News from Thrun Law

Don’t Forget to File Your Qualifying Statement

November 25, 2014

The importance of obtaining “qualified status” each year from the Michigan Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) cannot be overemphasized. School dis­tricts, intermediate school districts, and public school academies that obtain qualified status are able to more swiftly issue new bonds and notes and pay low­er filing fees to the State of Michigan for that debt. Those that do not obtain qualified status may experi­ence significant delays in issuing bonds and notes during calendar year 2015....

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MERC: Insistence on Bargaining Prohibited Subjects Violates PERA

November 25, 2014

On September 15, 2014, MERC again ruled that in­sisting on a prohibited subject at the bargaining table violates PERA and constitutes an unfair labor prac­tice. Calhoun Intermediate Ed Ass’n, Case No CU12 B-009 (September 15, 2014). This case was handled by Thrun Law Firm and serves as an important road map for bargaining after the 2011 amendments to PERA.

More than two years ago, Calhoun Intermediate School District (“ISD”) engaged in negotiations with the Calhoun...

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School Mistakenly Relied on MDE’s Teacher Certification Website to Support Discharge

October 20, 2014

A Tenure Commission ALJ recently ordered Flint Community Schools to reinstate teacher Beth Casucci, finding that the District’s decision to terminate her em­ployment violated the Teachers’ Tenure Act. Casucci v Flint Cmty Schs (PDO 13-54).

The school’s file indicated that Casucci’s teaching certificate would expire on June 30, 2013. In November 2012 and February 2013, the school sent Casucci warning letters that her teaching certificate...

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“80/20” Employers Must Bargain Over Calculation and Allocation of Health Insurance Costs

October 13, 2014

The Michigan Employment Relations Commission recently ruled that a township violated Public Employment Relations Act (“PERA”) when it refused to bargain over the calculation method and to­tal amount of the employee contributions related to its implementation of the “80/20” cost-sharing arrange­ment used to comply...

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Competitive Bidding Threshold Increased

September 30, 2014

The Michigan Department of Education has announced the new threshold amount at which local schools, intermediate school districts, and public school academies must competitively bid: (1) labor and materials for construction projects under Revised School Code Section 1267; and (2) the purchase of supplies, mate­...

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MDE Cautions Schools about Administrator Certification Requirements

September 29, 2014

In a memorandum dated July 10, 2014, the Michigan Department of Education (“MDE”) expressed concern that some schools are circumventing the certification requirements of sections 1246 and 1536 of the Revised School Code by hiring or contracting with “temporary” or “interim” school administrators.

Section 1246 of the Revised...

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Public Employer’s Refusal to Bargain Impact of PA 54 Implementation Violates PERA

September 22, 2014

The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (“MERC”) recently adopted (in the absence of an ap­peal) an Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) ruling that a public employer’s refusal to bargain over the “impact” of implementing Public Act 54 of 2011 (“PA 54”) violated the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act (“PERA”). City of...

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New Budget Transparency Guidance

September 15, 2014

On July 24, 2014, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) issued revised guidance on budget transparency to include changes required by the fiscal year 2014-15 Educa­tion Omnibus Appropriation Bill (PA 196 of 2014). The guidance document is available at www.thrunlaw.com/links.

The 2014-2015 Education Omnibus Appropriation Bill made a number of amendments to various provi­sions of the State School...

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REMINDER: Report Safety Drills to County Emergency Management Coordinator by September 15, 2014

September 8, 2014

As we reported in the March 27, 2014 edition of School Law Notes, Public Act 12 of 2014 (the “Act”) modified the frequency and recording requirements of Michigan school safety drills. The Act became effective on July 1, 2014.

Under these new requirements, by September 15 of each school year, the chief administrator (or designee) of a school building that operates any of grades kindergarten to 12 must pro­vide a list of the school buildings’ scheduled drill days to the County...

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Legislature Adopts State School Aid Budget

August 27, 2014

On June 24, 2014, Governor Synder signed the State School Aid Budget (2014 PA 196), which increases funding for the state’s K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities.

For the 2014-2015 school year, all school districts will receive at least $7,251 for their foundation allowance, which includes a one-time equity...

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