By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – Ever since the emerald ash borer swept through Michigan in the summer of 2002, the state has spent tens of millions of dollars to subdue the insect’s rampant infestations.

However, the problem is still rampant.

The emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle thought to have come to the United States through airplane or ship cargo.

Adult beetles cause minimal damage by nibbling on foliage, but the larvae are mainly responsible for the vast damage. In their immature stages, they feed on the inner bark of trees, disrupting nutrient and water flow.

“Its devastating. If you look around Lansing these past two summers, you can see the impact, even if you drive around neighborhoods,” said Bert Cregg, associate professor of horticulture and forestry at Michigan State University. “Ash was one of the most popular trees. It’s on par with losing Dutch elm trees.”

The ash borer isn’t limited to Michigan, although that’s where most of the damage has taken place. Other areas hit by the beetle include Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada.

The Department of Agriculture (MDA) has set different quarantine levels across both peninsulas, ranging from one to three, with three the most extreme.

All 68 counties in the Lower Peninsula are designated Level One because the ash borer is present in each of them.

Level Two quarantines are based on several isolated occurrences in contiguous areas of Alger, Chippewa, Delta, Houghton, Mackinac and Schoolcraft counties in the Upper Peninsula.

Level Three quarantines are in place in the remaining parts of those U.P. counties and Keweenaw and Luce counties.

To date, the ash borer has been responsible for the demise of 30 million ash in Michigan alone. Because no remedy is known yet, the toll could rise to 700 million.

“The emerald ash borer has cost the state $40 million, and zones are still being quarantined,” said Don Koivisto, director of the MDA. “It also harms metro areas where wires aren’t buried. It’s a big issue.”

As trees in suburban and urban areas die, they become potential hazards to electrical systems as branches may become dislodged and hit wires.

Consumers Energy said it takes a three-pronged approach to the problem such as aggressively removing dead trees, identifying dead or dying trees more quickly and communicating with customers in a more timely fashion.

Not only is the infestation a major concern for the state’s ecology, it’s also important for residents.

If trees in a yard become infected, then the homeowner must remove them for safety and appearance, but also to prevent further infestation – which may cost hundreds of dollars per tree.

To minimize the spread of the ash borer, transporting firewood is illegal in quarantined areas.

Cregg said, “The Lower Peninsula is infested so it doesn’t really matter. However, you can’t move firewood from the Lower Peninsula into the Upper Peninsula because quarantine levels change.”

Under MDA rules the sale or movement of ash in and out of Michigan is prohibited. Also, products – like pallets and crates – must be bark-free.

Koivisto said, “Wood has decreased in market value. Ash trees go down in groups, creating a spin-off effect.”

Quarantine efforts are under way to make sure the dreaded beetles don’t spread in the wild – especially in the Upper Peninsula.

“Any time there is an expansion of the beetles’ footprint in an area, it poses an increased risk of infestation to any area of Michigan or in other states that have the emerald ash borer,” said Jennifer Holton, public information officer for the MDA. “Ash trees in our state inhabit substantial areas of wetland, floodplain and stream edge habitat, as well as our hardwood forests.”

Cregg said homeowners could still salvage some ash, although insecticides are costly. “There’s not really much we can do besides that.”

The natural range for the emerald ash borer was eastern Russia, northern China, Japan and Korea. Before June of 2002, it had never been found in North America.

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – A couple of months ago, a Middleville woman who cared for children found that her act of kindness almost turned into jail time.

Lisa Snyder watched her neighbors’ kids wait for the school bus after their parents had left for work.

However, a neighbor complained to state officials and the Department of Human Services cited her for running an unlicensed day care operation.

Snyder wasn’t paid for watching her friends’ children but she almost landed in jail.

Snyder’s case prompted a new law that differentiates between daycare operations and casual babysitting.

Rep. Brian Calley, R-Portland, was instrumental in the change. He took on Snyder’s case even though she wasn’t his constituent and urged the revision on her behalf.

“I initially wasn’t aware of how the Department of Human Services applied the law,” said Calley, the lead sponsor. “The law needed clarification and to get government out of the way of good neighborly actions. A lot of people related to the situation because they have done the same thing.”

Rep. Mike Huckleberry, D-Greenville, sponsored a similar Legislation and also spoke out on the issue, saying that it was a situation in which one neighbor was helping another.

