Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed a former General Motors Corp. executive last week to take over the job of emergency manager for the Detroit public schools, tasking him with turning around a district that has battled financial problems and declining enrollment for more than a decade.
Roy Roberts, 72, will take over for Robert Bobb, who has been the school district’'s emergency financial manager since 2009. Mr. Roberts will have broad powers granted through a recent state law, including the ability to toss out union contracts as part of cost-cutting efforts. Mr. Bobb has closed dozens of schools, reworked vendor contracts, and instituted other cost-cutting measures, but he has been unable to erase a $300 million budget deficit.
