Highland Park school board member asks judge to halt Emergency Manager takeover

Board member says review team violated Open Meetings Act

Today, newly-minted Emergency Manager Jack Martin had his first day on the job. To celebrate the occasion, school board secretary Robert Davis asked a Lansing judge to issue a temporary restraining order, halting Martin from taking over.

A Highland Park school board member is asking a judge to void the recommendations of a state-led financial review team that resulted in the appointment of new Emergency Manager Jack Martin for the district.

Robert Davis, board secretary of the Highland Park School District, filed the emergency request Monday before Ingham County Judge William Collette, who will decide Feb. 8 whether to issue a temporary restraining order against the review team, Gov. Rick Snyder and state education Superintendent Mike Flanagan.

In the filing, Davis said the review team violated the state's Open Meetings Act by holding private meetings, failed to post public notices for those meetings and failing to keep meeting minutes.

A Highland Park school board member is asking a judge to void the recommendations of a state-led financial review team that resulted in the appointment of new Emergency Manager Jack Martin for the district.

Robert Davis, board secretary of the Highland Park School District, filed the emergency request Monday before Ingham County Judge William Collette, who will decide Feb. 8 whether to issue a temporary restraining order against the review team, Gov. Rick Snyder and state education Superintendent Mike Flanagan.

In the filing, Davis said the review team violated the state's Open Meetings Act by holding private meetings, failed to post public notices for those meetings and failing to keep meeting minutes.

This is the first such attempt since Governor Rick Snyder took office. I have been critical of Davis in the past because of his effort to unseat Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts simply because he took his oath of office a few weeks late. This effort, however, may have a bit more validity.

The school district has been fighting tooth and nail to control its own destiny. They believe the state has made things more difficult for them and is not helping at all.

"The district does have a plan to alleviate the crisis — it's called a Deficit Elimination Plan and it gives us targets to accomplish over a four-year period," said Randy Lane, financial director for the district. He testified before state treasury officials and members of an independent review team, which determined a financial emergency exists at HPS.

"An emergency manager is not needed in Highland Park Schools," Lane testified. "We have a competent staff that reflects the community that can solve problems."

Lane said the state has been well aware of financial problems in the district dating to 2007, and district officials have reduced the budget by 48 percent since 2009.

But over the last year, Lane said the state chose to use "a heavy hand" with the district, pulling money back when enrollment came in lower than projected, denying a request to defer state aid to avoid cash shortages and losing federal dollars. Those actions created some of the district's cash shortfalls, he argued.

"But no matter how hard we tried, the state decided not to work with us," Lane said.

As I have said before, Highland Park schools' problems are not primarily the result of mismanagement or corruption:

This situation is not primarily the result of mismanagement, it is the result of the fact that HPS student population has plummeted from around 3,000 to just over 1,000 in the past six years. Every student lost is money to the district lost and that is why they are struggling. Governor Snyder's answer is to shove the elected officials aside to come in and run things their own way which will surely include outsourcing everything not nailed down and eviscerating the collective bargaining agreements of teachers and other school staff.

Can someone please alert the tea party? I think we have a Nanny State clean up in aisle two.

Never a dull moment in Michigan these days, that's for sure.

Indiana Senate decisively passes Emergency Manager bill

Look out, Indiana! It's comin' right for ya!

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about Indiana's slide toward an Emergency Manager law of their own.

I have been wondering how long it would take for a state other than Michigan to pursue an Emergency Manager law. The wait is over. This week, a Republican-sponsored bill allowing the imposition of an Emergency Manager on a "distressed political subdivision" (i.e., a municipality or school district) passed out of committee and goes on to the full state Senate. [...]

Under the bill, Senate Bill 355, Emergency Managers have the power to, among other things, do the following:

• Review existing labor contracts
• Renegotiate existing labor contracts and act as an agent of the political subdivision in collective bargaining.
• Reduce or suspend salaries of the political subdivision's employees.
• Enter into agreements with other political subdivisions for the provision of services.

The bill differs in a few significant ways from Michigan's Public Act 4. First, the "political subdivision" must request a designation as "distressed" by filing a petition with the Distressed Unit Appeal Board. In Michigan, a "financial emergency" can be called by the state itself and does not require the municipality or school district to ask first.

