Not unexpected, just another drop in a torrent: Governor Rick Snyder has declared a financial emergency in Highland Park, and will appoint an Emergency Manager. Gov. Rick Snyder today said he would appoint an emergency manager to oversee the financially troubled Highland Park School District – just hours before state officials announced they are reluctantly giving the district a $188,000 […]

The Emergency Manager juggernaut continues to roll unabated in Michigan. In early December, I reported that Muskegon Heights school district was requesting an Emergency Manager and that a state review had been initiated. Yesterday, the Snyder administration added Highland Park schools to the list. An emergency manager may soon take charge of the Highland Park School District. A state review […]

One of the main points I have raised repeatedly since the passage of Michigan’s Emergency Manager law, Public Act 4, is that the imposition of an Emergency Manager (EM) does little, if anything, to solve the underlying problems that bring municipalities and school districts to the crisis point where an EM is deemed necessary. With Joe Harris set to depart […]

Back in July, the superintendent of Northville Public Schools used the threat of an Emergency Manager to try to force union concessions. Now it’s Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s turn. Bing is threatening to bring in an Emergency Manager, too, and for the same reason. The City of Detroit is sliding closer to insolvency and may soon require the intervention of […]

Flint appears to be the next city in line for an Emergency Manager in Michigan. With only a $2 million deficit, it is still undergoing the initial review process. This is odd because, as Brandon Jessup of Michigan Forward notes, other cities with much larger problems have had their requests for an EM denied. Interesting, though is how Flint, facing […]