The Oakland PRESS
Second Pontiac superintendent candidate interviews with board
Friday, February 27, 2009 9:08 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
Brian Ali, one of two candidates seeking to become superintendent of Pontiac schools, said the “Effective School Movement” he has used in other districts could help bring the Pontiac district back to academic achievement.
Ali, special assistant to the superintendent of Matteson Consolidated Schools 162 in Illinois, met with community members for a question and answer session Thursday morning and had a second interview with board members in the afternoon.
T.C. Wallace, superintendent of Lansing school district, had a similar meeting with the community and board on Monday. Wallace was superintendent of the Mount Clemens school district before he went to Lansing in the 2007-2008 school year. Ali was superintendent of the Kankakee, Ill., school district before he moved on to the Matteson district in summer 2008. Both are near retirement age.
Next, said board President Damon Dorkins, a trio of board members will visit and assess the school districts where the candidates work and talk to employees and community members. Before the board makes a decision, an evening meeting will be scheduled so community members and employees have another opportunity to meet with the candidates, Dorkins said.
Asked what ideas he uses to ensure children learn, Ali said the “Effective Schools Movement,” promoted by Ron Edmonds, is one that he has found most effective.
“It is one thing I subscribe to and have used in the districts I’ve been in. Leadership matters at every level,” from teachers through the school board, Ali said.
In an article titled “Revolu tionary and Evolutionary: The Effective Schools Movement,” Lawrence W. Lezotte, said the movement’s research indicates what works for children is a clear and focused mission, safe and orderly environment, climate of high expectations, frequent monitoring of student progress, positive home-school relations and opportunity to learn, and student time on task.
Trustees and community members have focused on a report on the district done by the Chartwell Group, operated by Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education. The detailed report covers an in-depth study of the district. The board has created a strategic plan to deal with the report and has been especially focused on spending money only for things that will increase student achievement.
Among the things Ali said are called for in the report include improvement in finances, restoring confidence, halting the exodus from the district and improving morale.
Both men said they would come up with a way to implement the plan to improve the district.
“This is ground zero for the school district,” said Fran Fowlkes, community activist. “This is make it or break it. There is no wiggle room. However, we are not asking for the stars and the moon.”
Ali said he felt a sense of urgency from the community members, such as community activist Beverly Garrison, to make the improvements called for in the Chartwell report.
“To say I could get things done overnight would be totally misleading; it didn’t happen overnight,” Ali said. “We can tackle it immediately. Those are huge issues. We have to get the train out of the station and get it moving in the right direction.”
H. Bill Maxey, vice president of the Pontiac branch of the NAACP, said he wants to see something done to keep 10th- to 12th-graders in school and involved in internships.
Ali said he thought children from sixth grade and up should have opportunities to be exposed to post high school education and careers. But he said it will take community partnerships to bring about change.
“What about a No Child Left Behind community mandate,” Ali proposed.
Rick David, from United Way, suggested there be a report card so that the community can judge the district’s progress.
Ali agreed. He suggested measurements he could be graded on could include the degree of parental involvement, the number of partnerships established and how viable they are, the number of students in internships, the number of students taking advanced placement courses and more.
“It is important to reach out and establish partnerships to serve students at every level,” Ali said, including community colleges, the labor market and laboratories for middle schools.
“Businesses call it their annual report and we can do that,” Ali said.
Some residents have voiced concerns about Wallace, using terms such as nepotism because he has worked previously with Pontiac’s former superintendent, Mildred Mason, who left in the midst of controversy with some trustees and employees.
However, Dorkins points out Mason is no longer with the district and that none of the board members have a relationship with Wallace or Mason.
Some employees also are concerned about Wallace’s habit of bringing administrators with him when he moves from one superintendent’s position to another — something he acknowledged during his interview.
Ali, who hails from Illinois, said he doesn’t know anyone from the Pontiac district.
“It would be presumptuous of me to begin talking about bringing people here,” said Ali, who explained he would want to assess the talent already existing in the district before he made any employment decisions.
Irma Collins, president of the Pontiac Teachers Association, is not yet convinced either candidate would be good for the Pontiac district.
Both have had some controversy in their previous district, she noted.
“We know that a change must come. Someone must be hired in the district. We’ve got to get rid of all these consultants.
“It is going to take some sort of person to lead this district. There is a question mark about Ali, but not the way we feel about Wallace. He should stay in Lansing.
“We don’t know Ali. We will have to do more research on him at the previous district where he worked.
“We’ve had so many bad superintendents, especially late in their careers, and they want to come here when the district is not in full bloom. So many have promised they can get us there. … and they leave us completely devastated.
“We know what we have and we are afraid of what we might get,” Collins said.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oak Press.com.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Seminal superintendent inquiry perhaps produces more questions then answers
PONTIAC – The main question everyone is asking — in Pontiac and Lansing — is why Superintendent T.C. Wallace Jr. wants to leave the larger Lansing school district with his $175,000 salary for Pontiac, a district half its size.
Wallace, one of two finalists for the position of Pontiac school superintendent and president-elect of the Michigan Association of School Board Administrators, answered the question in a second board interview recently. He said a member of his family, whom he did not identify, has health issues. Another source said the family member lives in Oakland County.
The Lansing superintendent, who also answered questions at a community forum Monday morning from audience members such as Art Fowlkes and Irma Collins, president of the Pontiac Teachers Association, said he wants to be part of carrying out the restructuring underway to downsize the district to a more efficient size, redesign the high school, improve student achievement and help eliminate the $12 million deficit.
On Thursday, Feb. 26, the second of two finalists will visit the Pontiac district. He is Brian Ali, a special assistant to the superintendent of the 3,600-student Mattesen Consolidated District No. 162 in Illinois and a former four-year superintendent of Kankankee, Ill.
A community forum with Ali is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, where Ali will be open to questions from members of the audience. He will have a second interview by the school board from noon to 1:30 p.m. the same day.