A 1973 state law said that non-relatives could babysit only in their home and for only 28 days each year, regardless of how many minutes or hours the child was watched. Otherwise, the babysitter was required to acquire a daycare license.

If Snyder had been found guilty under the previous law, she would have received a misdemeanor conviction.

Human Services worked closely with Gov. Jennifer Granholm to revise the law and assure that there would be no similar misinterpretations in the future. Director Ismael Ahmed said the change clarifies what most people already know: helping neighbors should not result in legal penalties.

To make things clearer, the revised law exempts unpaid babysitting from daycare licensing requirements, Calley said.

To qualify for an exemption, a sitter can’t be paid more than $600 a year, Calley said.

“The law passed unanimously and moved faster than almost any other bill for a reason,” Calley said. Snyder “was just doing a favor, and that is the law we are working with today.”

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law was supposed to invigorate education and raise academic standards, but eight years later the results are mixed.

NCLB called for new requirements and accountability systems based on annual student progress assessments.

Other goals required states to ensure that teachers are qualified and to make annual progress by increasing proficiency in reading and math, along with narrowing the gap in test score between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

NCLB, a revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, also sought to get students more involved in schooling.

After eight years of study, a bevy of information has been documented to see whether the 2001 law is actually benefiting students in Michigan and beyond.

Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Thomas Dee, an economics professor at Swarthmore College, examined the NCLB’s accountability system and compared some areas of study which had not been formally observed on a national level.

“Their study concluded that math scores among Michigan fourth- and eighth-graders improved dramatically, although reading scores in those grade levels showed little statistical improvement.

There were achievements across the state,” Jacob said. “There have been many positive effects of mass performance, particularly among fourth graders.

“The effects are not similar in terms of reading,” he added.

However, academic standards are not the only essential aim of the NCLB.

Sharif Shakrani, co-director of the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University and who worked for the NCLB program in Washington, D.C., said the goal of the program is not only to achieve improvement in reading and math, but also to close the learning gap between underachieving and overachieving students.

“Based on national data, there have been significant improvements in math at the elementary and middle school levels, but not in high school,” Shakrani said. “Reading results were about the same, which can be attributed to an increase number of students who are English-language learners in public schools, along with increases in other recreational areas like watching television.”

Bob Harris, professional development consultant at the Michigan Education Association, said the biggest benefit has been to push schools and districts to better serve all students. MEA is the state’s largest union of school employees.

“If you were a district with good standing and had a 95 percent graduation rate with few failing students, it wasn’t good enough,” Harris said.” The NCLB made schools more aware of the need to make sure nobody was being left out and making sure every student was successful, including such subgroups as African-American, Hispanic, Latinos, multi-racial, disabled and economically disadvantaged.

He said, “It forced the achievement issue. Schools had to annually achieve at continually higher rates and looking long-term wasn’t good enough. Schools and districts said ‘we could do better.’”

In terms of closing the gap in Michigan, results have been less than stellar, Shakrani said.

There was a slight increase in math scores, but without the significant improvement in reading found in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

Shakrani identified another benefit in Michigan. “The positive effect was recognizing low-performing schools in cities such as Detroit, Flint, Muskegon Heights, Benton Harbor and Lansing. Schools in those areas were experiencing consistent academic failures on a yearly basis. Attention is now being given to how such schools are being run, noticing a lack of progress before it was too late.

“Parents became much more aware of how schools were doing and were given more choices of where to send their kids,” he said.

Shakrani said schools have good intentions, but an over-reliance on standardized testing led some to eliminate programs like music and physical education. That denies students the opportunity to excel in other areas and develop a more comprehensive education.

MEA’s Harris said, “A one-test-fits-all mentality is impractical. It is also an unrealistic expectation for every school to achieve 100 percent proficiency. Can you take a child into your school district before exams and get them up to that level?

“Eventually, all schools will fail because it’s hard to reach 100 percent in all areas. It’s all sticks and no carrots,” he said.

NCLB has its drawbacks, but Jacob and Harris said the program shouldn’t be abolished but amended. It should give states more flexibility in aiding the lowest- performing and provide more suitable options, they said.

Shakrani said, “The program must continue to hold schools accountable for performance of their students. It must hold schools accountable for the outcome of percentage of graduates and dropouts, teachers’ contributions and other contributing variables.”

