DETROIT— A statement from Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey on the report that a $12 million, never-before-publicized bailout of the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan was slipped into the $617 million Detroit Public Schools bills package:“If true, today’s move by Gov. Rick Snyder to provide a $12 million bailout to the EAA schools, would be another shameful example of partisan politics trumping our responsibility to provide fair opportunity for Detroit’s children and their families. Instead of working to ensure that every child in our state gets a high-quality public education, this move would show Snyder’s willingness to double-down on a reform strategy that continues to hurt our children and stymie our city. The EAA and other one-size-fits-all approaches aren’t the answer to Detroit’s problems. Our students deserve safe, welcoming and thriving neighborhood public schools, and the DFT will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our students get every penny they deserve from Lansing.”[August 10, 2016]
