EAA codification stalls, the remarkable Mr. Livengood, and why the surprise legislation to unbundle BHSD

Chad Livengood is really a remarkable reporter for Michigan. I hope he stays -- but my sense is greener pastures will call.

For the moment, though, let me linger over his stunningly concise story on the "stall" that happened yesterday when Governor Snyder's education team tried to get the EAA expansion bill through yesterday.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131212/POLITICS02/312120132/EAA-expansion-bill-stalls-Michigan-...

To reiterate: The bill -- supported by BHSD's Mike "if ain't broke don't fix it" McCready -- would have fundamentally changed the structure of public education in Michigan. That includes Bloomfield Hills. The strong push to do so came up rather suddenly, seemingly catching education advocacy groups like the Tri-County Alliance temporarily off guard. They were "smokescreened" by two other obnoxious bills put forth by Lisa Lyons on 3rd grade retention and letter grading. BHSD -- despite its supposedly close contact with Mr. McCready -- also was slow to react, alerting its parents Thursday,  only after the bill went into small concurrence session where outside pressure has little effect.

Notably, Mr. McCready was more than ready, a day or so before, to talk about the smokescreen bills, responding within minutes to emails about legislation that -- as it turned out -- didn't matter too much in this session.

But back to Mr. Livengood. Almost every short paragraph can be usefully unpacked:

"Legislation expanding the Education Achievement Authority’s ability to take over failing schools stalled in the House late Thursday, representing another setback for Gov. Rick Snyder’s school reform project."

The EAA is actually the linchpin of the Governor's proposed education reform plan of April 2011. Many didn't realize this, even after the 2012 lame duck session. But if the EAA goes through statewide it will be possible for the Governor to redirect funds and legally unbundle all geographically defined public school districts bit by bit.

House members in both parties said they opposed the Senate’s sweeping changes to the bill, in particular the elimination of a 50-school cap on the number of buildings that could be placed under the fledgling EAA’s control.

Curiously, when local BHSD parents met in fall 2012 with Senator John Pappageorge he claimed credit for capping the EAA at 50, saying he had personally told "him" [John Covington] that "he" would have two years. That the cap fluctuated between Mike Flanagan's "adding 9 schools" to "50" to unlimited gives one a sense of what the actual goal is here. Don't worry, I got this, was the clear message to parents.

The EAA is in its second school year running 15 Detroit schools with persistently low academic achievement, but has been dogged by questions about its curriculum, teacher turnover rate, declining enrollment and long-term financial viability.

This is a summary. Mr. Livengood doesn't detail that John Covington lied on a federal grant (don't know if that would be a misdemeanor for Senator Pappageorge or not but for those in that kind of business it is a pretty big deal) and that EMU faculty are insisting their university pull out of the intralocal agreement that brought the EAA into existence. Their regents -- unelected appointees of Governor Snyder mainly -- are balking so that should hold til 2014. And, oh yes, the eaA lost 25% of its students this year and they continue to leave.

“The EAA, I’m not sure it’s doing a good job,” said state Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills. “It’s still kind of an experiment.”

Tom McMillen has been as hostile to public education and teachers as any legislator in the state outside Lisa Lyons. But he is term limited out and running for the 13th District which includes Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, etc. Perversely, he has become the darling of many in Oakland Schools who see him as a champion of "local" control, a path he found in opposing Common Core with other national Tea Party politicians. While I am all for defending great districts -- and I would be delighted if Mr. McMillen has had some sort of death bed conversion -- I think it important to say that with weakened unions many school folks can be politically obtuse. BHSD grad Ryan Fishman is a much better option for BHSD parents in that District. A Republican turned Democrat, he is no fan either -- like Mr. McMillen or Mr. McCready -- of forcing parents with daughters to consider buying "rape insurance."

The EAA expansion legislation, which lawmakers have been debating for 13 months, was one of Snyder’s top priorities before lawmakers adjourned Thursday for a three-week holiday break. They resume legislative action Jan. 8.

