West Ottawa Schools Named in Mackinac Center Report

MIDLAND, MI (WHTC) – According to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, at least 70 public school districts statewide have release-time agreements that allow unionized employees to work full or part time on union business. The Midland-based conservative think tank used data acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests in claiming that over three million dollars in total are spent in wages for such work. Among the districts cited was West Ottawa, which spent nearly 18 thousand dollars, with no other Lakeshore district listed. A bill is on the state Senate floor that would prohibit such arrangements in future collective bargaining agreements.