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – As the state continues its quest for multiple forms of renewable energy, one university is focusing on the winds of change.

Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center intends to develop an offshore wind project on Lake Michigan to measure wind data, using a $1.4 million grant pushed by U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland.

Although the original project plan was to place wind turbines in the Great Lakes, that plan has changed.

“We are not putting wind turbines out there,” said Arn Boezaart, interim director of GVSU’s center. “Funding has not allowed for that to happen. We are developing an offshore project to develop wind data on Lake Michigan, as well as other research information on top of that.”

He said no start date has been announced because “we are still in the process of getting things figured out.”

Development of offshore projects on the Great Lakes is an idea promoted by the Michigan

Great Lakes Wind Council. The council was created in January to help the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) analyze offshore wind development.

The center is aided by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, an organization that promotes alternative energy, for advice about developmental options.

“The development of the project is predicated on winds and how predictable they are,” said Greg Northrup, president of the alliance, based in Grand Rapids.

How such development will occur remains uncertain.

Boezaart said, “Nobody knows how to construct such a project. We’re looking at a variety of sources and proposals and figuring out the best strategy. It will most likely be a mono-pole structure in the lake bottom.”

The purpose of the project is to measure wind speeds and other wind-related data on a year-round basis because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pulls its buoys from the water from November through March.

“Nobody has ever done this before,” said John Sarver, supervisor of technical assistance in DELEG’s Bureau of Energy Systems and chair of the Michigan Wind Working Group.

“Grand Valley State University could provide major contributions as no actual data of wind speeds in lakes are taken because the buoys are not tall enough in height.”

The project itself will be no easy feat, Sarver said.

Focusing on offshore wind rather than placing turbines far from the shore would benefit both environment and nearby communities, Sarver said.

“There are many things to consider,” Sarver said of the original idea to place turbines in the lakes. “Fish, migratory birds, navigation in terms of shipping channels and disturbing lake bottoms are just some of them.

“And then there are view-shed issues. Do people want to look out at a sunset over the lake and see these large turbines?”

An offshore wind project could study more than just wind data.

“There’s a real interest in developing information on bird migration patterns, bat behavior patterns and climate interests,” Boezaart said. “We could even do ice studies and see how it impacts the lake.”

Boezaart said development of the center’s offshore wind project has been met with little to no criticism and lots of encouragement. “People want to develop wind energy.”

And Northrup said the project is intended to create a more alternative energy-friendly environment without harming the essence of Michigan’s Great Lakes.

“Turbines could have presented long-term liabilities – both aesthetic and environmental,” Northrup said. “We want to protect Michigan’s beautiful shoreline.”

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING –Environmental groups in the Upper Peninsula have proposed a mining initiative that would prevent adverse effects from harming the state’s water supply.

But lawmakers representing the U.P. are opposing a ballot measure by environmental groups like the Save Our Water Committee and Save the Wild UP, arguing that sulfide mining would generate economic benefits such as jobs.

The initiative claims sulfide and uranium mining would be destructive to the state’s water in the Great Lakes basin. These groups proposing the initiative do not want to ban mining permanently; they just want stricter regulations.

The Great Lakes supply 80 percent of North America’s drinking water, and sulfide mining could harm such sources by draining acid and contaminating the supply for decades, industry critics argue. If passed by voters in November 2010, it would also be applied to future mining operations in the Lower Peninsula.

“These types of pollution impacts just continue,” said Duncan Campbell, campaign director and treasurer for the Save Our Water Committee, a ballot initiative committee located out of Detroit that wants to slow sulfide mining in the state’s water.

“Sulfide mines dating back to Rome 2,000 years ago are still draining acid. We are just recommending common-sense provisions to guard adverse effects of water from such mining,” Campbell said.

If voters approve the initiative, there could be no uranium mining in Michigan until provisions are passed by the Legislature which eliminate such mining altogether, and mining applicants would need to provide a study of its possible impact on groundwater. It also extends to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

According to Campbell, the mining industry has opposed the efforts of his and other environmental organizations because of an “economic standpoint,” along with “the bar being set too high.”

The proposal also would ban sulfide mining within 2,000 feet of rivers and streams.

