State Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton

Thank you, President Obama! The 27th House District of Michigan is relieved to be able to move to the next phase of recovery from this devastating disaster.

White House Approves Michigan's Federal Disaster Declaration President Barack Obama has cleared the way for assistance in hard-hit Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Statement from State Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) on the resignation of Education Achievement Authority Chancellor John Covington:

"No one should be surprised to hear that Education Achievement Authority Chancellor John Covington has resigned, but that doesn’t resolve many problems with the failed EAA experiment. Covington’s three years in the EAA have been punctuated by a lack of leadership, mismanaged finances and poor educational outcomes. Under his direction, the EAA failed its students and their families, leaving the schools taken over by EAA in worse shape now than they were three years ago.

"It was clear that Covington had to step down, but that doesn’t mean the nightmare is over for kids in the 15 schools the EAA still operates. There is still no effective plan to improve those schools, and those kids still deserve a world-class education. Worse, Republicans in the Legislature are still considering expanding the disastrous EAA by putting more schools across the state under its control.

"While Covington displayed a severe lack of leadership, the problem with the EAA wasn’t Covington alone. The entire model is flawed, replacing community-run schools with a top-down Lansing bureaucracy, and replacing skilled and qualified teachers with ineffective computer software that didn’t challenge the students. Replacing Covington won’t fix those problems, and that is why we still must fight to end the EAA and bring real reform to Michigan schools."

Thank you . Kate Segal for spearheading a comprehensive insurance package of legislation that would offer REAL reform to consumers. I am proud to be sponsoring a bill in this package.