Education Beat: COVID-relief confusion for Flint schools after announcement by Trump administration
By Harold C. Ford Flint Community Schools (FCS) finds itself in increased fiscal uncertainty after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced on March 28, 2025, that the deadline on federal reimbursement for COVID-related projects was changed to that very day at 5 p.m. Prior to McMahon’s announcement, the deadline had been one year later – March 28, 2026 – for reimbursement of pre-approved projects. The amount in question...
Education Beat: Diminished enrollment and test data dismay Flint Board of Ed president
By Harold C. Ford “Evidently there is something missing.” – Joyce Ellis-McNeal, president, Flint Board of Education, Feb. 19, 2025 An outpouring of frustration by Flint Board of Education (FBOE) President Joyce Ellis-McNeal – fueled by persistently diminished student enrollment and less-than-average state test scores – was a centerpiece at the body’s 3.5-hour meeting on Feb. 19, 2025. Following a presentation by Wendell Greene and...
International Women’s Day Rally scheduled in Flint
By EVM Staff An International Women’s Day Rally is scheduled for this Saturday, March 8 at noon in Flint’s Willson Park. The event was organized by community members Megan Ropeta and Samantha J.L. Siebert and features a roster of performers and speakers, including Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan’s 8th District. “Megan Ropeta had the idea that our community needed this event, and we were connected by...
Press Release: City of Flint, Legal Services of Eastern Michigan to host free property tax foreclosure clinic
By EVM Staff The City of Flint is teaming up with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan and First Ward City Councilman Leon El-Alamin to offer a free property tax foreclosure clinic this Friday, March 7, 2025. According to a City of Flint press release on Tuesday, the event is meant to “assist residents in understanding their rights and exploring options to avoid foreclosure” and will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the...
FlintNOW Fund announces over $1.5m in grants to support the Flint community
By EVM Staff The FlintNOW Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF) announced its first round of grant funding in mid-February, totaling $1,595,000, to support what it called “essential programs” in the Flint community. The grants range from $50,000 to $500,000 to multiple organizations for projects in healthcare, education, and well-being: Communities First, Inc. was awarded $120,000 to support Safe Play at...
Mott Community College to host free screening of ‘St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood’
By Kate Stockrahm Mott Community College (MCC) will host a screening of the new PBS documentary “St. John Street: Story of a Neighborhood” on February 26, 2025. The documentary features first-person interviews “chronicling families in Flint who built a vibrant community” on the city’s north side before urban renewal and Interstate-475 displaced the more than 7,000, mostly Black residents that called the St. John neighborhood home....