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Committee of Michigan lawmakers consider eliminating State Board of Education

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Some lawmakers in Lansing are debating whether the State Board of Education is necessary.

The resolution discussed at Thursday’s House education committee would do away with the state board, the board-appointed state superintendent, and the State Board for Public Community and Junior Colleges.

Instead, the governor would appoint a director for Michigan’s Department of Education.

Phil Power is with the think tank Center for Michigan. Power calls the current system confused and dysfunctional, “with no single person or institution responsible or capable of being held properly accountable for our miserable state of affairs.”          

Republican Representative Tim Kelly introduced the proposed changes.

“We need more accountability. And I think when you have the governor, the Senate, the House, state board, superintendent, all vying in this space it causes confusion and when everybody’s in charge, nobody’s in charge,” Kelly said.

But opponents say replacing an elected board with a position appointed by the governor would reduce the voice of voters.

“This measure clearly smacks in the face of communities having control over governmental operation, over public education. This is a push to erode democracy,” Jerome Reide, with the NAACP, said.

The resolution still has a long way to go. Because it would be an amendment to the state Constitution, it has to pass both the state House and Senate by a two-thirds majority. Then, voters would have to approve it.

Copyright 2017 Michigan Radio

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R