Kristi Mills is the director of Save the Wild UP, a nonprofit organization in Marquette. The organization says its mission is to protect the Upper Peninsula’s way of life, wildlife, landscape and water.

Mills said the ballot initiative is not intended to stop mining altogether, but is meant to regulate uranium mining because no provisions currently exist under state law.

Campbell said mining could also damage tourism in the U.P.

“Tourism requires nature to have clean, pure water,” Campbell said. “If the ballot doesn’t go through, acid mine drainage would affect the Great Lakes and the Detroit River because all streams flow into rivers and lakes. If not mined properly, the effects could be widely felt.”

Campbell said, “There is no pure Michigan without pure water.”

However, U.P. lawmakers say the environmentalist-backed initiative would bolster special interests and hinder the economy.

“The people of the U.P. should have the right to decide what is in their region’s best interest,” the five legislators said in a statement.

“Additionally, a statewide precedent could be set where ballot initiatives could negatively impact other industries such as agriculture, manufacturing or siting of renewable energy facilities.”

The statement came from Sens. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming, and Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, and Reps. Mike Lahti, D-Hancock, Steve Lindberg, D-Marquette, and Judy Nerat, D-Wallace.

But Campbell said, “Infected water will hurt the state even more. The types of jobs they are talking about are boom and bust – and not as many as reported to be.”

Mills cited the Upper Peninsula’s regional character, the risk to the tourism industry and possible health ramifications of contaminated water.

Campbell said his committee is currently in the midst of fundraising, and that signatures will be gathered by the end of this year. Signatures must be collected by May 2010.

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – As the H1N1 virus continues to infect many people around the state, six counties offered vaccinations in school-based settings for those who needed them most.

The Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD) held two school-based clinics in Gladwin County, one at Gladwin High School and the other at Beaverton High School. Schools in Clare, Isabella, Arenac, Roscommon and Osceola counties have also held clinics and continue to do so.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified priority groups as pregnant women, children and young adults between 6 months and 18 years old, and parents and caregivers of children under 6.

Participation was on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Children in child care centers and those who are home-schooled were also invited to participate. Medical first responders and health care workers were offered the H1N1 vaccination through collaborative efforts among providers, pharmacies and the district health department.

“The goal is to educate everyone about the H1N1 virus and be able to offer vaccine to priority groups based on a vaccination plan,” said Melissa DeRoche, public information officer for the district. “Local health departments across Michigan were asked to immunize residents related to these groups.”

Schools like Beaverton High sent out forms ahead of time to inform parents of the clinics. The health department contacted the school, and the nurse made advance preparations

“The health department gave our school packets with questions that parents could answer,” said Superintendent Joan Cashin. “We anticipated a speedy process so many people could get vaccinated.”

One question the clinics often hear is how they are being paid.

According to Mary Kushion, health officer for the CMDHD, the state tells districts how much vaccine they can order in each jurisdiction, based on each county’s population. It depends on where the most immediate need is.

DeRoche said federal grant money went to the state Department of Community Health, which passed it on to the local departments. Medical providers could collect voluntary registration fees.

“If people chose to donate and had insurance coverage, we asked if they could provide money and then had the right to bill their insurance,’ DeRoche said.

“Most people have been very helpful in providing insurance for such immunizations,” she said.

In addition, Cashin said children were not required to get immunized. A consent form was sent to their parents, along with other information relating to the H1N1 virus.

“In the end, it was a parental choice of whether or not to get the shot,” said Cashin.

Kushion said 755 vaccinations took place at Harrison High School and 569 at Clare High School.

In Gladwin County, 568 vaccinations took place at Gladwin High School and 540 at Beaverton High School.

Rick Seebeck, superintendent of Gladwin Schools, said the clinics went as “smooth as clockwork.”

Seebeck said, “There were ample opportunities for kids to get vaccinated. It was the smoothest operation I’ve seen by the CMDHD.”

Greg McMillan, superintendent of Clare Schools, was also impressed by the CMDHD’s effort in setting up the clinics and making sure everything went as planned.

“To say it simply, ours went awesome,” McMillan said. “It started at 1 p.m. Kids were inoculated in an hour and a half, and by 5:30 p.m. it was a ghost town.

McMillan said, “It was well received. We’ve gotten many positive comments from the parents and community. Most parents wanted their kids to get shots, wanted them taken care of.”

