Contents of this issue:
- DPS sues former employees for allegedly issuing illicit contracts
- GVSU decides not to reauthorize Kalamazoo charter school
- Court of Appeals sides with schools in reporting cost case
- Student expelled after attack on freshman
- Plainwell schools add hours for struggling students
DPS SUES FORMER EMPLOYEES FOR ALLEGEDLY ISSUING ILLICIT CONTRACTS
DETROIT — The Detroit Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against
one of its former department managers for allegedly issuing more
than $45 million in unauthorized contracts, according to The
Detroit News.
The lawsuit claims that Stephen Hill, who managed the DPS' Risk
Management Office from 2001 to 2007, established these contracts
by ignoring accounting procedures and creating a computer system
separate from the district's network. According to The News, the
lawsuit also alleges that Hill received kickbacks and that the
contracts in question produced few services in return for the
school district's payments.
Hill's assistant at the time is also named as a defendant in the
lawsuit, according to The News. The News reported that no
criminal charges had been filed at that time.
SOURCE:
The Detroit News, "Lawsuit: Former DPS employee created
elaborate scheme to pay cronies," July 1, 2008
https://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080701/METRO/ 807010424/1409/METRO
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "Financial scandals exposed in
Michigan school districts," Nov. 17, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4835
GVSU DECIDES NOT TO REAUTHORIZE KALAMAZOO CHARTER SCHOOL
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Grand Valley State University has declined to
renew the charter of Kalamazoo's Advantage Academy, according to
the Kalamazoo Gazette.
GVSU cites consistently poor performance and decreasing
enrollment as reasons for closing the school. The Gazette
reports that the school has met federal Annual Yearly Progress
targets for the last two years, and that many believe it should
stay open.
"I'd keep (the school) open," said Sharif Shakrani, co-director
of Michigan State University's Center for Education Policy,
according to the Gazette. "My analysis indicates they're making
significant progress. ... Usually you would close a school when
it's regressing, but this school is getting better, not worse."
Shakrani developed an analysis of the school's progress that was
"carefully reviewed" by the GVSU Charter School Office,
according to Ed Richardson, the head of the office.
"Nothing in [that analysis] makes us think that our decision not
to renew the contract was incorrect," Richardson said in an e-mailed statement, the Gazette reported.
SOURCE:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Closing of Kalamazoo Advantage Academy a
lesson in complexity of charter schools," July 4, 2008
http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2008/07/closing_of_kalamazoo_advantage.html
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Charter Schools Don't Need
More Michigan Department of Education 'Oversight,'"
Aug. 12, 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5670
COURT OF APPEALS SIDES WITH SCHOOLS IN REPORTING COST CASE
LANSING, Mich. — The state Court of Appeals ruled that state
officials have been shortchanging school districts by not
compensating them for changes in reporting requirements,
according to the Detroit Free Press.
The judges unanimously ruled that the governor and Legislature
violated the Headlee amendment to the Michigan Constitution by
requiring districts to report more performance information
without additional funding. The reporting changes add between
$50 million and $100 million to local districts' costs annually,
according to a lawyer who represented taxpayers from 460
Michigan school districts in the case.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "Court: Mich. Schools forced to bear
reporting costs," July 7, 2008
https://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/NEWS06/ 80707047
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Headlee Amendment:
Serving Michigan for 25 years" Aug. 4, 2003
https://www.mackinac.org/5574
STUDENT EXPELLED AFTER ATTACK ON FRESHMAN
WAYLAND, Mich. — A student from Wayland Union High School was
expelled for her alleged role in a videotaped attack of a
freshman student, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette.
The Gazette reported that another freshman girl apparently
participated in the attack, but that according to the district's
superintendent, the girl could not be disciplined by the
district because she had moved away. The two girls, however,
have reportedly been charged with aggravated assault and could
face one year in a juvenile detention center and $1,000 in
fines. Police have also investigated the student who held the
camera during the attack, the Gazette reported.
The 14-year-old victim was cut and bruised. According to the
Gazette, suspects told the police they did not agree with her
support for gay rights.
SOURCE:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Wayland student expelled after attack on
freshman," July 1, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1214923849 283690.xml&coll=7
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Report, "The three P's of school safety:
parents, prevention, and police," Nov. 1, 2000
https://www.educationreport.org/3134
PLAINWELL SCHOOLS ADD HOURS FOR STRUGGLING STUDENTS
PLAINWELL, Mich. — Dozens of Plainwell elementary school
students who have trouble reading will come to school an hour
early next fall, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Previously, students with reading competency problems were
removed from class during science or social studies to work in
small groups with reading instructors.
"There are some who thought this was an issue because the
students were missing other opportunities," Curriculum Director
Bob Van Dis told the Gazette. "Plus, these topics help the
students develop reading fluency."
SOURCE:
Kalamazoo Gazette, "Schools add hours for reading help,"
July 5, 2008
https://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1215231616 149620.xml&coll=7
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest,"'Reading Recovery' is no such thing"
April 25, 2001
https://www.educationreport.org/3430
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org),
an online newspaper
published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
(
https://www.mackinac.org),
a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan
research and educational institute.
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