CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed two successor emergency managers to a pair of suburban Detroit school districts under state control.
Snyder appointed Don Weatherspoon as manager of the Highland Park School District and Steve Schiller to oversee the Muskegon Heights district.
They replace Gregory Weatherspoon, Don Weatherspoon's brother, who had been overseeing both districts since 2013. The state has converted both districts into charter schools since taking them over in 2012.
Don Weatherspoon has previously served as emergency manager for the Highland Park schools and currently serves as a consultant on the Pontiac school district's consent agreement with the state. He will continue to work in that position, according to the state treasurer department, which announced the new hires. He has also been a professor at Michigan State University and has worked in education and various government positions.
Schiller has been working as a consultant to the districts' previous managers since 2012. Before that he was a teacher in the Muskegon Heights schools.
"While appointing successor-managers to these two districts is not my preferred choice, it is the most appropriate step, given the state each district is currently at," Snyder said in a statement. "I believe continued management and oversight is necessary as we work together to address the respective financial emergencies."
