Snyder names new DPS leader
Emergency manager Jack Martin is a native Detroiter,City of Detroit’s CFO
By Lori Higgins Detroit Free Press Education Writer
Gov. Rick Snyder didn’t have to look far when searching for new leadership for Detroit Public Schools. Monday he named Jack Martin, a native Detroiter who for the last 14 months has been chief financial officer for the City of Detroit, as the new emergency manager for the school district.
It’s a place Martin — who like Snyder is a certified public accountant — has been before. For nearly five months in 2012, he served as the emergency manager for the Highland Park school district before taking on the CFO job in Detroit . And back in 2009, when the state first declared a financial emergency in the district, Martin was among a short list of candidates for the job, which eventually went to Robert Bobb.
“I don’t think you could find a better person,” Snyder said during a news conference at Davison Elementary-Middle School in Detroit. year, with the potential for up to $50,000 in performance pay, which he would earn for meeting goals in eliminating the district’s deficit and management of accounts payables, as well as any other factors the state treasurer considers appropriate, according to Martin’s contract. His appointment is effective immediately, and he will serve at the pleasure of Snyder, who has the power to rescind the appointment and terminate the contract at any time.
“I’m very excited” about Martin, Snyder said. “We have that kind of person who can step up to lead, who has a strong track record, who can make things happen.”
Martin will be the third person to serve as an emergency manager in the district. He will replace Roy Roberts, the former General Motors executive who took the reins in 2011.
Snyder said Martin has a strong background in understanding financial and education issues. He is founder of the accounting firm Martin, Arrington, Desai & Meyers.
He also has served three U.S. presidents. Under Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, he was chair of the Provider Reimbursement Review Board of the Department of Health and Human Services. Under President George W. Bush, he was chief financial officer, chief acquisition officer and chief procurement officer for the U.S. Department of Education, and acting director of the U.S. Selective Service System. Martin is a graduate of DPS and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Martin said he plans to continue on the same path laid by Roberts.
He said he would “aggressively pursue” the support and assistance of the school board, the unions, the state superintendent and the higher education community, as well as foundations and Detroit and state residents.
Fixing education in the city is crucial to addressing other issues facing the community, Martin said. He spoke during a news conference about addressing the persistent achievement gap problem that exists for African-American students, saying the gap is something city and state leaders “want and need to close.”
Martin said the cost of education has increased 40% to 50% in the last two to three decades, yet performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — a national exam that tests a representative sample of students in each state — has been flat. He said that if students are not prepared to be competitive globally, they’ll “sit on the sidelines while other students in other countries take advantage of worldwide opportunities.”
Roberts said the emergency manager job has been the most important and “by far the most rewarding” job of his career. He said the district has significantly improved its deficit, increased the graduation rate and decreased the dropout rates. But he said much more work needs to be done.
He said Martin “is best suited unquestionably to take over the leadership of Detroit Public Schools.”
Snyder had high praise for Roberts. Asked whether the district is financially stable, Snyder said there has been dramatic improvement. “We’re on that path to success.”
Keith Johnson, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said he’s ready to work with Martin, saying that’s important to ensuring that children have better opportunities.
Johnson said Roberts “addressed some systemic challenges we had. The financial structure — it has definitely improved. Safety, security has definitely improved.”
Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651or lhiggins@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @LoriAHiggins
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