According to DeRoche, the department is receiving more vaccine weekly.

As long as vaccines come in on a consistent basis, the department will hold clinics. More clinics are expected to take place during the remainder of the year, and community clinics will take place in Gladwin County if an adequate supply of vaccine remains.

Seebeck said, “If the health department wants to host another clinic in our schools, I’d be very happy to do it.”

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – As the state continues to battle the effects of a shambled economy, declining revenue has led to the crumbling of Michigan’s roads.

They’ve gotten worse over the last year, says the Michigan Asset Management Council. The council, part of the Michigan Department of Transportation, looks at strategies to maintain, upgrade and operate roads and other infrastructure.

Its report evaluated conditions around the state, rating a wide array of roads – a grade of 1 is deplorable, while a 10 is pristine.

According to the report, roads are deteriorating faster than in years past.

One reason is funding.

“We know very well what causes potholes – aging pavement, lack of routine maintenance. We also know very well how to fix the problem – proper routine maintenance, resurfacing and reconstruction when needed,” said Craig Bryson, public information officer for the Oakland County Road Commission. “We simply don’t have enough money.”

The 2010 fiscal year marks the fourth consecutive year that the budget has shrunk.

Bryson points out that while funding has steadily declined, expenses have risen dramatically in the last 10 years, such as the costs of salt and diesel fuel.

The problem is not new, he noted.

“We currently spend $3 billion per year on fixing Michigan’s roads,” said Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations at the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA). “The last five years we have lost $250 million in revenue as gas taxes and registration fees have declined.

“At the same time, products such as cement, asphalt, steel and diesel fuel have skyrocketed,” he said.

The association consists of nearly 800 companies representing road and bridge, sewer and water, utility, railroad, excavation and specialty construction businesses.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Michigan has been among the bottom 10 states in per capita state and local spending on roads for more than 45 years.

“In other words, we in Michigan pay less per person to maintain our roads than do residents in most other states, and – surprise – our roads are in worse condition,” Bryson said.

Michigan’s harsh winters create major challenges, like decaying roads mainly in the form of potholes. When water freezes, it leaves a pocket over the pavement, and as more vehicles drive over those water pockets, it leads to more destruction.

A 2007 road evaluation labeled 25 percent of the state’s roads as poor, and the proportion climbed to 32 percent in 2008.

It would have been cheaper to fix them in 2004, when it would have cost $3.7 billion. In 2008, the cost to repair the state’s roads almost doubled to $7.2 billion – basically $3.5 billion worth of lost assets.

“Our roads are a problem well established over decades of time,” said Keith Ledbetter, director of legislative affairs for MITA. “We are 46th in spending per capita on roads, and when you combine the road conditions with the weather, it’s bad.”

In large part, road maintenance and upgrading are financed by the state fuel tax and vehicle registration fees.

Nystrom said, “The Michigan Department of Transportation is doing more with less, but it has stretched very thin because the state Legislature and the governor do not have the political will to do more.”

“Everyone wants better roads but nobody want to pay for them,” he added.

Ledbetter said the state’s infrastructure has been inadequate for many years.

“Road repairs are based on money available, and in recent years money has not been there,” he said. Less than 5 percent of the federal stimulus package was set aside for roads and bridges, with more money going towards welfare, unemployment benefits and education.

According to the report, the three counties with the highest percentage of miles of bad roads are Oceana, Osceola and Calhoun. Among cities, Detroit has the most miles of bad roads with 586 – almost 400 more miles than second-place Grand Rapids.

“You are going to pay for good roads whether you have them or not,” Ledbetter said. “It’s like driving a car, not filling up the oil and waiting for the engine to blow – it costs more in the end.”

Ledbetter said, “Roads will only be fixed when policymakers work on funding solutions and legislators will act to make that possible.”

Bryson echoed Ledbetter’s assessment. “This is not rocket science. It takes money to maintain roads, and our state Legislature has not stepped up to its responsibility to adequately fund our transportation infrastructure.”

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – While electric rates are yet to be determined, lower natural gas prices may help Michigan residents keep more money in their pockets this winter.

The state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) announced that natural gas prices are decreasing, but rates for electricity are still uncertain.

The PSC’s projection is based on an annual winter energy appraisal to determine what customers should expect to pay for heating in a given season.

