Human resource management (HRM), particularly within urban public school districts, cannot generate adequate resources to compensate for inflation and cannot offer adequate instructional programs similar to those found in larger districts, resulting in inequity in educational opportunities. Studies have emphasized the importance of staffing…

This mixed-methods case study examines the emergency financial management legislation enacted in Michigan from 2009 to 2018 as an education policy for governance reform in three local school districts: Detroit, Highland Park, and Muskegon Heights. From its inception, the emergency financial manager law was an intervention strategy for local…

State takeover has become a consistent policy prescription for school districts who become financially insolvent and/or have low academic achievement. A look at the state of Michigan's state takeover laws and the case study of Detroit Public Schools (DPS) demonstrates the negative consequences and nuances of the policy to improve academic…

In response to an education-market demand to provide equitable solutions for underserved populations, the State of Michigan passed legislation that created public school academies (i.e., charter public schools) to leverage marketplace competition that addresses supply and demand among high-quality schools. Detroit, Michigan, has a large number of…

If big-city districts are looking to close budget gaps, shuttering schools may not be the best strategy. Closing schools does not save very much money in the context of an urban district's budget, and selling or leasing surplus school buildings tends to be difficult because they're often old and in struggling neighborhoods, a recent report from a…

As the City of Detroit emerges from municipal bankruptcy, the imperative for school improvement takes on an urgency rarely witnessed in a U.S. city. If the city is to experience the redevelopment boom that many now anticipate, its public schools must improve. While a variety of different reform strategies are possible, the establishment of a…

During the last 20 years, the United States has experienced more attempts at education reform than at any other time in its history. Efforts to reform financing, the assessment of student performance, accountability and equity, and school choice have all been implemented--with varying levels of success. Michael F. Addonizio and C. Philip Kearney…

This study examined student achievement in Michigan public school districts to determine if rural school districts are demonstrating greater financial efficiency by producing higher levels of student achievement than school districts in other geographic locations with similar socioeconomics. Three models were developed using multiple regression…

Robert C. Bobb, the state-appointed emergency financial manager of the Detroit public school system, may have the biggest "turnaround" job in the nation. The district, with an annual budget of $1.2 billion, has a deficit projected to be $259 million and growing. Over the past 10 years, about half of the district's students have left,…

The recent appointment of a new superintendent, the need for priority-setting in the face of dramatic state budget cuts, and increased national attention on school reform have elevated the performance of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to the forefront of local media and civic attention. Consequently, the need for an understandable and commonly…

This research examines the financial profiles of 550 public school districts in Michigan and highlights the association between school district fund balance and the following eleven indicators: enrollment, percent enrollment change, percent of students receive free and reduced lunch (FRL), percent of special education students, percent of English…

The Detroit Healthy Youth Initiative is a 10-year partnership between the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and Wayne State University (WSU) with the goal of improving the quality of school health and physical education programs throughout the city schools. Drawing on the experiences of WSU and DPS faculty, administrators, teachers, and project staff,…

In recent years policymakers have increasingly looked to Extended Learning Time (ELT) as a means of improving student outcomes. As a result, some school districts have increased academic time for students by adding time to the school day or days to the school year. In other communities, schools and community-based organizations have partnered to…

On November 10, 2005, then Superintendent of the Kalamazoo Public School System, Janice Brown announced--to the surprise of Kalamazoo's residents--the beginning of the Kalamazoo Promise. Fully funded by a set of anonymous donors, the Kalamazoo Promise is an urban revitalization program that offers up to four years of free tuition to any public…

In the passionate debates over providing equal educational opportunity for all children, it's frequently argued that large financial inequities create challenges for many public schools, particularly those in lower-income urban areas. This study compares the revenues and operating expenditures of Michigan's urban, suburban, town and rural school…