Education

The Muskegon Heights school system has been fined nearly $100,000 by the Michigan Department of Education. The department launched the investigation after Michigan Radio reported the new Muskegon Heights charter school district had about 10% of teachers working without a valid teaching certificate or permit. It’s against state law to do that.

To add to the woes of public education in Michigan, six new school districts are running deficits.

Forty-nine was the record, now make it 55 school districts – from the Traverse Bay Area to Wayne County – with deficits.

More from MPRN's Rick Pluta:

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan says declining enrollment is the most-common issue in the deficit districts. That’s led to a loss of state funding.

Flanagan says schools do need more resources, but most are keeping their budgets balanced. The ones that don’t, he says, are a rarity.

  The Wayne State University Board of Governors unanimously approved Dr. M. Roy Wilson as the school’s next President Wednesday.

Wilson is currently a deputy director at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. An ophthalmologist by training, he comes from a background in medical research that spans government and academia.

“I sense great things moving forward,” Wilson said about Wayne State, calling it a “public institution…with a noble vision.”