Inkster Public Schools (IPS), officially School District of the City of Inkster, was a school district headquartered in Inkster,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...

. It served most of Inkster and a small portion of

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

History

For a several-year period ending in 2013, the district had declining enrollment. In the 2012-2013 school year the district lost over 500 students. As of 2013, the district had a $12 million deficit. To deal with the deficit, the district proposed converting

Inkster High School Inkster High School was a high school in Inkster, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It was a part of Inkster Public Schools. History Inkster High School on Middlebelt was built in 1952. In 2013 the school had 940 students.Higgins, Lori.Inkster district ...

into a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

and only directly operating the K-8 schools.Higgins, Lori.
Inkster district could convert high school into a charter school
" ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. January 30, 2013. Retrieved on February 12, 2013.

Closure

In June 2013 Governor of Michigan

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previo ...

and the Michigan Legislature approved Public Act 96 and 97 of 2013. The two bills were written specifically to close Inkster Public Schools and Buena Vista School District.Dissolution of Inkster Public Schools Frequently Asked Questions
"
Archive
Wayne County RESA Board of Education. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. The laws gave

Andy Dillon Andrew Dillon is a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. While Dillon is a Democrat, he was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, to be the state's treasurer. Before serving in the Cabinet, Dillon was speaker of ...

, the Michigan Treasurer, and Mike Flanagan, the State Superintendent of Education, the power to formally determine if the districts would remain open for the 2013-2014 school year. They told the districts that they had one final opportunity to remain open if they secured outside funding but neither received a financing agreement.Smith, Brian.
Inkster-area state representative seeking review of law that dissolved school district
" ''

Mlive MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold to Advance Publications ...

''. October 10, 2013. Updated on October 11, 2013. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. The deadline was July 22, 2013. The Inkster District claims that a deficit reduction plan was filed with the state and

Comerica Bank Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helpin ...

would have made a loan contingent on approval of the plan. The plan was only rejected based on the official "lacks confidence that the District can implement" it. Therefore, the Inkster Public Schools district was entirely dissolved.Dissolution of Inkster Public Schools
"
Archive
Wayne County RESA Board of Education. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. The district had a $15 million deficit at the time of closure.French, Ron.
Poor students are more likely to get Michigan’s least experienced teachers
." ''

Bridge Magazine ''Bridge Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine devoted to the game of contract bridge. It was the oldest such magazine having been established in 1926 by A. E. Manning Foster. It was not published during World War II, so it had fewer issues ...

''. The Center for Michigan. October 14, 2013. Retrieved on November 2, 2013. The Wayne RESA Board of Education opted to make redistricting plans instead of allowing the state government to make the plans. The remaining students were split up among the Taylor School District, Romulus Community School District, Wayne-Westland Community Schools and Westwood Community School District. Areas were given to the new districts by quadrants. Students north of Michigan Avenue and west of Middlebelt were rezoned to Wayne-Westland. Students north of Michigan Avenue and east of Middlebelt were rezoned to Westwood. Students south of Michigan Avenue and west of Middlebelt were rezoned to Romulus. Students south of Michigan and east of Middlebelt were rezoned to Taylor. The district will remain intact for taxing purposes as long as the existing debt is being paid off. Almost all Inkster district employees lost their jobs. Wayne RESA obtained the Inkster school district records. State representative David Knezek of

Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 63,292 at the 2020 census., Dearborn Heights is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is considered a bedroom community. History Dearborn Heigh ...

asked

Attorney General of Michigan The Attorney General of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, m ...

Bill Schuette William Duncan Schuette ( ; born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd attorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Senate in 1990 and for Governor of Mi ...

for a formal opinion on whether or not the closure of the Inkster district was legal or if it was in violation of the

Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...

or other state laws.

Demographics

In 2013, prior to closure, two of three teachers had taught in the district for fewer than five years. 83% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Schools

The following schools were open prior to the district dissolving: ;Secondary schools *

(Inkster) - In 2013 the school had 940 students *Inkster 9th Grade Academy (Inkster, formerly Fellrath Middle School) * Inkster Vocational Academy (Inkster) * Blanchette Middle School (Inkster) ;Elementary schools * Baylor-Woodson Elementary School (Inkster) ** Now Burger Baylor School for Students with Autism of the

Garden City School District Garden City School District is the school district for Garden City, Michigan. It serves grades K-12, and its Superintendent is Derek Fisher. History Before GCPS It is believed that the first school located on the land that is now Garden C ...

Home pageArchive
. Burger Baylor School. Retrieved on April 10, 2015. "Burger Baylor School 28865 Carlysle Inkster, MI 48141" * Meek-Milton Elementary School (Inkster) ;Defunct schools The following schools had already been shuttered prior to the district dissolving: *Brake Elementary School (Inkster) - Formerly the John D. Hearn, S.R. Public Academy and Thomas Gist Academy North, this school is now destroyed. *Carver Elementary School (Inkster) - Razed and replaced by the Baylor-Woodson/Meek-Milton school building. *Douglas Elementary School (Inkster) - Razed and replaced by Haddon Estates. *Frazier Elementary School (Westland) - Now the Thomas Gist Academy South. *Lincoln Elementary School (Inkster) - Currently abandoned. *Parkwood Elementary School (Inkster) - Razed. *Woodson Elementary School (Inkster)

References

External links

Inkster Public School District
(Archive) *
Dissolution of Inkster Public Schools
" Wayne County RESA
Inkster Dissolution
- Wayne-Westland Community Schools {{Westland, Michigan Former school districts in Michigan 2013 disestablishments in Michigan School districts disestablished in 2013 Education in Wayne County, Michigan Inkster, Michigan Westland, Michigan