School & District Management

Michigan Governor Appoints New Emergency Manager for Detroit Schools

By Corey Mitchell — January 13, 2015 1 min read
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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed Darnell Earley as the next leader of the Detroit Public Schools.

Earley will replace outgoing emergency manager Jack Martin, whose 18-month tenure ends this week. To take the Detroit job, Earley will leave his current post as emergency manager for the city of Flint, where he has served since late 2013. His appointment was scheduled to end this spring.

Earley will be the fourth emergency manager of the Detroit school system, which has been under state oversight since March 2009. Under previous emergency managers, the district has lost tens of thousands of students, closed dozens of schools and struggled with persistent budget deficits.

“Educational achievement must be the focal point of all our efforts,” Earley said during a press coneference at Burton International Academy in Detroit.

Snyder made the announcement at Burton International Academy in Detroit.

“We have seen progress in (Detroit),” Snyder said while announcing Earley’s appointment. “This is one of the hardest jobs anyone could ever have.”

Documents released last month showed the deficit at $169.5 million, more than 30% higher than the $127-million figure that DPS officials said it was just a few months earlier, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Falling enrollment continues to be a concern as the 47,000-student district faces increased competition from charter and suburban schools.

Last month, officials from the Skillman Foundation and other groups formed a 31-member coalition tasked with finding ways to fix academic achievement, school finances and other problems surrounding education in Detroit, the Detroit News reports.

A version of this news article first appeared in the District Dossier blog.