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Education Beat : Two days, two memos, two views of Flint school district: Superintendent elevates “positive stories”; teachers’ union cites “grave concerns”
By Harold C. Ford Within two days, two memos with two different views were issued by the superintendent and teachers’ union leaders at Flint Community Schools (FCS). FCS Superintendent Jones On May 5, FCS Superintendent Kevelin Jones issued a statement that attempted to elevate the “positive stories happening in our district every single day.” An excerpt from that memo: “We know there is an influx of negativity surrounding the district, whether that is out in the community on social media or in the news. We are working with the Board of...
read moreImmigration Advanced as a Strategy for Stabilizing, Growing Flint
By Harold C. Ford “This is the ultimate win-win.” –John Austin, Michigan Economic Center, March 29, 2023 The International Center of Greater Flint (ICGF) recently assembled about 40 people representing nearly 20 organizations at the Flint Public Library March 29 to promote immigration as an approach to growing the population and economy of the greater Flint community. Phyllis Sykes and Adil Mohammed, co-founders of ICGF were organizers of the event, co-hosted by Greater Flint Health Coalition. Sykes was moderator. “The increase in...
read moreActress brings iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “cranky” and very human, to life in “All Things Equal” Thursday May 4 at The Whiting
By Tom Travis “How do we fill in the gaps of her very public persona?” Actress Michelle Azar said that question propelled her as she relied on books and movies to tell the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RPG) in a new play by playwright Rupert Holmes. The play depicts “human” moments showing RBG to be cranky, not getting enough sleep and even sexual. “What are those human moments like? How human can we make her? What kind of license do we have to portray these moments from her life?” Azar said. The answers to...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – May 2023
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreEducation Beat Flint Community Schools: Assistant Superintendent Keiona Murphy Resigns; Terae King Removed as Flint Board Vice-President; Charges of Racism Block Bid to Make MacIntyre Treasurer
By Harold C. Ford “We have met the enemy and he is us.” –Cartoonist Walt Kelly’s Earth Day 1970 parody of a similar statement by Master Commandant Oliver Perry in the War of 1812 The resignation of Keiona Murphy, assistant superintendent for Flint Community Schools (FCS), was announced by Superintendent Kevelin Jones in a statement made available to the public April 25. Later the same day, four members of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) Trustees Laura MacIntyre, Joyce Ellis-McNeal, Melody Relerford, and Claudia Perkins, board secretary –...
read moreUM – Flint tenured faculty begin unionization efforts, propelled by governance, pay, work life, university climate concerns
By Jan Worth-Nelson The tenured and tenure-track faculty at the University of Michigan – Flint (UMF) have begun efforts to unionize. A group of about 16 organizers have been meeting, circulating information and membership cards, and consulting with eligible colleagues. The union would be called UMF AFT-AAUP Local 5671 [American Federation of Teachers — American Association of University Professors, affiliating with a labor union representing more than 270,000 higher education workers nationwide. They say they are propelled by...
read moreIs it time to unelect the electors?
By Paul Rozycki In the United States we elect over 500,000 individuals to office. Every election year, the voters choose who will be their governors, senators, state representatives, mayors, city council members, judges, county commissioners, school board members, township clerks, drain commissioners, and perhaps an occasional dog-catcher here and there. And all of those individuals are chosen based on one cardinal rule. Whoever gets the most votes wins. With one exception. The President of the United States. We elect the president by way of...
read moreIconic Saginaw Street brick replacement underway; $5 million project to continue through 2024
By Elizabeth Ireland-Curtis The iconic bricks on Saginaw Street, along with the Weather Ball are part of Flint’s identity and history. The bricks on Saginaw are being replaced in a two-year project that began Monday, April 10. Mayor Sheldon Neeley presented plans for the historic restoration at a press conference that same day. A website, FixTheBricksFlint.com, can be accessed by residents for street closings and updates. City Engineer Mark Adas said he hopes to make the project “as painless as possible” which, when completed by the end...