Both men have doctoral degrees. News paper reports from previous districts indicate both men have been successful in raising student achievement, but there was controversy in their districts that remained even after they moved on to their current positions.
Wallace, who moved to sic Lansing from Mount Clemens, where he served 10 years as superintendent, is in his second year in the new position. He said when he arrived, the district had a $10 million deficit and now it has a balanced budget plus a fund balance.
Wallace is in the midst of several initiatives in Lansing to improve student achievement. Scores aren’t in, according to Lansing school board President Hugh Clarke, so it is too early to say whether the initiatives worked. However, he is optimistic they will because so much work has been put into the effort.
In Mount Clemens, the prosecutor did an investigation of finances at the request of the board president last spring after Wallace and his business manager, Venkat Saripalli, left for the Lansing district, although some board members were critical of the move — one calling it a witch hunt.
“In a letter to top school officials, Prosecutor Eric Smith said a two-month investigation into concerns raised by the district determined past administrators may have lacked “good business judgment” but also pointed the finger at school board members, reported the Macomb Daily in July 2008. “Many of the school district’s accounting problems stem from lax internal controls and a failure by the board to exercise responsible fiscal oversight,” Smith said in his letter. Wallace said at Monday’s interview that the prosecutor’s report was fair. However, he said neither he nor Saripalli were ever contacted by the prosecutor nor informed of the investigation.
However, he said, “A clear and unequivocal decision was reached that clearly exonerated” them.
“But (Smith) hammered home that there were issues at the board level,” Wallace said, noting the trustees who asked for the investigation “didn’t know the snake they picked up was going to bite them.”
Wallace said he traditionally brings Cabinet members and other administrators from one district to another when he makes a change because he tries to help them progress professionally, and they ask to come with him. That is one reason, he said Monday, that there is a “firestorm brewing” in Lansing about his possibly leaving. He said trustees are afraid he will bring some of his cabinet to Pontiac, where all cabinet members and the superintendent are in interim positions.
In an interview last week, Clarke was not happy that Wallace had decided to apply for a job in Pontiac with two years left on his contract and new initiatives underway there. He said he was taken by surprise.
The resulting controversy in Lansing brought television and newspaper reporters from that city to the superintendent’s forum in Pontiac on Monday.
Clarke said Wallace “has two more years on his contract that we anticipated he was going to honor.
“He would leave the district in bit of a turmoil. You can certainly expect turmoil and concern by staff. But we are an experienced board and we’ll hit the ground running,” he said.
Collins, who is president of the teachers’ union, said she didn’t feel Wallace answered her questions about why he would come to Pontiac.
Collins and others in the district have alleged that it is “friendship, kinship and relationship” in Pontiac that is bringing Wallace to the Pontiac district. Collins and others said Wallace has worked with former Superintendent Mildred Mason, who left the district in controversy, and that his wife, Rose Wallace, worked for Mason.
In addition, Mason had at one time proposed the board hire Wallace for quality control, but the suggestion never went further, said Board President Damon Dorkins.
But Dorkins said there is no nepotism or cronyism involved in the district’s interest in Wallace. He pointed out Mason is no longer with the district and said no one on the board has connections with her that would influence them to hire Wallace.
Wallace touted his experience as superintendent at several districts, his ability to connect with the community and his affiliation with state and national organizations that can help gain resources for the district.
Collins disagreed.
“I don’t think he has anything to offer the district to get us out of the situation we are in right now,” Collins said, alleging that Wallace, who earned his bachelor’s degree in 1967, has “ideas all in the past.”
“He is in the sunset of his career,” she said. “Why leave Lansing unless he is going to work until he is 100?” Wallace said he would stay in Pontiac no longer than six years, then retire.
Wallace suggested the board talk to the many leaders in state education who know him and know of his work if they want to be confident of his abilities.
Contact Oakland Press staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Superintendents (Backgrounder Info)
Superintendent finalists gather praise, dismiss controversial pasts
Friday, February 20, 2009 6:03 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – Both candidates for Pontiac school superintendent have records of increasing student achievement and both resigned amid controversy from their previous districts.
Pontiac trustees on Wednesday selected as their two finalists Lansing Superintendent T.C. Wallace, a former 10-year Mount Clemens school superintendent; and Brian Ali, special assistant to the superintendent of the 3,600-student Mattesen Consolidated District No. 162 in Illinois and a former four-year superintendent of Kankankee, Ill., schools.
Community members and school staff will have the opportunity to meet both candidates from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. when they individually visit the school district Monday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 26.
Both have achieved doctorate degrees and long careers in education, but have not been at their new posts for long. Wallace is in his second year as Lansing superintendent and Ali in his first year as special assistant to the superintendent to help increase student achievement in the Mattesen district.
Nonetheless, news reports from The Macomb Daily and The Daily Journal in Kankankee, Ill., that cover their former districts indicate controversy remained many months after they had moved on to their new positions. The newspapers also reported positive stories about both men and their achievements during their time in the districts.
Former Mount Clemens school board President Greg Murray and the new superintendent requested an investigation of finances last spring after Wallace and his business manager Venkat Saripalli left for the Lansing District, although some board members were critical of the move, one calling it a witchhunt.
“In a letter to top school officials, Prosecutor Eric Smith said a two-month investigation into concerns raised by the district determined past administrators may have lacked “good business judgment” but also pointed the finger at school board members,” reported the Macomb Daily in July, 2008.
“Many of the school district’s accounting problems stem from lax internal controls and a failure by the board to exercise responsible fiscal oversight,” Smith said in his letter.
Wallace could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His secretary said he was on the road.
In Kankankee, allegations were made that Ali purchased an Apple laptop computer with a district credit card. The charges against the district’s first black superintendent caused great turmoil in the community. Leaders of the black community say the $2,000 computer question was racially motivated and a way for the board president to remove Ali.
