Bay City Education Association

On Monday May 24 the BCEA and the BCPS reached a tenative agreement. The details of the agreement were presented to membership last night at Handy Middle School. A ratification vote will take place on Friday May 28 between 7:00 am and 12:00 pm. Members who are not available to vote in their buildings on Friday may vote at the BCEA office until 4:00 pm on Friday May 28.

Members of the BCEA may use their login credentials and download the TA under the Association Documents section.

(information revised as of May 20)

Below is a list of frequently asked questions MEA members have posed related to the legislative action on May 13 regarding an early retirement incentive and school employee pension changes. The answers below are meant to provide you with what MEA believes to be the latest and most accurate information; however, for your specific situation, you should seek guidance from the Office of Retirement Services (ORS) directly.

1. What is the incentive to retire?

If you hadn't had enough of the attacks on school employees before last week's retirement vote, you probably have now! Make your voice heard -- attend one of more than 40 local rallies taking place across the state on the evening of Monday, May 24. To stop lawmakers from continuing to balance the budget on your back, we must demand adequate, equitable, stable funding for public education.

Time to stand up and say “Enough is Enough!”

Despite intense opposition from MEA members across the state, lawmakers passed legislation early this morning to push thousands of school employees to retire this year with a meager incentive, while those who remain working will be subject to a new tax on school employees.

Fellow proud MEA members:

In Michigan's second-round application for Race to the Top funds, MEA made sure that your voice was heard. Unlike discussions in the first-round application, MEA was included in the development of the application this time. We worked collaboratively with the Department of Education and other school groups such as the Michigan Association of School Boards, the Michigan Association of School Administrators, the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, the Middle Cities Education Association and AFT/Michigan.

The Budget Deficit:

Current FY 2011 budget deficit estimated at nearly $1.8 billion

Projected to be $3.0 billion in FY2010

Projected to be $2.5 billion in FY2011

It’s Not Just the Economy

There are two kinds of deficits, structural and cyclical. Michigan has both:

A cyclical deficit is one that is driven by the economy and business cycle, and goes away in good economic times.

Michigan needs real reforms to fix broken budget, pay for schools

LANSING – Citizens groups today shined the spotlight on another outdated and unexplained corporate loophole-of-the-week to pressure the Legislature into passing real budget reforms. This week’s loophole: big corporations get a tax break when they call other countries, a handout that robs Michigan of $18 million a year that could pay for schools, public safety and other services.

Washington, D.C., April 16, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Goldman, Sachs & Co. and one of its vice presidents for defrauding investors by misstating and omitting key facts about a financial product tied to subprime mortgages as the U.S. housing market was beginning to falter.