What a difference a national crisis makes!
Governor Rick Snyder’s announcement that DPS Emergency Manager Darnell Earley is stepping down about 4 months early, is a move in the right direction. It has become abundantly clear that Snyder’s Detroit Public Schools reform legislation has no chance of passage with Earley in charge. He has lost the confidence of too many teachers, parents, elected and community leaders.
Earley said he finished his state assignment ahead of schedule. Snyder said Earley did a good job under difficult circumstances. But our Action News investigations by reporter Kim Russell don’t completely support that. With Earley’s name attached to both the Flint water crisis and DPS teacher sick-outs, he has become a major distraction.
The goal is to fix the financial and academic problems that have plagued the Detroit Public Schools and its students for years! The clock is ticking. DPS could be insolvent by April. Important legislative hearings to address the future of DPS are now underway in Lansing.
Michigan is constitutionally mandated to guarantee every public school student a quality education. State elected officials and the Detroit community of parents, educators and community leaders owe it to 47-thousand DPS students to take this charge seriously! Now is the time for a long-term, bi-partisan solution to correct too many years of failure and mismanagement.
I’m Mike Murri, Vice President & General Manager
Broadcast: February 4 - 7, 2016
