Detroit school names 8 time felon as principal

Protecting our tax dollars is a priority at MacDowell Preparatory Academy, or so says school board chairwoman Nicole Wells Stallworth, who mentioned fiscal responsibility at least eight times in a June commentary under the headline "Michigan charter school boards ensure financial accountability."

That's what makes it so hard to understand why board members at the Detroit charter school hired a principal who has been convicted of eight felonies for ripping people off; who has a history of being evicted and refusing to pay his bills; who has failed to report money his charity collected; who owes thousands of dollars in fines for violating Michigan campaign finance regulations; and who, at the time he was hired, was being dogged by a legal firm that specializes in debt collection.

Only 7% of MacDowell's students were proficient in all subjects on state tests in 2021-22, according to the most recent state data available. The state average was 37%. The school also lagged well behind the state average in the percent of students making progress toward proficiency or increasing their proficiency in all subjects. At MacDowell, 21% of students were making progress in 2021-22. The state average was 40%. The numbers for the previous school year were about the same.

Banks had been trying to get back into elected office since he resigned as a state representative in 2017 as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid up to 14 years in prison for defrauding a credit union. He ran for state Senate in 2018, but failed to win the Democratic nomination. On Aug. 2, 2022, he was defeated in his bid to be the Democratic nominee for the Wayne County Commission's 1st District. Ten days later, on Aug. 12, 2022, Banks applied for a school administrator certificate, according to the Michigan Department of Education.



https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/ml-elrick/2023/08/27/detroit-school-former-felon-as-principal/70669868007/