News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
91.7FM Alpena and WCML-TV Channel 6 Alpena are off the air. Click here to learn more.

Public school board members would be required to receive educational training under new bill

steve loya

New legislation in the state senate would require public school board members to undergo educational training.

The training would cover things like conflicts of interest, school finance, and labor relations.

Democratic State Senator Dayna Polehanki introduced the measure.

“Anyone who has been in education has heard stories about things that perhaps board members have done that could have been easily avoided had they had basic training,” she said.

Polehanki said the training is a good way to ensure board members are making informed decisions.

Board members who refuse to take the training would have their names posted on public school websites - listing them as “noncompliant”

“These are elected officials,” she said. “They are not going to be fired. It would just be listed for the public so the public can make informed choices.”

If passed, board members would be required to take training starting in November of 2020.