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LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Public Schools have seen its staffing increase by 30% while enrollment dropped by 5% as the district has seen spending on instruction and support services jump by $19 million since the pandemic.
But the district is far from alone. That’s a formula many school districts in Michigan have followed.
Overall, the K-12 public school districts in Michigan have seen staffing increase three years in a row and had 219,808 full-time employees in 2023-24 while statewide enrollment hit 1,429,895. Compare that to 2007-08, when the K-12 school districts employed 216,751 people to serve 1,645,742 students.
Lansing schools spent $164.3 million on instruction and support services in 2018-19 and that increased to $183.3 million in 2022-23. Enrollment went from 10,652 to 10,062 during that four-year span. Click here to read more.
All but one member of the Ypsilanti City Council thought it was a good idea on Tuesday to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from meetings.
“Really, our role is to our residents here in the community, here in the city of Ypsilanti,” said council member Desirae Simmons, who brought the resolution to do away with the pledge she said is redundant. “And so I guess that’s what I took my oath of office to, and I think that that’s sufficient.”
The proposal to remove the pledge first surfaced at the board’s organizational meeting last week, but members delayed a decision until Tuesday, WEMU reports.
Simmons told council members she believed the pledge was a waste of time.
“I know I don’t feel comfortable pledging allegiance to a flag,” she said. “And so, I don’t participate in that, so I wanted to bring it up as a formal change to our agenda.” Click here to read more.
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WASHINGTON D.C. - The Supreme Court seems poised to reject a challenge from the Biden administration and the ACLU to Tennessee’s law shielding minors from irreversible transgender procedures, according to comments made by justices during oral arguments on Wednesday.
Throughout oral arguments on Wednesday morning, the conservative justices were skeptical of arguments from U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and the ACLU, who argued that Tennessee’s law violated the 14th Amendment. The law prevents doctors from giving children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, which come with a variety of long-term health risks.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito strongly pushed back against Prelogar and the ACLU, with Alito pointing to data contradicting claims that transgender procedures were necessary to keep kids from committing suicide. Alito also pointed to recent decisions in the United Kingdom to restrict transgender procedures for minors. Click here to read more.
KANSAS CITY, MO - A new policy from Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts, starting Jan. 1, will restrict coverage of monitored anesthesia care (MAC) for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures like colonoscopies.
Patients classified as American Society of Anesthesiologist class I or class II will no longer receive coverage. These patients usually do not have accompanying comorbidities. The coverage restriction also applies to bronchoscopy and certain pain procedures.
The decision has been decried by national groups — including the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Gastroenterology Association —as they warn it will lead to less safe clinical conditions for patients and a lower overall quality of care. They said it will also worsen the state’s backlog of screenings. Their meetings with legislators and BCBSMA leaders have so far not persuaded the insurer to change its mind, which stands to save money should the changes take effect next month. Click here to read more.
WASHINGOTN D.C. - Aides of President Joe Biden are debating whether the outgoing Democratic president should issue preemptive pardons for figures President-elect Donald Trump has named as his political enemies.
Politico reported Wednesday that among those being discussed for blanket pardons are former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Biden - who has been busy dealing with the fallout from his decision to pardon his son Hunter over gun and tax crimes - hasn't been brought into the discussions yet, the outlet said.
White House officials fear that doling out pardons to people who haven't been charged with a crime could suggest impropriety.
But there's also a worry that if Kash Patel is successfully elevated to head of the FBI, Trump could truly go after his critics, as Patel has suggested.
Cheney was one of only two Republican members of the House's select committee on the January 6 Capitol attack.
The daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, she became the face of the 'Country over Party' movement during the 2024 election cycle, campaigning alongside eventual Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has pushed that Cheney 'should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!' Click here to read more.