Today, the full Indiana Senate passed the bill on a stunning 45-5 vote.

Legislation giving a state board authority to appoint an emergency manager to oversee a cash-strapped local government’s finances passed the Indiana Senate, 45-5, on Monday.

The bill’s author, state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, reintroduced the bill this year after removing the ability for a local government to file bankruptcy. Charbonneau said the bankruptcy provision killed the bill last session.

“This bill is basically the same bill with one exception,” Charbonneau said. “It removes the option to go to bankruptcy as a final step in the process. It was an issue that caused a lot of controversy last year.”

It's a slippery slope, Indiana. Be very, very careful. Michigan was where you are today not all that long ago and we're very close to having over half the African Americans in our state without local democratic representation.

Monday afternoon Emergency Manager news round-up - UPDATED

Anyone wanna buy a sewer?

Lotsa Emergency Manager tidbits to report today.

1. Highland Park schools Emergency Manager takes the reins
   As I reported last Friday, a new Emergency Manager has been appointed in Michigan, this time it's the Highland Park school district that has been taken over. You can read about Jack Martin HERE. He's also on the team that is looking over Detroit's finances which has raised some eyebrows.
   
   UPDATE: A community group has formed to oppose the imposition of a Emergency Manager for Highland Park schools:
   
   

   Community leaders opposing Highland Park Schools new emergency financial manager held a news conference Monday to make sure their thoughts were known.
   
   The group announced the formation of the Financial and Academic Reinvestment Commission. The group says FARC “will take a holistic approach to solving local governance issues through the development of forward-thinking public policy to address investment, cost-savings and new models of educational access and providing essential services. “
   
   Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, said the group will find ways to help the city without the aid of state-appointed emergency manager Jack Martin.
   
   “You’re not going to see cities rebuilt. You’re not going to see school districts repaired and ready to teach children if there’s going to be no reinvestment,” Johnson said.

   
   
2. Flint's Emergency Manager says water and sewer system may go up for sale
   Flint Emergency Manager Michael Brown is considering putting the city's water and sewer system up for sale.
   
   

   The city's emergency manager is considering selling off Flint's water and sewer plants to the highest bidder, potentially generating a one-time windfall of millions of dollars to help steady the city's shaky finances.
   
   Emergency Manager Michael Brown confirmed that a sale of the plants is among the options under review by his office and said he is "nowhere near a decision on that."
   
   "We have said everything is on the table," Brown said. "Examining our assets (is) all part of the analysis."
   
   Brown isn't discussing specifics, including whether a sale might involve the entire water and sewer systems, including the pipes that carry waste and water to homes and businesses.
   
   Word that Brown was considering such a sale came from Genesee County officials, who believe the move would complicate and set back the proposed water pipeline to Lake Huron.

   
   
3. Poll indicates more Michiganders dislike PA 4 than like it
   A Detroit Free Press/WXYZ poll says that more Michigander surveyed would repeal Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager law, than would keep it.
   
   

   A new law enacted last year increases the powers of emergency financial managers appointed by the State to manage local governments or school districts experiencing serious financial problems. Under the law, all powers could be transferred from local elected officials to emergency financial managers. Employee contracts could be voided, payments to vendors and businesses for services could be renegotiated and reduced, and, local governments or school districts could be dissolved, if approved by the Governor. Flint, Pontiac, Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Detroit Schools and Highland Park Schools have emergency financial managers in place, and one may soon be named for the City of Detroit. If enough petition signatures are collected by opponents of the law, a referendum may appear on the November ballot. If a referendum appears on the ballot, if the election were held today, would you vote “yes” to keep the law, or “no” to reject it?
   
   

   • Would vote “yes” to keep the law – 42%
   • Would vote “no” to reject it – 45%
   • Undecided/Refused – 13%

   
   The City of Detroit is likely to run out of money to fund city operations within the next few months. What do you think should be done to address the financial situation in Detroit?
   
   

   • Let Detroit solve its own financial problems without state involvement – 15%
   • The State should appoint an emergency financial manager to take over financial operations – 31%
   • The State should work with the Mayor and City Council to reach a consent agreement on city finances. – 50%
   • Undecided/Refused – 4%

   
   The Huffington Post dug into the numbers and finds that white Republican men are the biggest proponents for Public Act 4:
   
   

   The Free Press/WXYZ poll found 42 percent of respondents would vote to keep Public Act 4, and 45 percent would vote to reject it. Statewide, men were more likely to favor the emergency manager law than women (51 percent to 35 percent), and Republicans favored it much more heavily than Democrats (60 percent to 26 percent).
   