“It is good news for customers,” said Judy Palnau, public information officer for the PSC. “We are looking at a normal to slightly-warmer-than-normal winter this year, as opposed to being slightly colder than normal.”

Palnau said natural gas rates are expected to be 12 percent lower than last winter, and if outdoor temperatures are at or above normal, bills could drop as much as 16 percent.

“A typical residential customer’s bill consists of 70 percent natural gas, and we make no profit on natural gas,” said Jeff Holyfield, news and information director of Consumers Energy. “And if you look where we’re at today, the price of $7.40 per thousand cubic feet is down 9 percent from last winter’s price of $8.17. The total bill overall is down $3.”

Consumers Energy, based in Jackson, charges in the bottom third among utilities nationally for gas.

MichCon, a gas supplier regulated by the PSC, said that it has not received a rate increase in nearly five years due to strong cost controls and other forms of revenue. The company’s 2009 bills are expected to be 5 percent lower than last year.

There’s a wait-and-see approach, however, on the rate for electricity.

Since Michigan utility companies are allowed to increase rates without first getting approval and did so last year, Consumers Energy has been ordered by the PSC to issue refunds. A total of $20 million in refunds are expected to be sent to customers in January.

Holyfield said, “Because the economy is down and consumers needing energy has gone down, prices have gone down as well. At the end of the day, a customer’s overall feeling is, ‘What is my bill going to be?’”

And while prices for electricity and gas seem to be heading in different directions, customers are benefiting more this year than last, according to Palnau.

“Prices have been rising recently, but falling over the last year,” Palnau said. “Demand has been falling and supply has been high.”

With such changes in energy prices taking place, low-income families are being offered a little more room to make payments.

Palnau pointed to a “winter protection period,” during which customers with budget constraints can avoid having their heat shut off if they follow the rules of the plan. The plan runs from Nov. 1 to March 31. It is a joint effort between the PSC and utility companies.

Holyfield said, “We have a variety of programs helping low-income customers and senior citizens in need. We work closely with state and local officials. More and more customers are calling with issues about paying bills, like those who are unemployed and need assistance.

“We tell them how to qualify and encourage customers to work with Consumers Energy when they have trouble paying off bills. We also want customers to tell us immediately if there’s a problem,” he said.

Holyfield said renewable energy and more efficient resources present great opportunities for the state in the next decade. For example, he described a plan to meet electricity needs for 1.8 million customers in the next 20 years by improved energy efficiency and expanded use of renewable energy.

He also said building new clean coal plants is a top priority because many existing plants are deteriorating and not conducive to energy-saving methods.

“The average age of coal plants is 50 years old. Some existed when Truman was president,” he said.

Holyfield said the goal of Consumer’s Energy is to reduce electricity use by 5.5 percent and natural gas by 8 percent by 2015. He said the only way to achieve that goal is to inform customers of energy efficiency and to invest in forms of renewable energy.

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind (NWLB) program was intended to revitalize the job market and get people working again, and recent statistics point to some success.

NWLB was Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s initiative to train people for new careers. The program focuses on unemployed and underemployed people who enroll in a training curriculum which results in a degree or certificate.

Of those who found jobs, 86 percent obtained one related to their core training. Of those still enrolled in NWLB, 77 percent are in long-term training, which is more than three times the national percentage.

Participants study or receive training for degrees or certificates from community colleges and other institutions.

“From our perspective, the program has been a great success,” said Matt Miller, executive director of college advancement at Mid Michigan Community College, which has campuses in Harrison and Mount Pleasant. “It has provided resources for people to go back to school and subsequently find employment.”

A report by the Department of Labor, Energy & Economic Growth (DELEG) said that 62,206 people enrolled in the program from its start in August 2007 through February 2009. Of the 34,000-plus who completed the program, 72 percent either obtained or retained jobs. While about 10,000 participants didn’t complete training, about 10,000others who did finish were still looking for employment.

“Historically, most worker programs were tepid and poorly funded,” said Skip Pruss, director of DELEG. Pruss said most programs were generic and did not have the sustainability of NWLB, let alone the resources or money to get people employed again.

Pruss said, “We were two decades late in terms of our economy,” referring to the lack of targeting “strategic diversification” in the job market. “We were eight times more dependent on the auto industry than anything else.”

