By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-900497.mp3
LANSING, MI –
The Michigan Court of Appeals is allowing the state-appointed Detroit schools emergency financial manager to take control of the district's academic operations. As Michigan Public Radio's Rick Pluta reports, parents and school employees from Detroit were also at the state Capitol to stage a sit-down protest.
AUDIO:
The protestors surrounded Governor's Granholm's office for almost an hour and a half. Their complaints centered on emergency manager Robert Bobb's decisions about layoffs, contracts, and closing schools. State Police officers looked on as Sandra Hines yelled through the governor's door.
"We are not going to go away! Our children is precious!" ("hallelujah!")
The protestors never got their wish for a face-to-face talk with Governor Granholm.
And the Detroit school board also lost its challenge in the state Court of Appeals to the emergency manager taking control of the district's academic operations. Bobb says he can't balance the district's books without controlling its curriculums. The decision could help set a pattern for how future state school district takeovers are handled.