By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

LANSING, Mich. – State lawmakers who want to pass serious education reforms, but are skittish about blowback from the teacher unions, can take heart.

A new poll finds that a significant majority of Michigan residents support newly passed reforms to tenure and teacher evaluations. A new Marketing Research Group survey finds that 79 percent of state residents support tenure reform; 72 percent support annual evaluations of teachers, using multiple measures; and 53 percent approve of ending “last in, first out” layoff practices for teachers, MLive.com reports.

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Those are encouraging numbers, especially considering that Michigan is a Big Labor “blue state” that is home to the (once-powerful) United Auto Workers.

Even more remarkable, the poll results come after the Michigan Education Association – the state’s largest teachers union – waged a lengthy campaign against Gov. Rick Snyder, in vain hopes of removing him from office. But Gov. Snyder’s not going anywhere, and neither are the reforms.

If Michigan is capable of passing groundbreaking education reforms with the support of a large majority of voters, then reform can occur nearly anywhere.

Stay strong, education reformers. Teacher unions make a lot noise, but they are no match for an idea whose time has come.