In the end, Ali resigned two years before his contract expired and his or concerns about them, “I always say to the board, this is someone who has great paper credentials but I have great concerns about them,” Wilmot said.
In Lansing, Hugh Clarke, school board president, who announced in 2007 that Wallace was his first and only choice as superintendent, said Thursday he did not have advance notice that Wallace was looking for another position. Wallace told the Pontiac board he has been reading about the restructuring the district is undergoing and wants to take on the challenge of carrying out the strategic plan to improve the district.
Clarke said Wallace “has two more years on his contract that we anticipated he was going to honor. He would leave the district in bit of a turmoil. You can certainly expect turmoil and concern by staff. But we are an experienced board and we’ll hit the ground running,” he said.
The Lansing board president said several initiatives have been initiated to increase student achievement but it hasn’t been long enough to know whether the initiatives have made a difference.
“We are constantly evaluating things,” Clarke said. “You have to wait to see the test scores. We would certainly anticipate with work that has been done with staff and professional development that we certainly expect to see improvement.”
He also said the board had evaluated Wallace twice during his first year and there were areas of progress and areas where more work needed to be done. He said he couldn’t remember specifics, but noted the documents are public. Kankankee, Ali said, “I would not comment on that other than to say that is something that is behind me and move forward.”
Mike Wilmot, president and CEO and Southeast Michigan regional president of the Michigan Leadership Institute, said it is common for superintendents to leave in controversy. Wilmot is the consultant who has provided search services, including investigation of each candidate for the Pontiac district.
“The reality is anybody who has sat in the superintendent’s chair for any length of time has had controversy, especially in today’s environment. That occurs virtually with any candidate you have,” Wilmot said. That doesn’t mean he ignores such issues when he becomes aware of them.
“We have our people (candidates) sign off” so their background and experiences can be investigated, he said. “We go to secondary and tertiary sources,” not the people provided by the candidates as references. We get reactions from them to what we are really looking for.
“The other resource we use all the time in doing our urban services is Chuck Mitchell. He is an experienced superintendent and serves on the National Association of Black School Administrators. We particularly look to him when we are dealing with candidates that are out of state that we may not know to get a good read,” Wilmot said.
However, Wilmot explained that the leadership institute does not recommend which candidates the boards they serve should select.
“We say, ‘Here are all the candidates who applied and here is how we evaluated them to the criteria you gave. These are close matches.’”
If Wilmot or Mitchell has questions resignation papers and the settlement amount with Ali were never made public, something The Daily Journal in Kankankee is still fighting to get as public record. The district maintains those records are private. Neither the board nor Ali would comment to the Journal on the allegation.
When Ali arrived in 2004, 52.5 percent of students met or exceeded Illinois State Learning Standards on standardized tests in the district measured as a whole. In 2007, the percentage of students has grown to 67.2 percent.
Mattesen Superintendent Blondean Davis invited Ali and another superintendent, who retired from a Blue Ribbon school district, to help her continue her efforts to move student achievement up.
“We are on a fast track in this district at 55 percent and my goal is to take it to 95 percent or better,” said Davis, who has been superintendent six years.
“To make that final leap I felt I needed some bench strength on the academic side.”
Davis said her perceptions of his abilities “have been more than true. I’ve offered him a permanent position here. I have fully intended to issue him another year’s contract. But he is so good at what he does, he really needs to get back into the seat.
“It would be difficult for you to do better. You can’t be confrontational if want cooperation,” she said, noting he has a good way with people.
Ali said in an interview Thursday, “I’m honored to be selected as a finalist and I look forward to next round of interviews.” He also expects “the multiple perspectives of members of the community be helpful and insightful.”
As far as the controversy at
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
Friday, February 20, 2009 6:03 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – Both candidates for Pontiac school superintendent have records of increasing student achievement and both resigned amid controversy from their previous districts.
Pontiac trustees on Wednesday selected as their two finalists Lansing Superintendent T.C. Wallace, a former 10-year Mount Clemens school superintendent; and Brian Ali, special assistant to the superintendent of the 3,600-student Mattesen Consolidated District No. 162 in Illinois and a former four-year superintendent of Kankankee, Ill., schools.
Community members and school staff will have the opportunity to meet both candidates from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. when they individually visit the school district Monday, Feb. 23, and Thursday, Feb. 26.
Both have achieved doctorate degrees and long careers in education, but have not been at their new posts for long. Wallace is in his second year as Lansing superintendent and Ali in his first year as special assistant to the superintendent to help increase student achievement in the Mattesen district.
Nonetheless, news reports from The Macomb Daily and The Daily Journal in Kankankee, Ill., that cover their former districts indicate controversy remained many months after they had moved on to their new positions. The newspapers also reported positive stories about both men and their achievements during their time in the districts.
Former Mount Clemens school board President Greg Murray and the new superintendent requested an investigation of finances last spring after Wallace and his business manager Venkat Saripalli left for the Lansing District, although some board members were critical of the move, one calling it a witchhunt.
“In a letter to top school officials, Prosecutor Eric Smith said a two-month investigation into concerns raised by the district determined past administrators may have lacked “good business judgment” but also pointed the finger at school board members,” reported the Macomb Daily in July, 2008.
“Many of the school district’s accounting problems stem from lax internal controls and a failure by the board to exercise responsible fiscal oversight,” Smith said in his letter.
Wallace could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His secretary said he was on the road.
In Kankankee, allegations were made that Ali purchased an Apple laptop computer with a district credit card. The charges against the district’s first black superintendent caused great turmoil in the community. Leaders of the black community say the $2,000 computer question was racially motivated and a way for the board president to remove Ali.
In the end, Ali resigned two years before his contract expired and his or concerns about them, “I always say to the board, this is someone who has great paper credentials but I have great concerns about them,” Wilmot said.