   The poll sampled all Michigan voters, not those residents of the municipalities and school districts currently affected by the emergency manager law. Each of those communities are majority African-American, and the poll did show black people would vote to reject the law 65 percent to 23 percent.

   
   Much more after the jump.
   

There's MORE after the jump! »

Allen West: People who disagree with me (like Pres. Obama) should "get the hell out of the USA"

Deport the democrats!

Congressman Allen West doesn't like anyone who disagrees with him and his politics. He doesn't even want them in the country. This past weekend, he said that President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz should "get the hell out of the United States of America":

West gave a 10 minute speech at the Lincoln Day Dinner, telling a very approving audience that, “We need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and my dear friend the chairman of the Democratic National Committee (Debbie Wasserman Schultz), let them know Florida ain’t on the table.”

West then told his rivals to, “Take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else. You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.”

I grew up during a time when Archie Bunker types told anyone who disagreed with the President of the United States and his policies to "love it or leave it". This is a bizarre twist on that where the popularly-elected President of the United States of America and his colleagues are being told to leave the country because they disagree with a pathetic minority on our path forward.

How the hell do we lose elections to idiots like this???

Governor Rick Snyder disses President Obama during his visit to Michigan

President schmesident

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder snubbed President Obama during his visit to Michigan last Friday. Instead of attending the speech at the University of Michigan, Governor Snyder instead gave a speech in Grand Rapids at the Michigan Press Association (MPA) convention. He also didn't greet the President when he arrived in Michigan on Thursday night.

[W]hen he got the invitation to meet with Obama when he visits Michigan today, Snyder's spokeswoman Sarah Wurfel, said, "We can't make it work."

Snyder was to give a speech to the Michigan Townships Association annual meeting Thursday night in Detroit when Obama was arriving at Metro Airport. And the governor is to speak at noon today at the Michigan Press Association's annual meeting in Grand Rapids.

I guess it's better than the greeting he got from the Governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer...

Last Day - First quarter fundraising drive

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to the fundraising drive this week. As I have said to most of you, I will do everything I can to earn your donation.

There are two things I plan to use the donations for in the coming year. First, I will be purchasing electronic subscriptions to the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and the New York Times as well as increasing my monthly contribution to Michigan Public Radio. Why should I do this when their content is online for free? Because good reporting must be paid for and supported financially. You wouldn't just walk into your local store, pick up a newspaper and walk out again without paying. But that's essentially what we do when we read online content that we aren't paying for.

Since these four media outlets are the ones I turn to most for news and information, I need to be supporting that and so, too, will YOU through your donations.

Second, I will be purchasing a wireless card for my Mac that will allow me to access the internet when there is no wireless network available. Being able to access the internet during liveblogging (or other) situations will mean a better, more rich live reporting experience. In fact, if any of you have advice on this hardware, shoot me an email

Thank you once again to everyone who has already contributed. If you haven't yet made a donation and value what you read at Eclectablog and the service I provide, you can help me continue to do so by making a donation here:

If you would prefer to send a check, shoot me an email (link is right under my logo at the top left of the page) and I can give you my mailing address as I have done for several others.

I'm also looking for advertisers for February and beyond. Ads start at $65. If you are thinking of making a donation in that range or can pool your donation with others, YOU can be an advertiser on Eclectablog. It's a new model I'm trying out and I think it can work.

In addition, if you are involved with a progressive organization that is looking for a way to put your message in front of progressive readers, particularly those in the Midwest, advertising on Eclectablog is a very affordable way to be seen and a great way to spend some of your media/marketing dollars.

Contact me at the contact link below my logo for details.

One more thing: if you can't afford to make a donation, please consider sharing the good word about Eclectablog. Tell your friends about it. Follow me on Twitter and suggest it to your friends. Like my Eclectablog Facebook page and share it with your friends. The more traffic I get, the more successful we will be in spreading the word.

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far and for your continued support of this website.

