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 (吝嗇的) 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 (破產(chǎn)管理) and reopen schools immediately; the
Michigan House plans to consider the bill this week.
1. We learn from the passage that schools in Kalkaska, Michigan, are funded .
A. mainly by the state government
B. exclusively by the local government
C. by the National Education Association
D. by both the local and state governments
2. One of the purposes for which school officials closed classes was .
A. to draw the attention of local taxpayers to political issues
B. to avoid paying retirement benefits to teachers and staff
C. to pressure Michigan lawmakers into increasing state funds for local schools
D. to make the financial difficulties of their teachers and staff known to the public
3. The author seems to disapprove of .
A. the shutting of schools in Kalkaska
B. the involvement of the mass media
C. the Michigan lawmakers' endless debating
D. delaying the passage of the school funding legislation
4. We learn from the passage that school authorities in Kalkaska are more concerned about .
A. making a political issue of the closing of the schools
B. the attitude of the MEA's parent organization
C. a raise in the property-tax rate in Michigan
D. reopening the schools there immediately
5. According to the passage, the closing of the schools developed into a crisis because of .
A. the strong protest on the part of the students' parents
B. the political motives on the part of the educators
C. the weak response of the state officials
D. the complexity of the problem
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