More than 100,000 have enrolled since the program’s inception.

“One hundred thousand people through three years was our initial goal, and we just accomplished that,” said Pruss. “It was an experimental paradigm but now will be the permanent work program that will exist for years to come.

“We’re doing everything possible to create jobs,” he said.

DELEG Deputy Director Susan Corbin cited a federal program as a precedent to the state’s own program. As more flexible employment opportunities were being urged at the federal level, states began to create their own job programs to put more people back to work.

And although the program has helped some to return to employment, not everyone has benefited.

Twenty-eight percent of enrollees have yet to find jobs, the report said. That’s due to a lack of openings. As of September, Michigan had a 14.8 percent unemployment rate, more than five points above the national average of 9.5 percent.

Michigan still has the nation’s highest unemployment rate, and “450,000 people are still collecting unemployment, much which is due to the hemorrhaging of the auto industry,” said Pruss.

Pruss said Granholm is convinced that a green economy is the way to diversify. Renewable energy could be a major focus of the state for decades to come, he added.

“Green” jobs are a major priority for NWLB training, he said.

By NICK MORDOWANEC

Capital News Service

LANSING – A budgeting principle that Michigan may adopt involves paying on the run, but questions abound on how the state might deal with such a change in economic philosophy.

 The principle is known as pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO for short. Under that approach, the government would spend money on programs when legislators see fit, based on a specific funding source rather than appropriating and continuing a program in hopes that it will stay successful.

“The appropriations process is the sole province of the Michigan Legislature,” said Craig Thiel of the Citizens Research Council, a nonpartisan organization that researches issues concerning state and local government.

“In exercising this authority, the Legislature – along with the governor – is bound by strict balanced-budget requirements,” he said.

That means lawmakers would have to ensure that planned spending doesn’t exceed the money available, Thiel added.

“The Legislature also can raise taxes. Therefore, in a sense, the balanced budget requirements are a form of pay-as-you-go budgeting already,” he said.

He said a PAYGO-type plan might have benefited, for example, the Promise Scholarships, which are being discontinued in the latest budget. Instead of the state budgeting a specific amount for scholarships, it could provide money based on the number of students who need financial aid over a certain time period.

The PAYGO principle involves numbers more than anything. Since the state functions on a balanced budget to properly meet economic expectations, the PAYGO principle relies on numbers to help meet such constraints.

“The concept is solid: Don’t spend more than you have,” said Craig Ruff, senior policy fellow at Public Sector Consultants, a Lansing-based firm that specializes in research on issues such as health, economics and technology. “The difficulty resides in trying to enforce a PAYGO system in which programs could potentially be cut.”

The federal government tried it in the 1990s, but Congress abandoned it in 2003 because of a big increase in the national debt. However, unlike the state, the federal government does not have to follow a balanced budget year after year.

“There were significant loopholes for the PAYGO system on a federal level, such as the exemption of programs and no appetite to raise taxes,” said Ruff. “If a PAYGO system was still in place in Washington, the stimulus money they have offered during the recession would have to be paid for.”

With PAYGO, it’s the Legislature’s job to decide what it wants to spend money on, meaning that some programs would be favored over others.

“The state brings in $42 billion in total revenue, so spending under that amount is OK if you are on the PAYGO plan,” said Ruff. “An issue would be spending more than the amount in the total revenue.”

Rep. George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said he approves of the PAYGO principle and believes taxes on everyday items like bottled water, for example, could help pay for government programs.

But a PAYGO-like structure might be doomed by partisanship, said Ruff.

One issue, he said, involves Republicans fearing Democrats would take every opportunity to raise taxes. And Democrats would fear that Republicans would try to single out specific areas of government to focus spending on, he added.

Thiel of the Citizens Research Council said, “What I think is being proposed is much more narrow in focus. What is being advocated is more ‘earmarking’ of specific revenues to specific programs and not necessarily a new budgeting process. Earmarking is being done extensively in Michigan already.”

Earmarking is the practice of reserving revenues from specific sources for specific functions. Earmarking takes two forms: A fixed amount of revenue from a given source or a percentage of the revenue from a given source.

Earmarking is often used when there is a connection between a revenue source and spending. It can help provide stability as lawmakers are aware of the effects of the highs and the lows of financial decisions they make, Thiel said.