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State: 38 schools at risk of closure, 79 schools taken off priority list

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The Highland Park school district is almost out of cash. The state is working on a solution to keep kids in school.

The Michigan Department of Education released the state’s School Score Cards and the “Top to Bottom” list today. The Top to Bottom list is used by the School Reform Office to identify low-performing schools.

The “Priority List” is made up of the lowest-performing five percent of schools in the state, and schools that were previously in the five percent and haven’t improved enough to get off the list.  Schools on the list for three years could be subject to closure.

While 38 schools are on the list of schools subject to closure this year, 79 schools were taken off the priority list.

School Reform Officer Natasha Baker has some advice for school leaders.

“The school leadership, the superintendent, the city leadership, they can all get together right this second and create a master plan that allows for kids to have access to great schools.”

The 38 schools at risk of closure will be evaluated by the School Reform Office to determine if they should close. However, some Republican lawmakers say they want to repeal the law giving the reform office power to close schools. 

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
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