First, I want to reiterate what I said yesterday: there is a very good chance that Republicans are close to having enough votes to to expand the State School Reform/Redesign district (HB 4369) which, for now, is only the EAA. They may vote as early as today if they get enough votes. Two Democrats, John Olumba & Harvey Santana, are […]

It appears that the state House may vote on HB 4369, legislation that would expand the State school reform/redesign (SSRR) school district (which includes the EAA), today or in the very near future, perhaps even yet today. Word I have been getting is that the bill has changed since the Senate passed it. In response to this movement, State Board […]

Cold-hearted is as cold-hearted does One of the things at the top of the GOP’s “to do” list is “Dump Kerry Bentivolio”. Bentivolio is the Congressman from Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and has some of the most *ahem* interesting views about the role of government you’re likely to encounter. The GOP needs him gone. Enter David Trott, wealthy foreclosure specialist. […]

“I can’t hear you with all these facts I don’t believe in in the way…” The following post is by my friend Emma White, a specialist in communications and messaging. In the wake of the epic fail of the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity ad featuring Dexter, Michigan resident Julie Boonstra, Emma’s observations & commentary on the difficulty of using […]

The following letter was sent to the Education Achievement Authority administration by a teacher who very recently resigned. In it, they describe additional outrageous conditions inside the EAA. Since providing me with this letter, they also informed me they were contacted by a teacher who told them that students are being prepped for the forum at Eastern Michigan University today. […]

The G-7 countries issued a joint statement this morning warning Russia to back off in Crimea. In the statement they say, in no uncertain terms, that they will not recognize Crimea returning to Russian control if the proposed referendum passes. Their statement makes it clear that, with Russian soldiers patroling the streets in Crimea, if the referendum passes, it will […]

The EAA isn’t the only experiment being conducted on Detroit children In all of the sturm und drang over Republican Governor Rick Snyder’s Educational Achievement Authority experiment with Detroit children, it’s easy to forget about the other experiment they are part of: state control of the Detroit Public Schools by an Emergency Manager. I’ve written reams on this topic but […]

In addition to the multiple other education-related events happening in Michigan this week (details on the others HERE), the group Michigan for Public Education is holding its quarterly speakers meeting this Friday, March 14. This event will host three outstanding speakers covering an array of topics related to protecting our public education system in Michigan: David Arsen, Ph.D. from MSU […]

“It can’t be true…I personally do not believe that.” My home town of Dexter has been in the national news a bit lately. It started when Congressman Tim “the Original Tea Partier” Walberg invited a resident of our Stars Hollow-like village, Julie Boonstra, to be his guest at President Obama’s State of the Union address as a “victim of Obamacare”. […]

Historic downtown Chelsea As you look at the photo of downtown Chelsea above, imagine 80 gravel trucks a day, 6 days a week rumbling through the middle of it and then back again after they dumped their load. That’s one truck every 4 minutes during daylight hours and that’s the reality of what will happen if McCoig Gravel, a subsidiary […]

If 2012 was the year of the “clown car,” the 2016 GOP presidential primary will be Reservoir Dogs. And the dogs have already started circling, as two savvy yet vicious politicians recognize the Tea Party is only big enough for one filibusterer. For the past few years, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul pretended to be friends and kept their divisions […]