41 Detroit Public Schools To Become Charter Schools

Last month, the state of Michigan charged Robert Bobb, Detroit Public Schools' Emergency Financial Manager, with closing 50 percent of the district's schools to help cut the district's $327 million deficit.

This past Saturday, Bobb offered a new proposal to avoid drastic closures.

The Renaissance Plan 2012, announced March 12, will aim to turn 41 of DPS's 142 schools into charter schools. The 41 schools in question will be identified later this week. However, the district has said that this change will affect 16,000 students, and that some of the schools to be chartered are high schools.

The district estimates that the Renaissance Plan will save $75-$99 million in operating costs per year. Additionally, $22 million will be saved by eliminating the costs incurred by shutting down schools. Bobb estimated $21.85 million in revenue will be brought in by leases from the charter schools, since the district will still own the school facilities.

Charter schools are not usually required to hire unionized teachers. By converting 41 schools to charter schools -- roughly 30 percent of Detroit public schools -- one of the largest cuts may be in paying teacher tenures and pensions.

The new plan, compared to Louisiana's post-Katrina reforms, would make Detroit one of the districts with the highest percentage of students in charter schools in the country. Yet one New York Times article shows skepticism about the effectiveness of charter schools in the area.

Detroit charter schools will also receive some benefits compared to other charter schools in Michigan, according to Bobb. As he said in the press release,

Students living within the neighborhood will be given priority enrollment, and charter operators will be contractually required to meet all special education needs of enrolled students. Rather than simply closing schools, this plan seeks to transform DPS into one of the nation's premier urban school districts by recruiting some of the best, proven school operators to serve Detroit's children and remake schools that have been failing them for years.

Comments

[JusdaTruth]

11:45 AM on 04/17/2011

Can we be honest for a moment? Isn't it true that these reforms are designed to do one thing : Save money. Where is the emperical data that teachers are the main problem in public education today. I agree with Ortho Stice below. Wake up to where this is heading. To the so-called reformers Rhee, Legend, and their followers: If you think you had a teacher shortage years ago: well after your present Teaching Bashing which I know gives you a " sanctomonius rush"( thrill ) very few will want to enter this profession. If you and your cohorts succeed (which I don't think you will) there will be a dumbing down of the teaching profession which will continue the race towards the bottom which the plutocracy loves.

[JusdaTruth]

11:48 AM on 04/17/2011

typing error above: Sentence three should read empirical data- not emperical

[Ortho Stice]

10:52 PM on 04/09/2011

And, so it has begun, the dismantling of the American public education system.

[Dale D]

12:33 PM on 03/21/2011

With Arne Duncan's assessment that 82% of the nation's schools are failing why wouldn't a stab at working from scratch be such a problem? Charter schools do not require union representation for the teachers and the support staff so you are are starting off with a great advantage. The teachers can focus on teaching and not on how to get more to feed at the public trough.

[Ortho Stice]

10:58 PM on 04/09/2011

Nice word parsing, Dale. Duncan said that 82% of the nation's schools "could be labeled as failing under No Child Left Behind," which is why he wants to get rid of NCLB. He didn't say that they were failing schools.

You obviously went to the Fox News School of Editing.

As for charter school teachers concentrating on teaching, that's sort of tough to do when they must tend bar or work retail to augment their $30,000 a year salaries.

[Dreamofflowers]

10:19 PM on 03/16/2011

Great, Detroit already has so many problems. Letting corporations run the schools on public dollars is not a good idea. Also, who are they going to get to teach in Detroit without Union protection? Charter schools burn out their employees.

[miketothad]

04:51 PM on 03/16/2011

Shock Doctrine. "EMERGENCY!"
Heaven's gonna have very few conservatives.

[plaidsportcoat]

06:05 AM on 03/16/2011

The best proven charter school operators are PAReNTS, usually, if you take a close look. NOT the profiteers with ideologically and politically motivated education hypotheses about how to treat poor people in school to make them better wage slaves when they leave school, or maybe even graduate.

[WARHUKKER]

11:19 PM on 03/15/2011

Charter Schools are not always the answer many Charter Schools are run by greedy adminstration that just want money and provide a poor education for kids.

[maninal2]

05:28 AM on 03/16/2011

What needs to be included whenever Charter Schools are discussed is that they are FOR PROFIT. That model has worked so well in health care hasn't it?

[plaidsportcoat]

06:18 AM on 03/16/2011

Well, yes - for sure I think almost ALL of the PROBLEM charter schools are the corporate For Profits.
There are actually some really nice little independents around the country (each state has its own charter laws, still) run by parents and teachers, mostly, that are pretty good. They are small and answer to their community. Those are not for profit. They are basically run at bare minimum, with as much as possible going to the teachers, in the case of the best ones. So the facilities are not fancy, but the school spirit can be really great when the parents, teachers and KIDS are all on the same page, and there's not stupid corporation on top. There's usually not too many administrators, either, and if the parents stay involved and support the teachers, they can mitigate a bad principal

[baybeebluz]

10:35 AM on 03/16/2011

Not sure than can do much worse than the DPS system that has a graduation rate around 25%. Time to try something new.

[maninal2]

03:22 PM on 03/16/2011

Sure. Something new. There's a complete lack of intellectual thought. Something, anything as long as it's new. What a pile.

[royce76]

09:49 PM on 03/15/2011

We had renaissance 2010 here in Chgo, and let me tell you, the flowering of intellectual fervor and rediscovery of the value of the scholarly way of life is transforming this city. Students carrying books to and from the schools cheerfully hum the Renaissance tune, you can hear them coming and going it's like caroling all year long. Their collective attestations almost drowned out the noise of the shooting this evening outside my front door...