read moreEducation Beat: Turmoil at the top continues at Flint Community Schools
By Harold C. Ford Editor’s note – This article has been updated naming the former FCS employee who received the $61,000 retirement payout. The tumult that has plagued the leadership team(s) at Flint Community Schools (FCS) in recent years was fully on display in and around the April 12 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE). Michael Clack, board president, announced an investigation by the Michigan State Police (MSP) into an alleged excessive retirement payout of $61,000 to Monaca Elston,...
read moreVillage Life: Flint’s “coney culture” fed us, brought us together, inspired art, music, literature, poetry — and even some brawls, presenters declare
By Jan Worth-Nelson One thing was clear as a sell-out crowd lined up for their food Saturday in a big meeting room at — where else — Koegel Meats, the origin and home of the legendary frankfurter. The coney is more than a hot dog. The “Salute to Flint’s Coney Culture” sponsored by the Genesee County Historical Society, started with a simple formula: volunteers doling out a well-grilled dog slipped into a bun, sauce from the Starlight Diner, buns from Mr. Bread, plenty of mustard and chopped onions. Little bags...
read moreCity council announces budget hearings for April and May; new CFO joins hearing
By Tom Travis The city council has announced a series of four hearings on the city’s 2023-2024 budget between April 12 and May 15. The hearings will allow city council and members of the public an opportunity to hear from department heads on their budgets and to ask questions. City Clerk Davina Donohue explained to the three council members present (Quincy Murphy (Ward 3), Judy Priestley (Ward 4) and Tonya Burns (Ward 6)) for Wednesday’s hearing that quorum is not required for a hearing to take place. During hearings the council...
read moreCity Council Beat: “I’ve never seen it this bad” City’s sewer system supervisor on raw sewage back ups
By Tom Travis Despite shouting, near physical fights, repeated racial slurs, and loss of quorum that have continued to characterize a dysfunctional Flint City Council, the elected body still managed to conduct some of the people’s business. Those actions included acceptance of $21 million in grants — for an upgraded pump station, for St. John’s Street neighborhood, for Choice Neighborhoods assistance to the Genesee County Land Bank. Their actions also included allocation of $350,000 for a “cold case unit” for...
read moreRemembering Viola Liuzzo, murdered 58 years ago in the cause of voting rights: a personal reflection
By Harold C. Ford Viola, Viola you laid your young life down, From Selma to heaven, 3 Ks took you out, Colorblind angel battled bigotry, Viola, Viola lives on in history. –“Color Blind Angel,” Robin Rodgers, 2008 [Author’s note: I was moved to write this personal reflection when my son Justin Ford gifted me a book: From Selma to Sorrow, The Life and Death of Viola Liuzzo, by Mary Stanton, University of Georgia Press, 1998. This review of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march and the murder of Viola Liuzzo includes excerpts from...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – April 2023
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreVillage Life: A comfy leather couch, a wide bay window and spilling my guts
By Tom Travis Twice a month I drive 20 minutes to sit on a long leather couch, long enough for about five people. From that couch I look out a big bay window and I spill my guts. Or, as my therapist says, to get “psychoanalyzed.” I tend to be very private and have found it difficult to share with friends when I’m struggling. Over the years I’ve seen about four or five different therapists, counselors or clinical psychologists. I’ve never been diagnosed with a mental health issue by a professional. I’ve...
read moreEducation Beat: Glimpses of possible paths forward for Flint’s public schools include “6 Month Focus” and images of new high school campus
By Harold C. Ford Amid the din of Flint’s newly-assembled school panel searching for productive equilibrium, two glimpses of possible paths forward have recently emerged: Prior to its March 15 meeting ending in considerable chaos, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) unanimously adopted a document titled “Superintendents Proposed 6 Month Focus.” The five-page document, amended before its passage, was affirmed by all seven members, a rare happenstance recently on an issue of consequence. Images of a new secondary school complex on the site of...