In Lansing, Hugh Clarke, school board president, who announced in 2007 that Wallace was his first and only choice as superintendent, said Thursday he did not have advance notice that Wallace was looking for another position. Wallace told the Pontiac board he has been reading about the restructuring the district is undergoing and wants to take on the challenge of carrying out the strategic plan to improve the district.
Clarke said Wallace “has two more years on his contract that we anticipated he was going to honor. He would leave the district in bit of a turmoil. You can certainly expect turmoil and concern by staff. But we are an experienced board and we’ll hit the ground running,” he said.
The Lansing board president said several initiatives have been initiated to increase student achievement but it hasn’t been long enough to know whether the initiatives have made a difference.
“We are constantly evaluating things,” Clarke said. “You have to wait to see the test scores. We would certainly anticipate with work that has been done with staff and professional development that we certainly expect to see improvement.”
He also said the board had evaluated Wallace twice during his first year and there were areas of progress and areas where more work needed to be done. He said he couldn’t remember specifics, but noted the documents are public. Kankankee, Ali said, “I would not comment on that other than to say that is something that is behind me and move forward.”
Mike Wilmot, president and CEO and Southeast Michigan regional president of the Michigan Leadership Institute, said it is common for superintendents to leave in controversy. Wilmot is the consultant who has provided search services, including investigation of each candidate for the Pontiac district.
“The reality is anybody who has sat in the superintendent’s chair for any length of time has had controversy, especially in today’s environment. That occurs virtually with any candidate you have,” Wilmot said. That doesn’t mean he ignores such issues when he becomes aware of them.
“We have our people (candidates) sign off” so their background and experiences can be investigated, he said. “We go to secondary and tertiary sources,” not the people provided by the candidates as references. We get reactions from them to what we are really looking for.
“The other resource we use all the time in doing our urban services is Chuck Mitchell. He is an experienced superintendent and serves on the National Association of Black School Administrators. We particularly look to him when we are dealing with candidates that are out of state that we may not know to get a good read,” Wilmot said.
However, Wilmot explained that the leadership institute does not recommend which candidates the boards they serve should select.
“We say, ‘Here are all the candidates who applied and here is how we evaluated them to the criteria you gave. These are close matches.’”
If Wilmot or Mitchell has questions resignation papers and the settlement amount with Ali were never made public, something The Daily Journal in Kankankee is still fighting to get as public record. The district maintains those records are private. Neither the board nor Ali would comment to the Journal on the allegation.
When Ali arrived in 2004, 52.5 percent of students met or exceeded Illinois State Learning Standards on standardized tests in the district measured as a whole. In 2007, the percentage of students has grown to 67.2 percent.
Mattesen Superintendent Blondean Davis invited Ali and another superintendent, who retired from a Blue Ribbon school district, to help her continue her efforts to move student achievement up.
“We are on a fast track in this district at 55 percent and my goal is to take it to 95 percent or better,” said Davis, who has been superintendent six years.
“To make that final leap I felt I needed some bench strength on the academic side.”
Davis said her perceptions of his abilities “have been more than true. I’ve offered him a permanent position here. I have fully intended to issue him another year’s contract. But he is so good at what he does, he really needs to get back into the seat.
“It would be difficult for you to do better. You can’t be confrontational if want cooperation,” she said, noting he has a good way with people.
Ali said in an interview Thursday, “I’m honored to be selected as a finalist and I look forward to next round of interviews.” He also expects “the multiple perspectives of members of the community be helpful and insightful.”
As far as the controversy at
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
Creativity brings Innovation
Pontiac schools making some innovative plans
Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:09 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
In the past few weeks, the Pontiac School District has been taking some unpopular but needed action to survive. It is closing half of its schools and decided to combine Northern and Central into one high school.
Now it appears the district may not only be moving toward its survival but taking strides to significantly improve the quality of the education it offers to students.
In fact, shall we dare say that Pontiac could become an educational leader in the metro area?
That’s the message we’re getting from recent announcements of plans for the new, merged high school.
Pontiac’s new high school is scheduled to open in the fall on the city’s north side and will offer four magnet career academies.
Under the initial concept, the school will feature a revamped ninth-grade academy; a business, finance and entrepreneurship academy; an arts and communications academy and a scholars academy.
The BFE Academy will include the legal program already under way. All academies will give students the opportunity to earn certification in career areas. In addition, the building may be utilized the entire day, providing students the opportunity to do online makeup courses as late as 7 p.m.
The initial plans are impressive and certainly offer district residents hope for the future.
A first glimpse of the concept was given by Geralyn Stephens, with whom the Pontiac Board of Education contracted to create a high school geared to meet students’ curriculum needs and improve academics and career opportunities for youth.
The outline is intriguing.
Students, teachers and counselors would be divided into teams and stay with their teams for core and career classes. However, they also would take part in community programs, such as band, outside their team.
Teachers, counselors and social workers address the individual needs of the students on their team.
Each teacher will see where their students are and will work with the counselors and social workers to help meet their needs.
Under a restructuring plan, Central High School will be closed in the fall and Central and Northern students will be combined in a new type of school at the Northern building at Perry and Madison.
The four career academies were selected based on state required assessments given to ninth- through 11th-grade students that provided the top interest areas of students.
In addition, Stephens’ team did an audit of students’ transcripts to determine where they are in respect to completing high school graduation requirements. They found a need for many students to take some online courses to bring them up to where they should be.
Stephens stressed she only presented a framework, and said a team of staff, teachers, parents, special-education experts and students will be formed to work on details of the plan.
There appears to be quite a bit of work yet to be accomplished, but the plan is promising.
If it materializes as well as expected, it not only could help restore Pontiac’s diminished reputation as a school system but possibly catapult the district into a new, innovative leadership role.
Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:09 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
In the past few weeks, the Pontiac School District has been taking some unpopular but needed action to survive. It is closing half of its schools and decided to combine Northern and Central into one high school.
Now it appears the district may not only be moving toward its survival but taking strides to significantly improve the quality of the education it offers to students.
