Oh the agony.
The repressed desire of the 40th District Rep to help "failing" schools in Michigan by fundamentally reshaping a public education structure which has served this community well for over 50 years must be unbearable -- especially at Christmas time.
Mr. McCready and other House Republicans might just have to wait until 2015 to unleash the full saving force of the EAA, the Broad Foundation funded entity Governor Snyder hopes to expand to siphon money from public schools to save public schools.
This is not because the Senate necessarily disagrees with the House about the EAA.
It is just that the Senate seems to see the potential political catastrophe in 2014 of putting more schools in the hands of the flailing Educational Achievement Authority. So while they voted by an "overwhelming" margin (20 to 18 -- 6 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting no) to "approve" the EAA expansion they also hedged their bets. What happens, for example, if EMU faculty convince their university to cancel the intralocal partnership that determines the existence of the EAA? (unlikely, as the EMU regents are unelected appointees of Governor Snyder -- but possible).
You will note below the almost indecipherable piece of legislation does not mention the EAA.
What it does do is give the 2009 State Reform Office (an office hastily formed to satisfy President Obama's "Race to the Top" initiatives) the latitude to engage with any number of entities to fix the failing schools. The EAA was SUPPOSED to be the mechanism or prime entity to do that -- hence Mr. McCready's support for it at the expense of his own high functioning Districts -- but it has been, again, a trainwreck.
But it is, more or less, the Governor's personal trainwreck.
The Senate then -- including all Oakland County Republican Senators -- seems to get politically the rock and hard place situation that the House does not. If you expand the EAA before 2014 you risk a nightmare in your District or in neighboring Districts (Pontiac!); but if you vote down the EAA you run counter to the Governor's whole 2011 education reform plan and his wholesale efforts to destroy public education (that is an "accurate" description of what the Governor wants said his top advisor Richard McClellan this time in 2012).
What to do?What to do?
Stall....hence the McCready/Moss passion to help will need to be put in check yet again.
Or so it seems. Perhaps if more money is discreetly pumped in to the EAA it will improve and we can have another year attacking teachers and public education for political gain. Perhaps, as Sen. Hopgood, speculated yesterday, things will get even worse.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/billengrossed/House/pdf/2013-HEBS-4369.pdf
Joint House and Senate Committees will have to hash this out today behind closed doors. Today. Because they finish work today for the holidays.
Parents, teachers, taxpayers won't have a clue as to what is happening with their schools' futures. Or their communities (politicians like Moss and McCready just don't seem to get that the communities they live in and enjoy are founded on the school systems -- not the bistros, not the mansions). So much for "choice." So much for transparency.
Mr. McCready, it wasn't broke, but it is now, because you tried to fix it. Give his office one more call today and see if they can explain the Senate language yesterday. You will be told -- because it is Christmas time -- that you are fine. This is about the "lowest 5%" of schools.
It isn't.