- Chris

More photos, video and interactive content from President Obama's visit to Ann Arbor

Picture this

My wife has put up an amazing multi-media post from yesterday's visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan at her blog Politics in Pictures.

If you were there, you can look for yourself in a fully interactive panoramic image (you can even make it go fullscreen and zoom in and out!) If you don't see yourself, you can also look for your face in this amazing widescreen image:


Click image for much larger version.

There is also some video and LOTS of still images.



I highly commend your attention to her terrific post. It's amazing and not something you'll find anywhere else.

P.S. Want to know why President Obama is emphasizing higher education at the moment? According to Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, it's because he wants to brainwash as many college students as possible:

"It's no wonder President Obama wants every kid to go college," Santorum said Wednesday in Florida, according to CBS News. "The indoctrination that occurs in American universities is one of the keys to the left holding and maintaining power in America. And it is indoctrination. If it was the other way around, the ACLU would be out there making sure there wasn't one penny of government dollars going to colleges and universities, right?"

H/T Meteor Blades at Daily Kos.

Day 6 - First quarter fundraising drive

It's sorta like NPR, only different

Hi, folks. I'm winding down my first fundraising drive here at Eclectablog. The response has been excellent and very gratifying.

The new media landscape these days makes it very difficult to earn a living doing what I do. Journalists are not being hired and most online content is free. There are really no existing models for monetizing a blog unless you are a HUGE blog and can generate significant ad revenue. I'm working on that but, well, it takes time.

So, if you value what you read here, if you think what I'm doing is worthy of your support, please consider dropping a small (or large!) donation in the Eclectablog Tip Jar™. Even small donations are appreciated.

Think about it: where else would you get the comprehensive coverage of President Obama's visit to Ann Arbor like you got here yesterday? Photos, video, quotes, photos, links to relevant news stories, a full transcript, more photos. It takes an enormous amount of effort to put this all together.

What is that worth to you? You can let me know here:

I'm also looking for advertisers for February and beyond. Ads start at $65. If you are thinking of making a donation in that range or can pool your donation with others, YOU can be an advertiser on Eclectablog. It's a new model I'm trying out and I think it can work.

In addition, if you are involved with a progressive organization that is looking for a way to put your message in front of progressive readers, particularly those in the Midwest, advertising on Eclectablog is a very affordable way to be seen and a great way to spend some of your media/marketing dollars.

Contact me at the contact link below my logo for details.

One more thing: if you can't afford to make a donation, please consider sharing the good word about Eclectablog. Tell your friends about it. Follow me on Twitter and suggest it to your friends. Like my Eclectablog Facebook page and share it with your friends. The more traffic I get, the more successful we will be in spreading the word.

Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed so far and for your continued support of this website.

- Chris

Today's Moment of Derp - "I don't know how you regulate common, everyday things such as driving while impaired"

Ummm...what?

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox on legalizing marijuana:

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox admitted Friday he smoked pot when he was in high school during the 1970s. But during a symposium on the impact of marijuana reform, Cox stressed there are practical problems in legalizing marijuana, and that's why he wouldn't support changes some activists in Michigan are seeking.

"I am not for it mostly because I don't know how you regulate common, everyday things such as driving while impaired," said Cox, a Republican. "If it becomes legal, I don't think I'll ever use it again. That being said, philosophically I am not against it. They haven't come up with a good way to regulate in the workplace or driving to measure it and deal with it."

Imagine if there were liquids you could drink, liquids you could go down to the grocery store to buy and then drink, that could impair you in some way. Impair your judgement and your coordination. Imagine trying to regulate liquids like that. How the heck would you even do that???

This has been your Friday evening Moment of Derp™. You're welcome

Highland Park schools get their Emergency Manager after all

Not like we didn't see it coming or anything...

As predicted, Highland Park schools have been assigned an Emergency Manager

LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday confirmed an emergency manager in Highland Park Schools and appointed certified public accountant Jack Martin to take over the troubled district.

Martin’s appointment is effective Monday. The move was not unexpected after a review team recently recommended appointment of an emergency manager, citing the growth in the school district’s deficit to $11.3 million, among other factors.

Martin, founder and chairman of Martin, Arrington, Desai & Meyers PC, is the former chief financial officer for the U.S. Department of Education.

I'm too tired of reporting this stuff to have anything to say at this point.

Le sigh...