[plaidsportcoat]

06:06 AM on 03/16/2011

hee hee

[plaidsportcoat]

06:19 AM on 03/16/2011

Fanned

[lcr999]

09:03 PM on 03/15/2011

Is this a PROPOSAL or a FACT. The headline contradicts the story, which says it is a PROPOSAL.

[blackgrl71]

06:39 PM on 03/15/2011

Sooo they had "no money" for which to fund the public schools but they suddenly have money for 41 charter schools.Why not use those resources to FIX the public schools?! Also... I wonder how much this guy was paid to push for the charters...

Finally, this is an abysmal failure on the part of the White House that they would allow this CRISIS IN EDUCATION to happen w/o offering some kind of support or options to ensure that these kids continue to receive a decent education and that all the people whose life-blood rests in working or supporting this system get a fair shake.

[Swedenworks]

08:14 PM on 03/15/2011

The Crisis is Manufactured, so they can shock the system into privatization.

[corwin]

09:34 PM on 03/15/2011

People think it was Einstein,but I believe it was Mies van der Rohe who made the comment re' insanity was repeating failure and expecting different resultsDiffidently, I point out the number of students in DPS keeps falling.Parents have been desperate to get their kids into religious schools.No one will be making the parents choose charters,but they -perhaps selfishly-are thinking more of their kids than DPS employees.And,I think anyone who believes this is a manufactured crisis has never been in a school in Detroit

[blackgrl71]

10:29 PM on 03/15/2011

"...anyone who believes this is a manufactur­ed crisis has never been in a school in Detroit," that may be true except this 'recipe' is being played out all over this country in too many urban cities to count. Detroit is NOT unique. So how would you explain that? As for your idea that parents want to send their kids to religious schools, what makes these religious schools any better? A lot of faith-based funding has gone into these Black ministers pockets, where they in turn buy up real estate and often open under-performing charter schools.

Well your point about "insanity was repeating failure and expecting different results" may be apt, ignores how little the debate around education actually revolves around the business of EDUCATING our youth-- particularly youth in urban cities. What about the curriculum, social services needs, nutrition, how do you address the bad or neglectful parenting, where are the extracurricular activities... and how about an accounting of HOW this educational system became so bankrupt. Where did the money go? How did the State of Michigan allow it to get this bad?

I also think there's a direct correlation to the failure of Black communities --which includes the education system, w/ the rise of both current Black leadership and these huge Black churches. While yes it appears that DPS is failing-- but HOW did it get to this point? It wasn't always failing...

[maninal2]

05:29 AM on 03/16/2011

The poverty gripping Detroit has been manufactured for decades. Poverty is the primary factor behind school failures.

[dpisoccer]

05:59 PM on 03/15/2011

It's all the Teachers Unions fault, never mind that the city of Detroit is in such a mess that they don't even have a supermarket in the city. So Charter schools are the magic wand to fix everything huh, and who is going to Teach in these magic schools, why the same teachers who you thought so little of when they were part of a Union. Now however working at just above poverty they become heroes. These people simply disgust me, wanting your fellow human to wallow in financial misery just to make yourself important by claiming you make more than they do.

[teasly]

09:44 AM on 03/16/2011

Let's go, get the signs, get the busses ready, time to protest, Unfortuneatly these changes are happening all over our bankrupt country. Do you think Wisconsin is alone? More recall votes? more debt? Good luck.

[ha1ha2]

05:28 PM on 03/15/2011

Why do you keep saying that the states have to pay pensions! It is very frustrating, especially from Huff Post, who is supposed to know better! We pay for our pensions!

[dpisoccer]

06:06 PM on 03/15/2011

When they are taught to simply parrot the company line that's all they can do. It's become all the rage over the past few years to beat up on teachers after all the test shows are kids are not as good in math and science. In the present day it's perfectly normal to lash out at others rather than face your own failings. I wonder what they will say when little Timmy is expelled from the private or Charter school because he was caught cheating for the 5th time. It's the Schools fault if they only paid a decent wage they would attract great teachers they will say, never will the hypocrisy even become a thought to them.

[corwin]

09:35 PM on 03/15/2011

Um,nope.Sorry

[maninal2]

05:30 AM on 03/16/2011

Your ignorance is on display

[dpisoccer]

07:41 AM on 03/16/2011

Tell us Corwin what exactly did the Teachers Union do to you? Please don't be trite and say my taxes went up, tell me exactly what % of your taxes the teachers union caused to go up vs say the busing or the sports programs. Tell me Corwin if all the teachers are so bad why are so many bright kids graduating from college ? My guess is that you can't stand the idea that they made a decent living while getting summers off. So Um,nope. Sorry Corwin thats not a good enough reason.

[Mike Soto]

04:59 PM on 03/15/2011

Liberals and dems always will opt for decline because it's easier than doing the math.

[blukazoo]

05:36 PM on 03/15/2011

Leave it to conservative republicans to still believe in 30 year old failed trickle down economics policies. Only a fo ol would believe that giving money to the rich and businesses will somehow turn out good for the economy.

[Janine547]

06:20 PM on 03/15/2011

Obama's trickle up plan not working so well, huh.

[seal62]

04:06 PM on 03/15/2011

Translation ...tax payers money to the rich to teach out of texas school books .

[AKFALAR]

03:52 PM on 03/15/2011

Gotcha, when forced to act look how the "market" behaves.