read moreYard waste collection begins in Flint April 3
Yard waste collection begins April 3 in Flint Yard waste collection begins Monday, April 3 for Flint residents. Yard waste is picked up weekly on residents’ normal trash collection days through Dec, 1, 2023. A separate truck collects yard waste on the same day as residents’ regularly scheduled trash day. How yard waste should be placed at the curb Compost materials should be placed at the curb at least 10 feet from regular trash no later than 7 a.m. on pickup day. Acceptable yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves, shrubs and brush...
read more“This budget offers a level of stability” Mayor Neeley – an increase of $13 million from previous year
By Tom Travis Update: This article has been updated on March 27, 2023 to reflect more information from the Mayor and the city’s 2024 budget. Please note that entire city budget is available at the end of the article. And also, here. “This budget offers a level of stability,” Mayor Sheldon Neeley declared in his budget presentation to City Council’s Finance Committee. The 2024 proposed budget of $63 million reflects an increase of more than $9 million from the 2022 budget and a $13 million increase from the 2023 budget....
read moreEducation Beat Analysis: Flint’s public schools tipping into arguable freefall
By Harold C. Ford As the newly-constituted Flint Board of Education is beginning to look a lot like the old board, with chaos repeatedly breaking out, a multitude of sobering realities about the school district are undeniable. Arguably, Flint’s public schools are in freefall. Its student population has fallen from around 40,000 a few decades ago to about 3,000 at present. Though economic malaise and population loss explain away most of that loss,approximately two-thirds of K-12 students and their parents that reside in Flint opt...
read moreEducation Beat Analysis: March 15 Flint School Board meeting collapses into chaos
By Harold C. Ford “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” –The Who’s Peter Townshend, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” 1971 After a few months of fragile collegiality sprinkled with polite platitudes, the newest iteration of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) has descended into a chaotic reminder of what board-watchers have regrettably witnessed again and again in recent years. The March 15, 2023 affair signaled, perhaps, a local, modern-day version of the infamous Ides of March. The very public bad-blood board relationships continued at the...
read moreBook Bans: What’s the real motive?
By Paul Rozycki “Controversial LGBTQ+ memoir the subject of heated Lapeer library meeting” (MLive, March 17, 2023) That was the headline of a story about a recent Lapeer District Library Board meeting where a crowded room of local residents attacked and denounced the local library for placing the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe on its shelves. The controversy began when the Lapeer County prosecutor inquired about the book, and reportedly raised the possibility of criminal charges against the librarian or library...
read moreMindful Civic Leadership Program brings community and police together – a model for the nation
By Canisha Bell The Mindful Civic Leadership Program, designed to bring Black community members and police officers together to build mindfulness skills, launched a second run March 27. The next session will begin April 10. The program is part of the Mindful Flint Initiative, led by the Crim Fitness Foundation. Theresa Roach, associate director of the Initiative, said the program aims to “build the skills of mindful leadership, engage in a mindful dialogue and practice communication strategies around the future of policing in our...
read moreCouncil approves new rules, adds support for repealing Emergency Manager law; Mays is ousted, again
By Tom Travis This article has been updated to include a link to view and/or download the Rules Governing City Council meetings. – Editor Flint City Councilperson Eric Mays (Ward 1) was removed again for “disorderly conduct” from Monday’s council meeting. Council President Allie Herkenroder (Ward 7) called out Mays for continuous incorrect use of the the parliamentary procedure (point of order and point of information) and for continually disrupting the meeting. By the end of the meeting, the rest of the council...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – March 2023
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreUM-Flint announces voluntary faculty buyout options with year’s pay, $10K bonus
By Jan Worth-Nelson In one of the first publicly visible moves to address its fiscal woes since the campus-wide “Strategic Transformation” process began last fall, the University of Michigan – Flint has rolled out a faculty buyout incentives plan paying up to a year’s salary with a $10,000 bonus. The “2023 Faculty Voluntary Retirement Incentive Plan” was announced last week. The plan applies to any tenured, tenure-track and “non-adjunct” clinical faculty in all of the campus’s six schools...
