I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Detroit Public Schools’ new Emergency Manager, Roy Roberts, announced yesterday that he will scale back a plan to turn a third of the city’s schools into charter schools by next year.
Roberts called the DPS Renaissance 2012 plan, developed by his predecessor Robert Bobb, “overly ambitious.”
In April Bobb began accepting proposals from charter school operators interested in taking over 45 city schools.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
Of the 19 local and national companies that submitted bids to charter as many as 50 DPS buildings, three small local companies have been chosen to run five low-performing elementary schools. The selected companies have produced high test scores among low-income charter school students, data show.
“We decided a go slow strategy was best,” Roberts said. “The main concern for Detroit Public Schools should be creating the best educational opportunities.”
The move to charter schools was originally billed as a way to save money — the district is facing a $327 million budget deficit.
Western Michigan University researcher Gary Miron told the Press that Detroit’s approach to charter schools runs counter to the intent of the law that authorized charter schools in Michigan.
“We should call it franchise schools or corporate schooling,” he said.
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