Over the past couple of months, multiple Colleges in the Eastern Michigan University system have passed resolutions of “No Confidence” in the EMU Board of Regents. These groups include the Colleges of Education, Arts & Science, Technology, and Health & Human Services.
Yesterday, the entire Faculty Senate did the same. You can read their resolution HERE.
In their resolution of “No Confidence”, they specifically call out EMU’s continued association with Gov. Snyder’s failed experiment on Detroit school children known as the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). The EAA only exists at this point because of the intralocal agreement it has with EMU. Without it, it simply would not exist. However, the Board of Regents has stubbornly clung to this hideous experiment despite a constant drumbeat of disgust and opposition from EMU faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
The Faculty Senate ends their powerful resolution with this:
Resolved that the Faculty Senate, given the Board’s gross violation of its own code of ethics and failure to be a faithful servant of our University, has no choice but to vote no confidence in the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents.
It’s a powerful statement on behalf of ALL of the faculty members at EMU, one of the nation’s premier “normal schools”, colleges and universities that educate educators.
The Board of Regents is scheduled to meet tomorrow but there does not appear to be any discussion of the EAA on their agenda.
UPDATE: The following item was added to the Board of Regents agenda late yesterday: “Section 21 – Interlocal Agreement between the Board of Regents of Eastern Michigan University and the School District for the City of Detroit”.
This huge move comes the same day as a final admission by Michigan Republicans that their experiment has failed. Here’s Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof:
Gov. Rick Snyder’s controversial Education Achievement Authority will come to an end as legislators consider a $715 million plan to rescue the Detroit Public Schools, according to Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof.“It’s gone. We’re not going to do the EAA again,” Meekhof told The Detroit News on Wednesday, a day before his Government Operations Committee was to begin a public debate on the Detroit schools legislation. […]
Meekhof, R-West Olive, said moving away from the EAA is one of several “accommodations” that Republicans will make in order to help get Democrats on board with the larger plan. […]
“I think you’ll see the bills are very reasonable, because several things that the Democrats have asked for, we’ve included,” Meekhof said. “They don’t close any schools, they don’t punish any teachers, the emergency manager’s gone and it doesn’t affect collective bargaining.”
This is a vivid example of how the Democratic caucus in the state legislature is leveraging the discord among Republicans to enact positive change in our state and they should be commended for it.
At long, long last, it appears the fat lady is singing the funeral dirge of one of the most horrendous obscenities inflicted on the children of Michigan by our Republican legislators and their hideous policies.
Except for the poisoning of their drinking water, of course.