In fact, shall we dare say that Pontiac could become an educational leader in the metro area?
That’s the message we’re getting from recent announcements of plans for the new, merged high school.
Pontiac’s new high school is scheduled to open in the fall on the city’s north side and will offer four magnet career academies.
Under the initial concept, the school will feature a revamped ninth-grade academy; a business, finance and entrepreneurship academy; an arts and communications academy and a scholars academy.
The BFE Academy will include the legal program already under way. All academies will give students the opportunity to earn certification in career areas. In addition, the building may be utilized the entire day, providing students the opportunity to do online makeup courses as late as 7 p.m.
The initial plans are impressive and certainly offer district residents hope for the future.
A first glimpse of the concept was given by Geralyn Stephens, with whom the Pontiac Board of Education contracted to create a high school geared to meet students’ curriculum needs and improve academics and career opportunities for youth.
The outline is intriguing.
Students, teachers and counselors would be divided into teams and stay with their teams for core and career classes. However, they also would take part in community programs, such as band, outside their team.
Teachers, counselors and social workers address the individual needs of the students on their team.
Each teacher will see where their students are and will work with the counselors and social workers to help meet their needs.
Under a restructuring plan, Central High School will be closed in the fall and Central and Northern students will be combined in a new type of school at the Northern building at Perry and Madison.
The four career academies were selected based on state required assessments given to ninth- through 11th-grade students that provided the top interest areas of students.
In addition, Stephens’ team did an audit of students’ transcripts to determine where they are in respect to completing high school graduation requirements. They found a need for many students to take some online courses to bring them up to where they should be.
Stephens stressed she only presented a framework, and said a team of staff, teachers, parents, special-education experts and students will be formed to work on details of the plan.
There appears to be quite a bit of work yet to be accomplished, but the plan is promising.
If it materializes as well as expected, it not only could help restore Pontiac’s diminished reputation as a school system but possibly catapult the district into a new, innovative leadership role.
Superintendent Search.........Update!
Superintendent finalists have long careers in education
Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:09 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – Lansing’s school superintendent T.C. Wallace has been selected as one of two finalists for the top leadership position in the Pontiac school district.
Also a finalist is Brian Ali, former superintendent of Kankakee, Ill., school district, who became assistant to the superintendent in Madison, Ill., in July 2008. Both have doctorate degrees, have had experience as superintendents and have had long careers in education.
Trustees selected the two finalists from four semifinalists at a special meeting late Wednesday afternoon after a 3 1 /2-hour interviewing session.
They said the decision to narrow the field was difficult because all candidates were competent professionals.
Community members will have the opportunity to interview one of the candidates from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, and the other from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, when they come back to visit the district.
The board will interview them a second time from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday and noon to 1:20 p.m. Thursday.
They will visit both men’s districts the week of March 3.
Wallace, who has been superintendent in Lansing for two years, was interviewed last week. He has served in many capacities in his 42 years in education, including several times as a superintendent.
“You have done something that causes me to be here. You have taken bold steps necessary in education if students are going to be impacted,” Wallace said, referring to the district’s strategic plan.
“You have set the district for success,” he said.
Ali also has been a teacher, elementary and high school principal, curriculum superintendent, superintendent and assistant superintendent during his career.
“I’ve become known as a turnaround superintendent,” Ali told the board during his interview Wednesday. “I am a good listener, and I can make tough decisions and I can be collaborative.”
Whichever candidate is selected for superintendent will have the unusual opportunity to select his own Cabinet because the district is running with an interim superintendent and top administrators now.
The new superintendent will be expected to lead the district through the final stages of restructuring, including closing half of the schools and redesigning the high school.
He also will have to follow a plan to eliminate this year’s projected $12 million deficit and ensure programs are in place to raise student achievement.
The other semi-finalists selected from 15 applicants were DeAngelo Alexander, program officer of The Skillman Foundation; and William DeFrance, superintendent of Eaton Rapids School District.
A fifth candidate, I.V. Foster Jr., superintendent of Prairie-Hills Elementary School District in Markham, Ill., dropped out of the running before his interview to take another position.
Mike Wilmot of the Michigan Leadership Institute, has been a consultant to the school board in its search for a new schools superintendent in the district’s second year with an interim superintendent. A search last year ended when one of the finalists dropped out in the second interview stage and the board decided to start the process again.
Oakland Press staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:09 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – Lansing’s school superintendent T.C. Wallace has been selected as one of two finalists for the top leadership position in the Pontiac school district.
Also a finalist is Brian Ali, former superintendent of Kankakee, Ill., school district, who became assistant to the superintendent in Madison, Ill., in July 2008. Both have doctorate degrees, have had experience as superintendents and have had long careers in education.
Trustees selected the two finalists from four semifinalists at a special meeting late Wednesday afternoon after a 3 1 /2-hour interviewing session.
They said the decision to narrow the field was difficult because all candidates were competent professionals.
Community members will have the opportunity to interview one of the candidates from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, and the other from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, when they come back to visit the district.
The board will interview them a second time from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday and noon to 1:20 p.m. Thursday.
They will visit both men’s districts the week of March 3.
Wallace, who has been superintendent in Lansing for two years, was interviewed last week. He has served in many capacities in his 42 years in education, including several times as a superintendent.
“You have done something that causes me to be here. You have taken bold steps necessary in education if students are going to be impacted,” Wallace said, referring to the district’s strategic plan.
“You have set the district for success,” he said.
Ali also has been a teacher, elementary and high school principal, curriculum superintendent, superintendent and assistant superintendent during his career.
“I’ve become known as a turnaround superintendent,” Ali told the board during his interview Wednesday. “I am a good listener, and I can make tough decisions and I can be collaborative.”
Whichever candidate is selected for superintendent will have the unusual opportunity to select his own Cabinet because the district is running with an interim superintendent and top administrators now.
