PONTIAC, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The School District of the City of Pontiac has benefitted from the injection of federal and state dollars during the pandemic, turning around its years of red ink.
Now, the teachers union has been attacking the school board and administration with social media posts because the groups have not agreed to a contract. In the last few days the Pontiac Education Association has posted videos on Facebook critical of the school board’s pay as well as the administration negotiation strategy.
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The Michigan Education Association (MEA) chimed in supporting its local union with an April 15 post critical of the school district administration.
The district has gone from being $33.4 million in the hole in 2015 in terms of its fund balance to $16.7 million in the black in 2024. That’s due to large increases in revenue for the district.
The district had $76.1 million in revenues in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and reached $118.5 million in 2022, $96.1 million in 2023, $115.5 million in 2024. Those increases are due to federal pandemic money as well as increases in state funding.
While the district’s finances have improved, the district’s students have struggled academically.
Just 14% of the students in grades 3-8 were rated as proficient or better in English Language Arts in 2023-24 state testing. Those students fared even worse in math with just 8% rating as proficient or better.
While the teachers union may not be happy with its contract status, it shouldn’t complain about the evaluations of its teachers.
In 2023-24, the district rated 47% of its teachers as “highly effective” and 50% as “effective,” the second-highest of four possible ratings. Only one of the 267 teachers evaluated in Pontiac was found to be “ineffective.”