Court says Republican Legislature can prohibit school districts from increasing teacher salary after educational improvement, but between contracts

In a series of anti-teacher statutory amendments, the Republican Legislature forbade local school districts from taking certain actions that it feared would undercut its anti-MEA agenda.  For example, while schools can deduct dues and contributions from employee pay for various other organizations, they were prohibited from deducting union dues.  Among other restrictions, they were prohibited from increasing "step" pay for academic achievement while contracts were under negotiation.  Similar restrictions prohibited the school boards from underwiting any share of health care expense increases during negotiations. 

This past week, the Court of Appeals upheld these prohibitions in a case brought by the Bedford Education Association.  Apparently, the Bedford teachers aren't paying attention and didn't realize that the same people and philosophy that control the Legislature also control the Michigan Courts.  The three-judge panel held that this form of punitive legislation does not deny teachers any constitutional or civil right.