The upper chamber of the Michigan legislature will vote today on proposed revisions to a bill that will expand the authority of emergency financial managers (EFM’s), the most famous of whom would be Robert Bobb at Detroit Public Schools.
The press coverage has been a little more scant than I would have thought. Even today’s Detroit News coverage took the labor angle to the story, which is a pretty narrow interpretation of the issue.
The narrative descriptions of the bill proposed by the political interests are predictable and, as usual, over-simplified. The issue is very significant – and if you haven’t read the tea leaves of Governor Snyder’s budget proposal, I’ll let you in on a secret.
If this budget goes in as currently designed there will be quite a few EFM’s crowned in Michigan. I mean, I think people will be shocked at how many school districts and cities will need EFM’s. One friend who’s “in the business” related that recently the state has taken to sponsoring essentially “EFM 101” classes. The insiders know what’s coming. They know plenty more EFM’s will be needed.
I blogged about the EFM issue way back in the early days of Bobb’s tenure, which as I’ve said before I think is very close to ending. No one, regardless of politics, can be real happy that an EFM may darken your door. In short it means that locally you could not manage your own problems. It also means your local, democratically endowed voice just got quieted. So a bill that paves a path for even greater authority for an EFM really should be met with healthy scrutiny.
Mark my words. EFM’s will pay visits to districts and communities that never dreamed they’d be in this condition. Many, if not most, won’t think twice about this EFM bill – until one day they wake up and realize they are now under the control of one. It gets a little more real then.
The issue is local control – which is shrinking in all forms and branches of government. I don’t think this is a good thing. In K-12 education’s case, local authority has dwindled significantly since Proposal A. It started mainly with loss of financial control, but now academic control has also been accreted. The differences among communities, often manifested in educational policy, are stark. So this pattern is a really bad thing.
I view the expanding powers of EFM’s as now local boots on the ground for state authority. Regardless of your politics, I think most would agree this is a bad trend. To avoid this, creativity, tough choices, and courage are required. Communities and organizations that don’t take on that responsibility, I guess you could say, get what they got coming. But I think most communities can deal with these issues. I think our school district here is a great example.
But awareness of these trends is important and may provide the motivation communities may need to get on with what needs to be done.
One response to “Emergency Financial Manager bill worth watching”
Thank you for this blog and providing helpful perspective on this bill. Too much emphasis has been put on how this bill affects the rights of union members while too little has been placed on how it deprives voters of their rights as well. If our elected officials are denied the ability to serve us–their constituents–that’s TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.