“Today, the EMU Board of Regents — members of which were appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder — will be meeting to vote on ending the Educational Achievement Authority (EAA). While those of us truly invested in the success of the Detroit Public School (DPS) system have spoken out against the EAA since its inception, it is frustrating that Gov. Snyder decided to end this only when the malfeasance was so great, and the EAA’s failings so shameful, that it would do further damage to his reputation not to pull the plug. It is frustrating that a number of FBI investigations and indictments did nothing to stymie the damage the EAA was capable of doing, and that these were not enough to persuade the governor or the members of the EAA that it needed to be shut down. It is frustrating that the cries of the community — of the educators, parents, students and other EMU faculty members — fell on deaf ears for so long. Most of all, it is frustrating that Gov. Snyder seems to be doing this now out of pure embarrassment, not as recognition that his imposed ideology of running state education like a business, has resulted in irreparable harm to the children of Detroit. My hope is that once this disastrous attempt to commodify and commercialize the futures of our children has been ended, we can finally start working on a unified plan to move our schools back into DPS and selecting interim leadership with a Detroit voice included.”
