Governor, School Panel Get Together

LANSING - Some quiet fence-mending is being conducted by the State Board of Education with the governor and the Legislature. Only two years ago Gov. William G. Milliken was trying to abolish the board and replace it with an appointed commissioner of education, but at a private dinner meeting with board members this week he reportedly struck a softer tone. The board also met privately Wednesday with a special legislative committee on busing which has been criticizing the board's handling of court-ordered desegregation planning. "We accomplished more in this one meeting with the governor than we have with the executive office in several years," one board member said. "We still disagree on several matters, but we found we agreed with each other on many more." Milliken's original attempt to abolish the board fizzled in the Legislature and he later Iproposed that a board re[ main, but that its members be j appointed by the governor. That proposal, too, has been sidetracked at least for the time being and Milliken now seems willing to work more closely with the board to achieve mutual aims, such as reform of the property tax support for school operations. Participants at the meeting said Milliken expressed particular support for state board programs on educational assessment testing and on the "accountability model" - the effort to require that teachers and administrators demónstrate certain levéis of competence and "output." Milliken reportedly was still insistent, though, on his plans to form a commission on higher education, even though the State Board already has a similar council on higher education which includes a representative from the governor's office. 1 Purpose of both groups is to L recommend b a s i c policy changes and programs to improve the operation and coordination of Michigan colleges and universities. The luncheon with the speI c i a 1 legislative committee carne chiefly in response to a House resolution asking the I State Board to detail its I gress on desegregation plans I and to explain what funds are I being used for the project. U.S. District Judge Stephen I J. Roth has ordered the board I to develop desegregation I proposals for the Detroit I ropolitan area by Feb. 3. The board's Department of Education staff is so far studying six general approaches to the order, any one or all of which I may be submitted to Roth for consideration. The legislative committee is composed mainly of antibusing lawmakers who frankly say they fear the State Board w i 1 1 recommend a desegregation plan which would be quickly adopted by Roth and used as a statewide model. State Board m e m b e r s , however, emphasized to the legislators that no plan has yet been endorsed and that at any rate the decisión is up to Judge Roth, not the board, to put into practice. O n 1 y federal money has been used so far for studying the six general approaches, although funds would have to be sought from the Legislature if Roth ordered development of a particular proposal, board members said. Just to cap off this week's fence-mending efforts, the board members took money out of their own pockets to pay for a punch-and-cookies i Christmas reception for I department employés Wednesday. Some 300 of the department's 500 employés showed up to mingle with the board members and top officials many of them seldom see the rest of the' year. Last year a number of department secretarles spent hours baking several hundred Christmas cookies themselves for a holiday reception.