Education Beat: Last month at the Flint Ed. Board: a first step for Central, officer elections, bye bye to the balanced calendar, a $700k settlement and more
By Harold C. Ford By any measure, January 2025 was a consequential month for Flint Community Schools (FCS) and its school board. Most newsworthy, perhaps, was a kick-start to the possible reopening of long-abandoned Flint Central High School, which EVM covered earlier this month. Other important developments included the election of officers by the Flint Board of Education (FBOE), abandonment of the district’s balanced...
Education Beat: Flint Community Schools moves to upgrade, reopen Flint Central campus
By Harold C. Ford Flint Community Schools (FCS) is taking preliminary steps toward an upgrade and reopening of its Flint Central High School campus, which was shuttered by the district in 2009. With a unanimous 7-0 vote at its Jan. 22, 2025 meeting, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) approved a contract with Plante Moran Realpoint (PMR) to begin preliminary work at a cost of $120,000, or $15,000 monthly over an eight-month period....
Education Beat: Flint Schools: Academic improvement clouded by financial challenges
By Harold C. Ford During his recent visit to Flint Community Schools (FCS), Michigan Superintendent of Instruction Michael Rice both lauded the district’s recent academic achievements and tempered that praise with concerns around the district’s budget. “I want to commend the district for progress under the partnership agreement,” Rice said during an appearance before the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) on Dec. 18, 2024. Initially,...
Deadlock and Dysfunction: Flint City Council and beyond
By Paul Rozycki I don’t know if the Guinness Book of World Records awards the longest series of votes by a government body that resolved nothing, but, if it does, Flint City Council should be in the running. Within the last few months the council voted 449 times in an attempt to select a presiding officer and failed to do so, as reported by Mid-Michigan Now. It also failed to fill the vacant seat of Councilman Quincy Murphy, who...
Commentary: How to explain the cult-like appeal of Trump
By Paul Rozycki For the last decade, since he rode down the escalator in Trump Tower in 2015, Donald Trump has been a dominant factor in American politics. He lost the popular vote but won an Electoral College victory in 2016. He lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College in 2020. Then, he won both in 2024. Above and beyond the specific factors that won Trump the victory this year, he has a unique cult-like following that...
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