DETROIT — The State of Michigan has agreed to pay the Detroit school district’s former state-appointed emergency manager more than $82,000 to serve as a consultant through mid-July. Darnell Earley stepped down last month from his job leading Michigan’s largest school district amid criticism for his role in Flint’s lead-tainted water crisis and his handling of teacher sick-outs and building conditions in Detroit’s troubled public schools.
The Detroit Free Press reports an agreement with the office of Governor Rick Snyder was negotiated before it was announced that Earley was leaving. Earley will be available to consult with school and state officials as a new so-called transition manager begins work.
Earley was state-appointed emergency manager in Flint when its drinking water was switched to the Flint River and improperly treated water leached lead from pipes.
He is scheduled to testify before a Congressional Committee about the Flint Water Crisis on March 15.
