On one side there are public school teachers and their students.
On the other side are the neo-liberal "reformers". Not satisfied with their past ideas which have been proven ineffective or worse (charter schools, merit pay, more standardized testing, value-added metrics), they are promoting an agenda which, if enacted, would cripple, if not destroy, public education.
Those pushing this agenda are familiar - ALEC and the various conservative think tanks. (Now there is an oxymoron ... conservative think tank). In Michigan, these groups include the Mackinac Center and the Oxford Foundation. The Republicans control all three branches of the government in Michigan and are carrying the water for these groups.
The latest assault by Michigan Republicans has been well documented in other diaries, especially those by Brainwrap, here and here. A cornerstone of this effort is the expansion of the Educational Achievement Authority, which was created under the Emergency Manager Act to oversee the Detroit Public Schools. When the voters of Michigan repealed the EMA on November 6, the Detroit Board of Education dissolved the EAA.
Not to be deterred, the Republicans introduced bills that would expand the authority of the EAA to other districts across the state.
House Bill 6004 and Senate Bill 1358: Would expand a separate and statewide school district (the Education Achievement Authority) overseen by a governor-appointed chancellor and functioning outside the authority of the State Board of Education or state school superintendent. These schools are exempt from the same laws and quality measures of community-governed public schools. The EAA can seize unused school buildings (built and financed by local taxpayers) and force sale or lease to charter, nonpublic or EAA schools. Source
The schools under the EAA management would not be subject to local control. This undermining of democracy was one of the reasons for the defeat of the Emergency Manager Act.
There are two other bills which, combined with those listed above, could devastate public education in Michigan. These bills are a privatizer's dream. Needless to say, educators from across the state have joined together to oppose these bills. Because of the pressure, some legislators are reconsidering their positions.
On Monday, just as educators were galvanizing in opposition to this assault on public education, the Michigan Republicans received an endorsement from a seemingly unlikely source, the administration of President Obama. On November 26, the Department of Education announced the finalists for this year's Race to the Top grant. Included in the finalists was one application from Michigan, a proposal to fund the Education Achievement Authority.
One has to be naive to believe that Governor Snyder and other Michigan Republicans won't use this as a talking point. If the EAA is indeed chosen to receive funding under RttT, that would effectively torpedo the opposition to the the Republicans' agenda for education.
Unfortunately, given the past history of Duncan and the administration, this does not appear to be an anomaly.
- Duncan's history as CEO Chicago Public Schools
- Race to the Top(with it's reliance on the neo-liberal agenda)
- Duncan's response to Katrina - “the best thing that happened to the education
system in New Orleans”
- the response to the mass firing of teachers in Providence, Rhode Island.
- the tacit endorsement of films with anti-union messages, Waiting for
Superman and Won't Back Down.
- Duncan's appearance with Michelle Rhee in February 0f 2012
These actions seem to indicate an administration that is quite comfortable with those who seek to undermine teachers and public education.
Keep in mind the Michigan Education Association and the National Education Association along with educators across the country had the President's back in the recent election, despite the fact that during his first term he didn't really have ours.
The President's former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, now mayor of Chicago, has chosen a side. As the recent Chicago Teachers' strike indicates, he has chosen to carry the water for ALEC and for his other neo-liberal friends.
It is time for the President to decide. Will he stand with the Michigan Republicans or will he stand with Michigan educators?
To assist the President in making a decision, please contact him in one of the four ways listed below.
Email: comments@whitehouse.gov
The White House website: The White House.gov
Phone: 202-456-1111
Regular mail: The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500