Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Public Schools emergency manager Darnell Earley, facing an onslaught of criticism over dilapidated schools and his role in the Flint water crisis, announced Tuesday that he's leaving his job Feb. 29.

Gov. Rick Snyder said he will appoint a transition leader by the end of the month.

The surprise announcement came just two days before a Senate committee hearing on controversial legislation to bring changes to the 46,000-student district. It also heightened some officials' concerns about the district's stability.

Earley, 64, has led DPS since January 2015. He was expected to stay with the district until June under an 18-month time frame outlined in the state's emergency manager law. But some lawmakers viewed his presence as a barrier to moving forward with pending legislation that would create a debt-free DPS.

In his resignation letter and in a news release from the governor's office, Earley said he helped strengthen the district's finances.

"When I was appointed to this position, Gov. Snyder and I agreed that our goal was for me to be the last emergency manager appointed to DPS," he said in the news release. "I have completed the comprehensive restructuring necessary to downsizing the central office, and the development of a network structure that empowers the educational leadership of our schools to direct more resources toward classroom instruction."

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Earley has faced growing criticism for poor building conditions, overcrowded classes, ballooning debt and other problems in DPS. Teachers have staged several sick-outs in recent weeks to protest the conditions in some schools, saying Earley ignored their complaints about mold and rodents.

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Earley was the emergency manager of Flint before coming to DPS. He was in charge when the city left the Detroit water system and decided to draw water from the Flint River, a move that ultimately led to the water crisis there.

Snyder said Earley did a good job in Detroit under difficult circumstances.

“He restructured a heavily bureaucratic central office, set in place operating and cost-containment measures and has taken steps to stabilize enrollment," the governor said in the news release. "These factors should all set the course for a sustainable, new Detroit Community Schools, as I have proposed.”

Earley's critics disagreed.

"He maintained the status quo, which was one of failure," school board member LaMar Lemmons said. "His leaving will mean more destabilization of DPS."

Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, said the state hasn't been able to prove that emergency managers work.

"Flint is a tragedy, an American tragedy," he said. "There were enough bad decisions to go around, and DPS wasn’t faring any better under (Earley's) leadership than what happened in Flint. I’m glad he’s gone."

Lawmakers on Thursday will discuss two controversial DPS bills during a hearing before the state Senate Committee on Government Operations.

The bills would involve, among other things, splitting DPS into two separate entities in an effort to erase its debt, adding financial oversight and creating a nine-member school board initially appointed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Snyder. Duggan told the Free Press on Tuesday that he will testify at the hearing.

Additional legislation about how the plan will be funded was expected to be introduced.

DPS is expected to end this school year with a $335-million accumulated deficit, up from $216 million at the end of 2014-15. The district's total debt is estimated at $3.5 billion. Officials have said DPS could run out of cash in April.

Sen. Morris Hood, D-Detroit, said if Earley stayed on, it could have complicated the already-sensitive talks around the legislation. Members of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus publicly asked Snyder to fire Earley, the district's fourth emergency manager since 2009.

"We’re looking at sending $715 million (to DPS, as part of the legislation), and we want to make sure that it’s done right. ... We want to make sure that we set up DPS to succeed," Hood said.

Sen. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, who introduced the bills, said Earley's resignation "takes the spotlight off from who is in that position ... so we can move forward with the rest of the discussions we're having about the legislation."

Phil Fisher, a DPS teacher for 24 years, called Earley's departure good news.

"I think it's the right thing to do, honestly," he said. "If we want to get this problem fixed, the Detroit Public Schools problem, we've got to start with some leadership. It's taken a year to open up dialogue with teachers — that's way too long. I believe we need a leadership change but also a lot more transparency."

Earley refused to testify during a scheduled hearing before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on the Flint water crisis.

"The most important thing that happened with this resignation, he’s an employee of the state until Feb. 29," Sen. Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said. "I think he should be compelled by his boss to go testify and make sure he gives answers about what happened in Flint."

Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, D-Detroit, said while Earley has "taken one for the team" in Detroit, "the governor and previous emergency managers also contributed to the district's problems. She and other lawmakers said the focus should shift to restoring local control over Detroit schools.

“We can’t just make Darnell Earley the poster child for everything going on," she said. "Let us not lose sight of the governor’s role in this. He was responsible.”

Before working in Flint, Earley was a city manager in Saginaw, a city administrator in Flint and a budget director and controller for Ingham County.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594, azaniewski@freepress.com or on Twitter @AnnZaniewski. Staff writers Rochelle Riley, Lori Higgins and Kathleen Gray contributed to this report.