When Ed Koryzno talks to officials in financially troubled communities, he can say to them with conviction, “Been there, done that.” Koryzno, hired earlier this year by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder to help advise troubled communities, used to work through many of the same difficulties that financially troubled local governments are struggling to […]
Ex-city manager teaches emergency manager avoidance tips
Posted inChildren & Families
Extra attention keeps frequent fliers from landing in ERs
A groundbreaking health care clinic in Grand Rapids expects to save millions of dollars a year by targeting a chronic cause of high medical costs: patients for whom the emergency room is a virtual revolving door. Based on early results, the director of the Spectrum Health System clinic projects savings of $12 million to $15 […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Guest column: Cut prison costs the smart way
By Barbara R. Levine/Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending Legislators agree we should spend less on corrections, but are reluctant to make the fundamental choices — like reinstating the sentencing commission, reforming parole practices and restoring sentencing credits — that could safely reduce the prisoner population by thousands and reduce spending by the hundreds of […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Will Michigan's universities look like Indiana's?
Doubling the number of college degrees and certifications. Cutting costs. Tracking job placement rates. Those are the latest proposals for Indiana’s public universities. Why does that matter to Michigan? Because those goals are tied to formula funding – the same type of funding now being proposed in Michigan. Indiana bases part of its funding for […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“I have tried to know absolutely nothing about a great many things, and I have succeeded fairly well” — Robert Benchley, American humorist and newspaper columnist. * Bob Jones, who consults with educational institutions and others on public policy, ran through the latest unemployment data. His messages: If you’ve been jobless a long time, you […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Guest column: Asian carp aren't waiting for us
By Patty Birkholz/Michigan Office of the Great Lakes In my role as director of Michigan’s Office of the Great Lakes, many documents come across my desk in the course of a typical week. On Jan. 31, one of the most important documents of the last year arrived in my in-basket. After a high-profile and intense […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Do charters skim profit, or spend smarter?
When Vickie Markavitch discusses the finances of traditional public schools vs. charter schools, she starts with a table of expenses, taking care to note the figures her analysis uses come from the state Senate Fiscal Agency, a reliable, nonpartisan source. Then the superintendent of the Oakland Intermediate School District starts her rundown. The per-pupil state […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Battle lines being drawn in Michigan
I’m not sure how many people realize it yet, but … This year is clearly shaping up to be one of the most fiercely partisan in Michigan political history — and I’m not even talking about any of the races involving candidates. Completely apart from the personalities, it seems likely that there will be two […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Arizona offers balmy climes to charter schools
If charter schools are poised to grow in Michigan, they’ve already exploded in Arizona. Neighboring California leads the nation in sheer numbers of charter schools, but Arizona has everyone beat on percentages – a quarter of Arizona’s public schools are charters, growth that accelerated after the state lifted its charter cap in 1999. “We had […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything, the young know everything” — Oscar Wilde. * It’s March Madness, so everyone’s trying to figure out how to use the temporary obsession with brackets to convey interesting or amusing information. WARNING: At this point, Michigan State University alumni and fans should stop reading. At the […]