We shall see what happens. Despite setbacks, Mr. relentessly positive hasn't changed a single position on education since April 2011. He wants public education as we know it gone. He tried direct assault, he tried "piecemeal," he tried "smokescreen." But this will come back. There is simply too much outside money tied up in the EAA for him to back away. Locally you should know that Mr. McCready voted for the House version way back in March and took cover behind term limited Senators before this could be brought out again in December -- even though, again, "we can't wait" to help failing schools and "put kids first."

But the EAA bill has found itself mired in political battles as the House sought to restrict its size and allow county intermediate school districts the option of taking over schools in the bottom 5 percent of academic achievement for three or more years.

Oakland County believes that somehow everything will be ok if we just follow the lead of the admirable Vicki Markavitch. But one hopes this little session will remind them that compromise on this really isn't possible.

Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel downplayed the legislative setback and said the EAA has made “significant strides” in better educating Detroit students.

“The EAA is an entity that goes forward with or without legislation,” Wurfel said.

This should be a Pappageorge misdemeanor. The EAA doesn't exist without legislation. And, again, the Governor's top advisors have been insisting on this legislation since 2011.

Snyder’s office created the EAA in 2011 through an interlocal agreement between Detroit Public Schools and Eastern Michigan University as an entity to serve as the state’s school reform district, which critics say never materialized from a 2009 education reform law.

The DPS emergency manager turned over 15 schools to the EAA to operate with a nearly year-round academic schedule.

EAA actually operates only 12. 3 are chartered to other companies.

The state’s school reform/redesign office, established by the 2009 law, entered into a 15-year contract with the EAA to transfer its responsibilities to oversee failing schools.

Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, D-Huntington Woods, said Snyder’s office, which has helped assemble millions of dollars in private donations for the EAA, has not been forthright about its intent with the authority.

“The end game is not to assist any particular struggling school,” Cogen Lipton said. “This was always about creating a separate district, a separate infrastructure, that exists under the control of the governor.”

Parents, if you like your kids' school and your property values and your community please write Rep. Lipton a thank you note. She has done as much to stop this craziness as any person in Michigan. And, to my knowledge, she is the only elected official who is willing to discuss publicly the "endgame."

The House’s version of the EAA legislation allowed for ISDs to operate failing schools. The Senate’s bill permits the state school reform/redesign office to contract operation of another public school.

John Austin, president of the State Board of Education, said the Senate provision appeared to be “a mechanism to encourage additional, unlimited charter school” management by for-profit companies.

Mr. Austin got to this session a bit late, but he did try to curtail the constantly twisting positions of his charge Mike Flanagan. Please write Mr. Austin and urge him to remove Mike Flanagan and hurry the search for a new state superintendent along.

Rep. Jeff Farrington, R-Utica, said with Democrats united in opposition, getting 56 votes to pass the bill among the majority’s 59 Republicans has proven difficult.

“Once you take away the Democrats, it’s hard to agree to the details,” he said.

DUH.

Farrington said the Senate version contained “multiple problems,” including the limitless number of schools that could be added to the EAA.

It is dawning on folks that this really isn't about the "lowest 5%".

Earlier this week, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said beginning in January he would start placing at least 10 of Michigan’s 137 failing schools under supervision of the school reform office, which in turn can contractually transfer schools to the EAA.

Mr. Flanagan won't tell anyone what schools he has planned to move to the EAA, thus denying parents any "choice" whatsoever and occluding any transparency to the process.

Flanagan said Thursday he favors letting ISDs or successful local school districts take over failing schools in their area.

“Right now the only vehicle is the EAA, and I’m saying we need other vehicles,” Flanagan said.

That was on Thursday after his board chided him for chiding the whole state on  his MDE page Wednesday as "shameful" for not supporting the EAA and the Governor. Mr. Flanagan is clearly in over his head. Having pushed so hard for the privatized EAA, he called on Thursday for a "Marshall Plan" to fix failing schools. The Marshall plan, of course, is the single largest government expenditure in Michigan history. He raised -- perhaps as a threat to Oakland County -- the possibility of dissolving Pontiac as part of his call for the Marshall Plan.

See you in the New Year for another round of "it ain't broke don't fix it." But it is now clear that if you live in Troy, Birmingham, and Bloomfield you will be voting in 2014 to preserve your public schools.