Education 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...
“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...
Education 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...
Education 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,...
Book 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...
Mindful 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,...
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