Update: 5:15 pm:
Anthony Adams, president of the Detroit Board of Education, spoke with Michigan Radio about Judge Baxter's ruling. Adams says the ruling "isn't a victory per se":
"The only victory that we’ll have in the city of Detroit is when every child can read, can write, can learn to the best of their abilities, and we as adults have to sit at the table and make sure that we work together in a cooperative fashion."
Adams says the school board is ready to move forward with what he calls an “aggressive academic agenda.”
"We have a lot of ideas and suggestions that we want and will bring to the table on how we improve education performance in the district and we look forward to working with Mr. Bobb in this endeavor."
The Detroit Board of Education sued Bobb, saying he overstepped his authority when he implemented his own academic plan for the district.
Steve Wasko, a DPS spokesman, says the district plans to appeal the judge's decision:
"The judge is quite clear in her decision that academic policies should be developed by the Board of Education, but is not clear at all as to where that leaves various academic programs that have been put in place over the past year under Mr. Bobb’s administration."
Under the ruling, Bobb is allowed to continue with his plan to close dozens of schools across the district.
Update: 3:53 pm:
Robert Bobb issued a statement in response to Wayne County Third Circuit Court JudgeWendy Baxter's ruling in favor of Detroit's Board of Education saying:
Ironically, Judge Baxter’s ruling comes a year almost to the date after the announcement that Detroit’s schoolchildren ranked lowest in history on a national math test. Judge Baxter’s ruling is a step backward and endorses the past academic policies which, along with the financial practices and the overall direction of the school district, were a total failure.
Bobb criticized the Board's academic plan and says the ruling leaves "significant legal and legislative issues to be resolved."
3:08 pm:
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Board of Education just won a lawsuit that could change the reform efforts underway in the Detroit Public School system.
The Board of Education filed a lawsuit against the state-appointed emergency financial manager Robert Bobb saying he overstepped in his role as financial manager by making decisions on curriculum and school closures.
The Freep quotes Detroit Board of Education President Anthony Adams saying:
"We obviously are ecstatic that the court has given clear direction about who’s in charge of academics. We intend to move quickly to finalize our academic vision and look forward to working with Robert Bobb now that we have a clear understanding of the division of duties."
Robert Bobb has a clock on the DPS website counting down the number of days he has left as emergency financial manager. Today, it stands at 83 days left. His position will end February 28th, 2011.
