LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Michigan State Board of Education has voted to offer Dr. Michael Rice the opportunity to be their next State Superintendent of Schools.
The final vote was 5 to 3 with Wayne County Superintendent Randy Leipa coming in second.
Board members say all their finalists were extremely qualified but the majority felt that Dr. Rice would be the “best fit” to work with them to turn the State’s schools around.
His supporters say, of the three finalists, he had the shown the most success at actually making progress to improve graduation rates and minority achievement, to raise test scores and to build a collaborative model for education in Kalamazoo.
His selection is contingent on the successful negotiation of a contract. The timeline for his transition to the new post is a work in progress.
Kalamazoo School Trustees will now find themselves spending a lot of time searching for his replacement.
