Dispute over control of Detroit district may return to court

From The Detroit News: The Detroit Board of Education and Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb may end up back in court after the board changed a proposed settlement agreement outlining who has academic control in the district. The board has voted to approve a plan that says the board has full control over academic policy, while the role of the emergency financial manager is limited to fiscal management and control. But Bobb does not agree with changes that were made to the proposed agreement. DECEMBER 2010...from The Detroit Free Press: Despite a request from the head of the school board, the emergency financial manager of Detroit Public Schools plans to appeal a judge's ruling that prevents him from making academic decisions. Board President Anthony Adams says the district can't afford another legal battle and believes an appeal would be a waste of resources. EARLIER...from The Detroit News: A judge has ruled that academic control of Detroit Public Schools belongs with the school board, not Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb. Bobb's decision to make all academic and social policy choices for the district's more than 70,000 students runs afoul of the legislative intent of the state's emergency financial manager law, Wayne Circuit Judge Wendy Baxter says. Michigan’s governor appointed Bobb in 2009 to fix the district's deficit.