The new superintendent will be expected to lead the district through the final stages of restructuring, including closing half of the schools and redesigning the high school.
He also will have to follow a plan to eliminate this year’s projected $12 million deficit and ensure programs are in place to raise student achievement.
The other semi-finalists selected from 15 applicants were DeAngelo Alexander, program officer of The Skillman Foundation; and William DeFrance, superintendent of Eaton Rapids School District.
A fifth candidate, I.V. Foster Jr., superintendent of Prairie-Hills Elementary School District in Markham, Ill., dropped out of the running before his interview to take another position.
Mike Wilmot of the Michigan Leadership Institute, has been a consultant to the school board in its search for a new schools superintendent in the district’s second year with an interim superintendent. A search last year ended when one of the finalists dropped out in the second interview stage and the board decided to start the process again.
Oakland Press staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
Creating Community
I noticed At a School restructuring meeting that there is a dynamic group of people in Pontiac that serve as the nucleus of what could be a much larger creative force.Creating an open and enabling educational environment for the young folks in Pontiac could be the momentum to bring more people out, to really make the difference in creating a community that is a safer more healthy and fun place to share with your neighbors. There are a lot of tools to make that happen and perhaps even some "stimulus" money. Although peoples ability to find their Mo Jo and share it, is something money cannot buy.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tent-poles established for envisioned execution!
The Oakland Press
New Pontiac high school to focus heavily on academics
Friday, February 13, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press
The Pontiac district’s newly designed high school scheduled to open in the fall on the city’s north side will offer four magnet career academies within one building.
Under the initial concept presented Thursday at a special study session, the school will feature a revamped Ninth Grade Academy; a Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship (BFE) Academy; an Arts and Communications Academy and a Scholars Academy.
The BFE Academy will include the legal program already underway. All academies will give students the opportunity to earn certification in career areas. In addition, the building may be utilized the entire day, providing students the opportunity to do online makeup courses as late as 7 p.m.
The first glimpse at the concept was given by Geralyn Stephens, with whom the Pontiac Board of Education contracted Monday night to create a high school geared to meet students’ curriculum needs and improve academics and career opportunities for youth.
“As we look at the needs of the students, we have to look at things differently,” Stephens said. “We’ve got to look at other ways to do things. It will be creative. It won’t look like it does now and it shouldn’t.”
Most importantly, students, teachers and counselors would be divided into teams and stay with their teams for core and career classes. However, they would also take part in community programs, such as band, outside their team.
Teachers, counselors and social workers address the individual needs of the students on their team. There will also be efforts to help students have intern and work experience.
Under a restructuring plan approved by the board Jan. 26, Central High School will be closed in the fall and Central and Northern high school students will be combined in what will be a new type of school at the Northern building at Perry and Madison.
Stephens, who is a Wayne State University faculty member, stressed that she was presenting only a framework at this point. She said a team of staff, teachers, parents, special education experts and students will be pulled together to work on the plan that must be submitted in early March.
The four career academies were selected based on state required assessments given to ninth through 11th grade students that provided the top interest areas of students. Eighth-graders will be given the same assessments at the end of the school year.
In addition, Stephens’ team did an audit of students’ transcripts to determine where they are in respect to completing high school graduation requirements. They found a need for many students to do some online courses to bring them up to where they should be.
Each teacher will see where their students are and will work with the counselors and social workers to help meet their needs so they can succeed and achieve.
“Yes, it is a lot of work but fundamentally we have to change things,” said Stephens, who said she is convinced parents will want their children in a high school such as the one she is visualizing.
As the lead person in redesigning the high school, she plans to have everything planned, including students’ teachers and schedules in May, so that students and parents will know what they will be doing in the fall and will spread the word.
“Our students will be our ambassadors,” Stephens predicted.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
New Pontiac high school to focus heavily on academics
Friday, February 13, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press
The Pontiac district’s newly designed high school scheduled to open in the fall on the city’s north side will offer four magnet career academies within one building.
Under the initial concept presented Thursday at a special study session, the school will feature a revamped Ninth Grade Academy; a Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship (BFE) Academy; an Arts and Communications Academy and a Scholars Academy.
The BFE Academy will include the legal program already underway. All academies will give students the opportunity to earn certification in career areas. In addition, the building may be utilized the entire day, providing students the opportunity to do online makeup courses as late as 7 p.m.
The first glimpse at the concept was given by Geralyn Stephens, with whom the Pontiac Board of Education contracted Monday night to create a high school geared to meet students’ curriculum needs and improve academics and career opportunities for youth.
“As we look at the needs of the students, we have to look at things differently,” Stephens said. “We’ve got to look at other ways to do things. It will be creative. It won’t look like it does now and it shouldn’t.”
Most importantly, students, teachers and counselors would be divided into teams and stay with their teams for core and career classes. However, they would also take part in community programs, such as band, outside their team.
Teachers, counselors and social workers address the individual needs of the students on their team. There will also be efforts to help students have intern and work experience.
Under a restructuring plan approved by the board Jan. 26, Central High School will be closed in the fall and Central and Northern high school students will be combined in what will be a new type of school at the Northern building at Perry and Madison.
Stephens, who is a Wayne State University faculty member, stressed that she was presenting only a framework at this point. She said a team of staff, teachers, parents, special education experts and students will be pulled together to work on the plan that must be submitted in early March.
The four career academies were selected based on state required assessments given to ninth through 11th grade students that provided the top interest areas of students. Eighth-graders will be given the same assessments at the end of the school year.
In addition, Stephens’ team did an audit of students’ transcripts to determine where they are in respect to completing high school graduation requirements. They found a need for many students to do some online courses to bring them up to where they should be.
Each teacher will see where their students are and will work with the counselors and social workers to help meet their needs so they can succeed and achieve.
“Yes, it is a lot of work but fundamentally we have to change things,” said Stephens, who said she is convinced parents will want their children in a high school such as the one she is visualizing.