read moreVillage Life: “Where am I from?” or “Who are my people?” are questions worth exploring
By Tom Travis I’m writing this on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Soon after Putin’s unprovoked invasion last year I reached out to some local Ukrainians for their reactions. I soon found out they all wanted to talk. They all wanted to share their unique stories and emotions about the impending doom of their beloved Ukraine. There was a deep emotional tie that emerged as I interviewed local Ukrainians about the connections they had to their “homeland.” The interviews were filled with...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Ed Board badly divided on two “safety” issues — clear backpacks, legal reimbursement
By Harold C. Ford “Enhancing safety measures, such as a clear backpack policy, should not need debate, nor should it take months to implement.” – Bruce Jordan, Michigan Education Association UniServ Director, reacting to a Flint Board of Education vote rejecting a clear backpack policy “I think we’re basing this on emotions and not evidence-based research.” –Laura MacIntyre, Flint Board of Education trustee, during discussion of a clear backpack policy, Feb. 15, 2023 At its Feb. 15 regular meeting, the seven members of the Flint Board of...
read moreCommentary: MSU, Mass shootings, and guns. Will anything change? What’s next?
By Paul Rozycki Two days. That’s all it took for the horrific shooting at Michigan State University to become old news and be replaced by the newest shootings. In the two days following the Feb. 13 shooting that killed three MSU students, sent five to the hospital, and dominated the state and local news, the nation saw four more mass shootings—three on Feb. 14 and one more on Feb. 15. By the end of the weekend there were ten more reported mass shootings. On the first day of 2023—New Year’s Day, there were seven mass shootings,...
read morePromise of a “bold, strategic, transformative” future laid out by deans at UM – Flint town hall
By Jan Worth-Nelson “Here at the University of Michigan – Flint, we dare to dream big. With market analyses, stakeholder engagement, and program economics, we have envisioned a bold, strategic and transformative future that is like nothing this university has ever experienced before here at the University of Michigan – Flint. We will.” With that determined affirmation, at a town hall Feb. 17 at Riverfront Center, University of Michigan – Flint Provost Sonja Feist-Price introduced presentations by all six of...
read moreSen. John Cherry hopeful about legislative agenda: “We can get that done”
By Jan Worth-Nelson and Tom Travis When somebody texted John Cherry at home early in the morning after election night Nov. 8 to tell him the Democrats had taken the majority in the Michigan Legislature, he says he “literally started crying.” The next morning, he hurried from Flint into his Lansing office as a state representative, a position he had held since 2018. On the wall, there was a white board listing all the bills he had been proposing and hoped to pass. “I went down that list one by one and I said, “yeah,...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint School Board votes unanimously to reopen talks with Mott Foundation about new building(s)
By Harold C. Ford “That door to work with our partners in the community is open … I need partners to build a new building,” –Kevelin Jones, superintendent, Flint Community Schools, at a Feb. 9, 2023 community forum At its Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Feb. 8, 2023 , the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) voted unanimously to explore the possibility of reopening talks with the Flint-based Mott Foundation about the construction of new school buildings. The very next evening, Feb. 9, at a community meeting in the auditorium of...
read moreUMF Chancellor mum on Strategic Transformation at Regents meeting; professor, student critique process
By Jan Worth-Nelson University of Michigan – Flint Chancellor Deba Dutta offered no news or comments about the downtown Flint campus’s “Strategic Transformation” process in his 3:50 minute presentation to the University of Michigan Regents at their regular monthly meeting in Ann Arbor Thursday. Some observers had predicted the Regents’ meeting might have been a time when something concrete about plans for UM – Flint would be revealed. A process begun last September to try to find solutions to a batch of...
read moreEffort to repeal State’s emergency manager law gains steam but is delayed by Flint City Council bickering
By Tom Travis An effort by Michigan Democrats to repeal Michigan’s much-contested emergency manager law hopes to gain strength through a resolution from Flint City Council (FCC). On Feb. 1, 2023, House Bill 4065 (H.B 4065) was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives, and if enacted would repeal the entirety of P.A. 436. At a Monday press conference at City Hall, Mayor Sheldon Neeley was joined by State Representative Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) and State Representative Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint) to explain the resolution aimed...
