With my apologies to W. B. Yeats, this blogger says it is too soon to pop the cork about what may be a momentary setback for Governor Snyder’s Educational Achievement Authority, where he hopes to aggregate the state’s lowest performing schools and subject them to large classes and inexperienced teachers.
He has other unsavory options up his sleeve.
She writes:
“Let us be perfectly clear here. This is a political ploy, a shell game of sorts, that is intended to look like a victory for Democrats. It’s not.
“Gov. Snyder, and all GOP legislators are up for re-election. Last month, Eastern Michigan University sounded an SOS when they laid-off nearly all of their education department teachers due to declining enrollment. Last week, Gov. Snyder learned that his education policies have earned him a 62 percent negative rating on his handling of K-12 education. GOP lawmakers know they are being painted with the same brush.
“This is electioneering of the most craven variety. Expect to see legislation, probably already being crafted, that will act as a substitute for the EAA bill. It will give sweeping authority to the state superintendent to play chess with local school districts that are in the bottom 5 percent. It may be held back until say, after the first Tuesday in November, but it will occur.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“It may be held back until say, after the first Tuesday in November, but it will occur.”
Well, that will depend on what happens the first Tuesday in November. Our job is to turn their whole script around before then.
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The Michigan legislature lame duck session became legend for its rushed passage of right-to-work in 2012. Then for bills regarding abortion rights in 2013. In the unlikely occurrence that Republicans lose a majority in either house (gerrymandering makes that very improbable), they’ll just ram through a crazy amount of legislation.
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I was born and raised in Lansing but have lived most of my adult life in Indiana.
Like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Michigan did not used to be this way.
My memory recalls that when George W. was re-elected a major London newspaper headlined “How can [ whatever the population of the U. S. at that time] be so dumb.
I feel the same way about my home state – or now, states.
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“Gov. Snyder learned that his education policies have earned him a 62 percent negative rating on his handling of K-12 education”
That’s a positive sign all by itself, though. We’re told again and again that parents are “demanding” the privatization of public schools.
Governor Snyder’s political response would tend to indicate otherwise.
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A bare bones low budget public education for poor with private for the rich has been the dream of Michigan powerbroker and Amway founder, Dick Devos, since early 90s. The EAA is as close as he has come to realizing that dream so Gov. and supporters more than prepared to be patient and wait out opposition. Here is the most recent sequence:
1) EAA started as a massive bill in 2012 that would have allowed it not only state wide expansion but access to available school district properties.
2) Bill’s architect Richard McClellan told legislature after Dec. 2012 defeat to move slow, piecemeal. A “compromise” bill — one worked out with influential/affluent Oakland County to protect their schools and a few other limitations — got past the house.
3) Behind the scenes, though, Devos folks knew this EAA bill wasn’t going to get them what they wanted so they started a secret scheme (Skunks works) to develop a 5k per pupil pub ed system on the cheap, Det News broke that story and so all legislation slowed.
4) Intreprid and heroic Dem Lipton — joined by legislative reps like Sen. Hopgood — whose Districts had been hurt by closures. Their FOIA request for info denied. So bill held up in Senate Education committee from March til Dec.
5) In December last week session it looked like their was space for this to get through and the move of the bill to the Senate caught all activist groups offguard.
6) It passed 20-18, but this bill had enormous reach — very different from the March House compromise — so many in House, including Republicans, balked when it came back to them for conference.
7) This whole time State Superintendent Mike Flanagan and State School Board President John Austin have been supporting the EAA.
8) Brought back for consideration in early Feb, but not enough votes.
9) Brought back AGAIN this week with all sorts of deals.
10) Flanagan pulled his stunt of “severing” the contract.
11) Parents, teachers, and activists in Detroit, in particular, thought they had actually won something.
12) But Flanagan, et.al, with backing from the Governor only need some kind of bill passed for recovery statewide Districts to turn the EAA loose on everyone.
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When will the people finally revolt? Flanagan and Austin need to resign their positions. If they promote the EAA expansion they are hurting school children in the state of Michigan. One more reason for the young people in the state of Michigan to move out!!!
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