens' health and quality of life. As officials go about these tasks, it seems prudent enough to provide affected constituencies with channels to offer their perspectives on the policies and decisions involved. According to a scorecard assembled by the DEQ, the agency issued 7,447 permits and denied 34 in fiscal year 2017 — not the sort of ratio that suggests widespread obstructionism.

There are often legitimate business and economic considerations to weigh alongside environmental priorities, and channels for affected business constituencies to have input in the process are a legitimate need. But the proposed approach — in which interests tending to have an antipathy toward environmental regulation could align and override such actions — would hardly appear to leave the pendulum in a state of reasonable balance.