read moreUM – Flint offers public Town Hall on “Strategic Transformation” updates as decisions approach
By Jan Worth-Nelson A town hall offering updates on the progress of the University of Michigan – Flint’s “Strategic Transformation” process has been scheduled for 10-11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at the Riverfront Conference Center, Chancellor Deba Dutta has announced. Dutta said the deans of each of UMF’s schools and six colleges will present “ideas about future-focused academic plans. In addition, the consultants hired to conduct the process, Huron Group, are set to present “a synthesis of...
read moreEducation Beat: Flint Ed Board committee signals readiness to move on vacant properties and Mott Foundation partnership
By Harold Ford “We haven’t been able to move; that’s been an issue for us.” –Kevelin Jones, superintendent, Flint Community Schools, citing the unwillingness of the previous Flint Board of Education to move on vacant properties, Jan. 30, 2023 The Finance and Operations Committee of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) – with two new members who ran as part of an electoral slate in the November, 2022 election – signaled a readiness at its Jan. 30, 2023 meeting to move more forcefully on the matter of vacant school properties and a willingness...
read moreVillage Life – Blissfully single in community
By Tom Travis It’s called “cuffing season.” I quite hate that term. The term “cuffing” refers to the restrictive and restraining purpose of handcuffs. If you don’t know about cuffing season it begins sometime in October and culminates up to the egregiously capitalized holiday Valentine’s Day. The intention of “cuffing” happens when single, unhitched people begin to prowl around for a partner, a lover or someone to date. Their hope is to find a person to “be with” “to...
read moreSports Beat: Steve Schmidt surpasses 1000 games in his 32nd season as Mott CC’s men’s basketball coach
By Harold C. Ford If successful sports coaches are measured by longevity, wins, and winning percentage, then Steve Schmidt, men’s basketball coach at Mott Community College (MCC), is, at present, one of the most successful coaches in America at any level in any era. Schmidt coached his 1000th game for Mott on Dec. 12, 2022m, when his team lost for the first time this season against Lansing Community College (LCC), 81-77. Upon reaching the 1000th game milestone, Schmidt said: “I’ve been humbled all night … To be able to do something you...
read moreThe East Village Magazine – February 2023
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download and viewing here: View...
read moreEducation Beat: Threat at ALA prompts backpack review; parliamentary woes continue to plague Flint school board
“Sunlight or prison walls: I’m going to go with sunlight and having windows.” –Kelly Fields, principal, Accelerated Learning Academy, Jan. 18, 2023 “There was nothing that happened here (ALA) on campus … The campus has been safe and secure.” –Keiona Murphy, assistant superintendent, Flint Community Schools (FCS) By Harold C. Ford The Flint Board of Education (FBOE) wrestled with two recurring issues – one national in scope and another particular to the Flint panel – at its most recent public meeting on Jan. 18, 2023. Flint’s Accelerated...
read moreAfrican-American artwork celebrated in three galleries at FIA
By Tom Travis Three exhibits honoring and celebrating work by African-American artists will be featured at The Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) over the next few months. The FIA’s Contemporary wing will exhibit works from the FIA’s permanent collection of African-American artists and art of the African diaspora. In the Graphics gallery, the exhibit Expressions will be on display until April 16. Expressions presents a selection of works on paper by African-American artists acquired by FIA over the last decade And finally, in the...
read moreUM-Flint Chancellor gets 15% raise; dozens top $100K in diverse salary picture as Strategic Transformation decisions appear close
By Jan Worth-Nelson The University of Michigan – Flint’s top executive, Chancellor Debasish Dutta, received a 15% pay raise for the 2022-23 fiscal year, bringing his yearly salary to $469,000, according to publicly available sources. On average, the rest of the Flint university faculty and staff received raises of about 3-5%. The overall University of Michigan pay raise for 2022-23, was 4.1%. Asked for a response from UMF administration about Dutta’s salary increase, Robb King, UM – Flint director of marketing and...
read moreCity of Flint allocates $15.6 million for Community Grants from ARPA funding; applications open now
By Tom Travis Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include information about a webinar provided by the City of Flint on Feb. 2 for those wishing to apply for an ARPA Community Grant. The City of Flint has allocated $15.6 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for Community Grants. Applications are open now for eligible organizations to compete for funds to serve Flint residents in three priority program areas: housing and blight elimination, public health, and economic development. Mayor says 40...
read moreDysfunction and Democracy from Flint to Washington. Is Flint a model for the nation?
