When school officials in Kalkaska, Michigan, closed classes last week, the media flocked to the story, portraying the town's 2,305 students as victims of stingy (吝啬的) taxpayers. There is some truth to that; the property-tax rate here is one-third lower than the state average. But shutting their schools also allowed Kalkaska's educators and the state's largest teachers' union, the Michigan Education Association, to make a political point. Their aim was to spur passage of legislation Michigan lawmakers are debating to increase the state's share of school funding.
It was no coincidence that Kalkaska shut its schools two weeks after residents rejected a 28 percent property-tax increase. The school board argued that without the increase it lacked the $1.5 million needed to keep schools open.
But the school system had not done all it could to keep the schools open. Officials declined to borrow against next year's state aid, they refused to trim extracurricular activities and they did not consider seeking a smaller—perhaps more acceptable—tax increase. In fact, closing early is costing Kalkaska a significant amount, including $ 600,000 in unemployment payments to teachers and staff and $ 250,000 in lost state aid. In February, the school system promised teachers and staff two months of retirement payments in case schools closed early, a deal that will cost the district $ 275,000 more.
Other signs suggest school authorities were at least as eager to make a political statement as to keep schools open. The Michigan Education Association. hired a public relations firm to stage a rally marking the school closings, which attracted 14 local and national television stations and networks. The president of the National Education Association, the MEA's parent organization, flew from Washington, D. C, for the event. And the union tutored school officials in the art of television interviews. School supervisor Doyle Disbrow acknowledges the district could have kept schools open by cutting programs but denies the moves were politically motivated.
Michigan lawmakers have reacted angrily to the closings. The state Senate has already voted to put the system into receivership (破产管理) and reopen schools immediately; the Michigan House plans to consider the bill this week.