Ex-U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes
Steven Rhodes, as a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge, helped resolve the city of Detroit's finances during a historical bankruptcy. Then he retired from the bench.
But his public service didn't end. Ten months ago, Gov. Rick Snyder tapped him to become the Detroit Public Schools fifth emergency manager. On Saturday, he departs from that post with mixed grades, according to a report by Shawn Lewis The Detroit News:
Walbridge CEO John Rakolta Jr., co-chair of the Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren that pushed for the state bailout and other educational reforms that weren’t adopted, gives the transition manager an “A.”
“He was the perfect guy for the transition because he had the perfect temperament,” Rakolta said. “He was dedicated to the cause. It was a tough, tough job with serious structural issues that needed to be resolved, and there was no easy solution.”
But fourth-grade teacher Tracy Brown, a critic, gives the retired judge a grade of D.
“I don’t think things are better, and in many ways, they are worse,” said Brown, who teaches at Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School. “Especially the conditions of our building.”
