Kalamazoo School Superintendent Rice To Be Named To State Post

MLive is reporting that Dr. Michael Rice, the current superintendent of schools in Kalamazoo, will be named to the state position, after a contract is negotiated.

The former Michigan State Superintendent of Schools, Brian Whiston, died of pancreatic cancer.

According to the report, Rice was among four finalists, and impressed during the interview process, not saying everything was great, but that progress was being made.
The story says the interviewers were also impressed with his having multi-state experience.

On Rice's Kalamazoo Public School's website bio page, it touts his accomplishments as,

During this time, with the Kalamazoo Promise as a springboard, the district has started full-day pre-kindergarten and quintupled the number of full-day kindergarten students; improved student achievement in reading, writing, and math; more than doubled the number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses and more than tripled the number of AP courses that students take; and increased high school graduation rates. At the same time, AP participation for African American, economically disadvantaged, and Latino students has increased 313 percent, 402 percent, and 1212 percent, respectively. During the same period, the district has grown by more than 1,300 students (roughly 13 percent); increased from 22 to 26 sites; added a dual language elementary school, an alternative middle school program, and an alternative high school; and built three completely new schools and one partially new school, as well as additions onto two middle schools. The district has also begun a mentoring program that served 1,168 students with 9,572 weekly mentoring sessions in 2017-18, its third year in existence. KPS has passed three bonds since 2007 and spearheaded the countywide passage of a special education millage in 2015.

The move to the state position may mean a hefty pay cut for Rice, who is making in excess of $250,000 per year. According to the MLive report, the state position previously carried with it a salary just over $216,000 per year.