Emergency Manager Recommended For Highland Park Schools
HIGHLAND PARK (WWJ) - A review team is recommending an emergency manager be appointed for Highland Park Schools after determining the district is in a financial emergency.
Michigan's Treasury Department spokesman Terry Stanton said that a final report by the 10-member independent review team has been given to Gov. Rick Snyder who now has 10 days to review the report and make a decision if the district is in a financial emergency.
"The biggest priority is ensuring that the students of Highland Park receive a quality education," said Stanton. "They need and deserve every opportunity to succeed. And in order for that to happen the school district must be financially sound and that's the biggest key here."
Highland Park schools currently face an $11.3 budget deficit while student enrollment continues to plummet, down 58-percent over the past five years.
"That is a major factor here, that enrollment having decreased so significantly since 2006, almost by 60-percent" said Stanton. "And of course the cumulative deficit, having increased by more than 50-percent over just the past fiscal year, so the expenses keep growing yet the revenues coming in are shrinking."
The financial review team determined that no satisfactory plan presently exists within Highland Park to resolve the current financial emergency.
Stanton said if the Governor does concur that an emergency exists, Highland Park School administrators will then have an opportunity to request a hearing before any action is taken.
