Statement from state Representative Kristy Pagan (D-Canton) on Gov. Rick Snyder’s executive order to move the School Reform Office out of the Department of Education:

“The School Reform Office (SRO) is responsible for turning around Michigan’s lowest performing schools. Moving the SRO to the Department of Technology, Management and Budget — run by an appointed director instead of an elected board — only buries educational oversight under layers of red tape and bureaucracy and places one of our most important educational offices under a department with no educational expertise. This all comes at a time when our State Board of Education is in the middle of hiring a new state superintendent. If Gov. Snyder is truly committed to improving Michigan’s schools, he should be working with the Department of Education, not taking always its responsibilities.”