The Detroit school board has filed a federal lawsuit against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, alleging that his state-appointed emergency managers have failed to adequately address the district’s financial troubles, crumbling school buildings, and academic deficiencies.
The suit notes declining enrollment and an ongoing scandal that has more than a dozen former administrators facing charges in a bribery and kickback scheme. Also named in the suit are at least three of the emergency managers that have run the Detroit schools.
It also names former Chicago schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who pleaded guilty last year to receiving money and benefits from her former employers in exchange for steering no-bid contracts worth more than $23 million to them. She once served as Detroit’s chief academic officer.