As the lead person in redesigning the high school, she plans to have everything planned, including students’ teachers and schedules in May, so that students and parents will know what they will be doing in the fall and will spread the word.
“Our students will be our ambassadors,” Stephens predicted.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana. dillaber@oakpress.com.
Possibility exists to exceed Brilliance! STAY TUNED!
Turnaround specialists hired for schools
Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:04 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press
Turnaround specialist? Redesign project coordinator? These new titles at Pontiac schools may be unfamiliar and mystifying, but Sheryl Thomas and Geralyn Stephens, who will bear the designations, are seen as the keys to the success of downsizing the district by the fall semester.
Thomas, a retired Detroit schools administrator, will work under acting superintendent Linda Paramore to lead staff in the arduous job of shaping and implementing the restructuring plan for the entire district. Once completed, the plan will have merged high school, middle school and elementary school pupils and staff in time to welcome the district’s 7,000 students to half the buildings open today.
It will be the responsibility of Stephens, a Wayne State University faculty member, to use “dramatically different approaches” to redesign the new high school that will combine Pontiac Northern and Central.
She will work with students, faculty and administrators to carry out the project that will create a school with a new name and new colors.
The Pontiac Board of Education approved separate one-year contracts with Stephens and Thomas this week to ensure the complicated tasks are carried out in a timely manner.
Thomas said she was directly involved in closing 38 Detroit schools in a two-year period and assisted in writing the transition plan. She was assistant superintendent in the leadership and accountability office, and a principal and counselor before that.
Her company, Thomas Educational Consultants, LLC, will be paid up to $95,000 to work in conjunction with the acting superintendent and the incoming superintendent, to be hired this spring, to “plan, execute and finalize all projects related to the redesign of the school district,” Paramore said. “This includes tracking the district’s resources and coordinating the efforts for all necessary staff members, departments and third-party contractors involved.”
The Thomas contract will be paid from the general fund budget and runs through June 30, 2010.
“You’ve made the hard decisions. Now you need full communication and collaboration,” said Thomas.
“We have the opportunity to create a new Pontiac School District. I heard someone in the audience say, ‘We are going to make it or break it,’ and they are right.
“I have a manual with all of the steps. You are starting late, but it can be done,” she concluded.
Paramore said Thomas will “make sure everybody is on task.”She will outline every step that has to be taken between February through September. “It is a huge list.”
By Feb. 23, Thomas is expected to recommend a logistics contractor to move all furniture, equipment and files between buildings.
Stephens, who has been working under contract to coordinate and improve the district’s career programs, will be the turnaround specialist for the new high school that will be located in the Northern building. Her contract is not to exceed $100,000 and also terminates June 30, 2010. Her pay will come from federal grants.
“The Turnaround Specialist will specifically lead the design and implementation of our new high school by coordinating and collaborating with all district stakeholders, students, staff, parents and community,” Paramore said in her recommendation.
Stephens will have the authority to creatively manage people, time, fiscal and program resources in changing school conditions, Paramore said.
The high school turnaround plan must be written by March 9.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:04 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press
Turnaround specialist? Redesign project coordinator? These new titles at Pontiac schools may be unfamiliar and mystifying, but Sheryl Thomas and Geralyn Stephens, who will bear the designations, are seen as the keys to the success of downsizing the district by the fall semester.
Thomas, a retired Detroit schools administrator, will work under acting superintendent Linda Paramore to lead staff in the arduous job of shaping and implementing the restructuring plan for the entire district. Once completed, the plan will have merged high school, middle school and elementary school pupils and staff in time to welcome the district’s 7,000 students to half the buildings open today.
It will be the responsibility of Stephens, a Wayne State University faculty member, to use “dramatically different approaches” to redesign the new high school that will combine Pontiac Northern and Central.
She will work with students, faculty and administrators to carry out the project that will create a school with a new name and new colors.
The Pontiac Board of Education approved separate one-year contracts with Stephens and Thomas this week to ensure the complicated tasks are carried out in a timely manner.
Thomas said she was directly involved in closing 38 Detroit schools in a two-year period and assisted in writing the transition plan. She was assistant superintendent in the leadership and accountability office, and a principal and counselor before that.
Her company, Thomas Educational Consultants, LLC, will be paid up to $95,000 to work in conjunction with the acting superintendent and the incoming superintendent, to be hired this spring, to “plan, execute and finalize all projects related to the redesign of the school district,” Paramore said. “This includes tracking the district’s resources and coordinating the efforts for all necessary staff members, departments and third-party contractors involved.”
The Thomas contract will be paid from the general fund budget and runs through June 30, 2010.
“You’ve made the hard decisions. Now you need full communication and collaboration,” said Thomas.
“We have the opportunity to create a new Pontiac School District. I heard someone in the audience say, ‘We are going to make it or break it,’ and they are right.
“I have a manual with all of the steps. You are starting late, but it can be done,” she concluded.
Paramore said Thomas will “make sure everybody is on task.”She will outline every step that has to be taken between February through September. “It is a huge list.”
By Feb. 23, Thomas is expected to recommend a logistics contractor to move all furniture, equipment and files between buildings.
Stephens, who has been working under contract to coordinate and improve the district’s career programs, will be the turnaround specialist for the new high school that will be located in the Northern building. Her contract is not to exceed $100,000 and also terminates June 30, 2010. Her pay will come from federal grants.
“The Turnaround Specialist will specifically lead the design and implementation of our new high school by coordinating and collaborating with all district stakeholders, students, staff, parents and community,” Paramore said in her recommendation.
Stephens will have the authority to creatively manage people, time, fiscal and program resources in changing school conditions, Paramore said.
The high school turnaround plan must be written by March 9.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Possible Brilliant Stroke of Genius
School board votes to keep Whitmer open another year
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:35 PM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – In a surprise move, the Pontiac Board of Education voted to keep Whitmer Human Resource Center open one more year to give the district time to relocate students and programs as they restructure the district.