By Paul Rozycki For much of the 20th Century Flint was a leader for much of what mattered in the nation. It was home for one of the largest manufacturing corporations in the world. It was the place where one of the most progressive and influential labor unions in the nation stood up to that corporation and negotiated a labor agreement. It was known for its premier public school system. It was where a major foundation built a Cultural Center that rivaled many larger cities. It was where the first Black mayor of a major city was chosen. ...
read moreEducation Beat: New leadership team for Flint Board of Education all first-timers
By Harold C. Ford “Sometimes you’ve got to pivot.” – Melody Relerford, newly-elected Flint Board of Education trustee, Jan. 11, 2023 A new leadership team was impaneled at the annual organizational meeting of the Flint Board of Education (FBOE) on Jan. 11, 2023. Newly-elected members of a five-person electoral slate were chosen to fill three of four executive officer positions. Four of five slate members – Melody Relerford, Dylan Luna, Terae King, and Michael Clack – along with non-slate candidate Claudia Perkins, filled a single board...
read moreEarly cancer detection to save lives highlighted at MLK Jr. Day Berston celebration
By Tom Travis “Dr. King once said that injustice in health was the most inhuman form of inequality because it leads to death that could have been prevented. Earlier detection of cancer should be accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford to pay out-of-pocket.” — Gary Puckrein, National Minority Quality Forum Berston Field House was bursting at the seams with community visitors as it celebrated and remembered the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 16. Cars packed the parking lot and lined the sidewalks...
read moreMichigan Speaker Rep. Joe Tate considers economic development with Flint business, housing leaders
By Tom Travis Housing was a key factor considered in an economic development round-table held Monday upstairs in Flint’s Farmers Market. The meeting was organized by recently-elected State Representative Jasper Martus and his special guest the new Speaker of the House in Michigan’s legislature Rep. Joe Tate (D-2nd District). Tate listened and jotted notes as Martus (D-69th District) along with about a dozen Flint business leaders, entrepreneurs and housing organizers introduced themselves and offered ideas. Tate, introducing...
read moreMott Foundation grants $16.5 million to support a new YMCA and mixed-use space in downtown Flint
Construction is scheduled to begin in March on a mixed-use facility in downtown Flint that will feature a new home for the YMCA of Greater Flint and residential rental space. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation granted $11 million to the YMCA and $5.5 million to the Foundation for the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation to support the project, according to a press release from the Mott Foundation. The new facility will help meet important needs by increasing health and wellness options, expanding youth education and family programming, and adding...
read moreFlint residents can apply for WRAP water bill assistance Thursdays at City Hall
By Tom Travis The City of Flint is encouraging Flint residents to apply for the Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP)—a two-year program that provides assistance to eligible, low-income households through water bill credits, arrearage assistance, and water conservation assistance, such as minor plumbing repairs, according to a press release. Representatives from the WRAP program are resuming their normal schedule as of Thursday, Jan. 5 at Flint City Hall. Representatives will be available at City Hall every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3:30...
read moreUM – Flint “people’s” group critiques “top down” Strategic Transformation process and challenges “employers as customers” approach
By Jan Worth-Nelson University of Michigan – Flint assistant professor Kimberly Saks adamantly declares she is not “unAmerican.” At a virtual community town hall last week sponsored by a loosely-organized group of faculty, staff, students and alumni who call themselves the “people’s UM-Flint” to distinguish themselves from the official Strategic Transformation process underway at the downtown campus, Saks took issue with comments from Chancellor Deba Dutta in an EVM interview comparing critics of the...
read moreEast Village Magazine December 2022 – January 2023
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