State Roundup

Lansing
Audit: State not verifying jobs in tax-free zones
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State auditors are knocking Michigan’s tax-free Renaissance Zones, saying commerce officials haven’t come up with a way to measure the program’s effectiveness.
A report released Wednesday says the state relies on reports from businesses and hasn’t verified the number of new jobs or how much private money has been invested.
Businesses operating in Renaissance Zones are free of many local and state taxes. They range from urban areas in the Lower Peninsula to remote, rural areas in the Upper Peninsula. The audit estimates that tax breaks worth $820 million have been granted since 1997, mostly local taxes.
The state says more than 12,000 jobs have been created, but auditors say the number hasn’t been independently verified. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is working on ways to judge the program’s effectiveness.

Southfield
Student hurt in chemistry class can’t sue teacher
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area teacher can’t be sued for a chemistry demonstration that lit a student’s shirt on fire and burned his face.
The Michigan appeals court says Carrie Weingartz has governmental immunity as a public school teacher. A three-judge panel said Wednesday that her conduct was not grossly negligent.
Jeremiah Russell was a student at Southfield-Lathrup High School when he was burned during chemistry class in 2009. Flames flared out when Weingartz lit a dish containing alcohol and copper chloride.
She performed the same demonstration earlier that day without a problem and had learned about it from another teacher. Weingartz had been teaching in Southfield since 2003, but 2009 was her first year leading general chemistry.

Detroit
Mich. schools up security after Conn. shootings
DETROIT (AP) — Security experts will begin training Oakland County educators this week on how to react to a shooter in a building following last month’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Other school districts across Michigan are stepping up their security efforts, as well. Among them, Shelby Township police in Macomb County are distributing high-powered rifles to officers patrolling Utica Community Schools and a Jackson County school district is installing surveillance cameras and a buzz-in entry system.
Wiley Elementary School PTO president Tara Powrozek, who has three sons at the Utica school, said seeing officers gives her peace of mind.
“I’m very happy with the schools working together with police departments,” Powrozek told The Detroit News. “I feel safer seeing a police presence around the school, knowing they’re doing what they need to do to keep us safe.”
Officials in Oakland County say overwhelming demand is behind the teacher training effort.
The first session of “respond and recover” training is set for Thursday, The Oakland Press of Pontiac reported. The county’s Homeland Security and sheriff’s offices, as well as the Oakland Schools intermediate district, are teaming up on the training.
It will cover how teachers can prepare themselves  how law enforcement will respond.

Muskegon
W. Michigan board to slash teacher pay by 5 percent
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A west Michigan school district plans to impose a 5 percent salary cut on teachers after declaring an impasse in contract negotiations.
Orchard View school board officials say they plan to implement the cut in early February, even as negotiations continue.
Superintendent Pat Walstra says  students and community members are counting on the board to make “wise financial decisions.”
The board determined it needs $450,000 in concessions from the Orchard View Education Association. Bargaining began in spring 2012.