However, the majority of the children who now attend WHRC, near the city’s downtown, will move to other schools in the fall as planned.
Remaining in the WHRC building will be 350 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, several classes of full-day preschoolers, central enrollment, the teachers’ computer laboratory and meetings rooms, and several ancillary district services.
Whitmer was among the nine schools that were to close for the 2009-2010 school year in the restructuring plan approved by the school board Jan. 26. Discussion about the possibility of keeping the building open for one more year came up at a school board retreat at Oakland Schools over the weekend.
By fall semester, the district will be almost half its size. Officials plan to close one high school, a middle school and six elementary buildings, requiring school administrators to make major scheduling changes for students, teachers and school buses.
On Monday, acting Superintendent Linda Paramore made an official request to the board to keep Whitmer open one more year to allow some flexibility as the major transition is carried out over the summer and next school year.
“I’m recommending a reevaluation next school year,” she said. “I don’t want us to be in the position where we don’t have space. I’m not saying keep WHRC open forever. I’m just saying for the transition.”
Board Vice President Gill Garrett was happy about the proposal because he had argued to keep WHRC open during the meeting Jan. 26, saying he was concerned about moving the district’s new central enrollment office and all the district’s records out of WHRC when it was unclear where there would be space for them.
“We are not sure where we will house the furniture and equipment from the other buildings,” Garrett said.
In addition, Paramore pointed out if the district receives funds from the federal stimulus package to repair buildings, as trustees hope, the district may need the space at WHRC to provide temporary classrooms for students who must be moved while work is being done at their schools.
About 350 children in kindergarten through sixth grade will be at the school for the 2009-2010 school year, Paramore said.
In addition, she recommends moving some of the all-day preschool children to Whitmer, which will bring $240,000 to the district. The district opened a preschool academy at Frost school last year, but has not had the required space to meet the demand for full-day preschool.
The preschool addition will pay for itself,” she said, in terms of dollars and enhancing test scores as the youngsters grow up.
“As the district evaluates where we are in terms of enrollment and whether we have adequate space for ancillary staff, the board will have to take under consideration whether it would remain open beyond the 2009-2010 school year,” Paramore said.
Even as Garrett acclaimed the WHRC decision as a positive one, Trustee Christopher Northcross said he was concerned about leaving open a building that was closed as part of the restructuring plan. He said it means money will be spent keeping open another building that is over capacity for the students served. He compared it to keeping Bethune school open for alternative education two years ago and reopening Frost for the preschool last year after they had been removed from the budget.
“Year after year, the board refused to close buildings,” Northcross said, costing the district millions of dollars.
After both men had their say, board President Damon Dorkins refused to allow what he called “the back and forth” between them. He said both had made their statements well.
In the end, the board unanimously approved keeping the building open for one more year.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:35 PM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC – In a surprise move, the Pontiac Board of Education voted to keep Whitmer Human Resource Center open one more year to give the district time to relocate students and programs as they restructure the district.
However, the majority of the children who now attend WHRC, near the city’s downtown, will move to other schools in the fall as planned.
Remaining in the WHRC building will be 350 students in kindergarten through sixth grade, several classes of full-day preschoolers, central enrollment, the teachers’ computer laboratory and meetings rooms, and several ancillary district services.
Whitmer was among the nine schools that were to close for the 2009-2010 school year in the restructuring plan approved by the school board Jan. 26. Discussion about the possibility of keeping the building open for one more year came up at a school board retreat at Oakland Schools over the weekend.
By fall semester, the district will be almost half its size. Officials plan to close one high school, a middle school and six elementary buildings, requiring school administrators to make major scheduling changes for students, teachers and school buses.
On Monday, acting Superintendent Linda Paramore made an official request to the board to keep Whitmer open one more year to allow some flexibility as the major transition is carried out over the summer and next school year.
“I’m recommending a reevaluation next school year,” she said. “I don’t want us to be in the position where we don’t have space. I’m not saying keep WHRC open forever. I’m just saying for the transition.”
Board Vice President Gill Garrett was happy about the proposal because he had argued to keep WHRC open during the meeting Jan. 26, saying he was concerned about moving the district’s new central enrollment office and all the district’s records out of WHRC when it was unclear where there would be space for them.
“We are not sure where we will house the furniture and equipment from the other buildings,” Garrett said.
In addition, Paramore pointed out if the district receives funds from the federal stimulus package to repair buildings, as trustees hope, the district may need the space at WHRC to provide temporary classrooms for students who must be moved while work is being done at their schools.
About 350 children in kindergarten through sixth grade will be at the school for the 2009-2010 school year, Paramore said.
In addition, she recommends moving some of the all-day preschool children to Whitmer, which will bring $240,000 to the district. The district opened a preschool academy at Frost school last year, but has not had the required space to meet the demand for full-day preschool.
The preschool addition will pay for itself,” she said, in terms of dollars and enhancing test scores as the youngsters grow up.
“As the district evaluates where we are in terms of enrollment and whether we have adequate space for ancillary staff, the board will have to take under consideration whether it would remain open beyond the 2009-2010 school year,” Paramore said.
Even as Garrett acclaimed the WHRC decision as a positive one, Trustee Christopher Northcross said he was concerned about leaving open a building that was closed as part of the restructuring plan. He said it means money will be spent keeping open another building that is over capacity for the students served. He compared it to keeping Bethune school open for alternative education two years ago and reopening Frost for the preschool last year after they had been removed from the budget.
“Year after year, the board refused to close buildings,” Northcross said, costing the district millions of dollars.
After both men had their say, board President Damon Dorkins refused to allow what he called “the back and forth” between them. He said both had made their statements well.
In the end, the board unanimously approved keeping the building open for one more year.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
THINK: EduWood Digital Learning Studios!
Hollywood comes to Oakland
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
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