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CONTINUING COVERAGE OF THE DETROIT SCHOOLS' BUDGET CRISIS

DPS announces school closings and teacher layoffs to address budget deficit- (April 9, 2009)

THE LATEST: Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb announces the budget deficit of $305 million will require closing 23 schools and laying off 600 teachers. The plan will also make a new $200 million investment in security and building upgrades. A study last year suggested school closures would cause more problem than they solve because more families will flee the city. Last time DPS closed schools, parents protested.

Impact on students & their families

• An estimated 7,500 Detroit Public School students will be transferred to new schools in Fall 2009 if the proposed plan is implemented.

Scope of the crisis?

• $306 million deficit estimated for upcoming school year.
• The district now has 96,000 students and has been losing about 10,000 students a year most years since 2001.

How will proposed plan address the crisis?

• CUTS: Closing 23 schools and laying off 600 teachers will eliminate the deficit
  • School closings estimated to save $8.8 million/year beginning year two.
  • Rest of savings comes from eliminating 600 teachers.
• IMPROVEMENTS: Plan includes $200 million in increased spending on upgrades:
  • $25 million for enhanced security - replacing doors, adding security cameras and creating a new video monitoring system
    • Last week a school social worker tackled a boy who allegedly entered a school with a sawed-off shotgun.
    • Earlier this year, several intruders at Central High School engaged in a gun battle in the halls.
  • $175 million will be spent on structural upgrades for buildings and infrastructure improvements like lighting, roofs and new boilers
  • Bobb is asking the state to use federal stimulus funding, as well as:
    • $20 million from a 1994 bond issue that will be used to repair and renovate schools that will be receiving new students.
    • $6 million from allocated, unspent funds to improve several schools where students transferred as part of the last closure plan when 33 schools were shuttered.
• THE FUTURE: DPS is reviewing financing options for three new K-12 educational complexes to replace Chadsey and Finney high schools and remodel or replace Mumford High.
• THE PAST: DPS will review which shuttered buildings (including 56 already vacant structures) would be targeted for demolition, redevelopment or sale to charter schools. Bobb said he is notifying the community and working with city planners to ensure the shuttered schools won't add blight to neighborhoods already impacted by dozens of shuttered Detroit schools.

Which schools slated to close?

• 23 Detroit schools including:
  • High Schools
    • Chadson High School
  • Middle Schools
  • Elementary Schools
    • Guyton Elementary
• (NOTE that the article does not list the other schools slated to close , though that is what many parents will care about most, especially those who are new to the issue. It is essential online to list all 23. If the list is perceived as too long, perhaps use a link to a subpage or popup)

Impact on teachers?

• 600 teachers (11.3% of total teaches) will be pink-slipped for Fall 2009.
• DPS says some may be called back later.
• (NOTE that the article is mute on consequences such as how many of the remaining teachers may be transferred to new school assignments.)

How were decisions made?

• Four criteria: The DPS team said the school closure plan is based on:
  1. neighborhood redevelopment plans
  2. population patterns
  3. schools' student achievement levels
  4. condition of school buildings
  • Nine of the schools on the closure list are failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), ranging from alert to Phase 8 status.
  • Some schools on closure list currently at half capacity.
• Balance: Bobb said the plan must balance the need for cuts with concerns that cuts will cause more parents to flee to surrounding school districts.
  • Bobb: "We are asking parents to stay with us and give us an opportunity. Don't abandon the system ... We're going to stand up and fight for you, and if you're not getting a quality education in your schools, if the principals aren't standing up, if the teachers aren't standing up, and giving your children the type of education they need and deserve, we'll take whatever action we have to take."

Other voices & views

• Connie Calloway: The former superintendent chose not to close schools this year after the district found the 33 school closings the previous year cost the system millions of dollars. An internal report compiled by a committee of academic and non-academic "stakeholders" and authored by Calloway said the district lost $11.3 million because students left the district following the closures.

What do parents say?

• Michelle Dixon: Her daughter Mya is a fourth grader at Guyton Elementary which is slated for closure. She said she plans to enroll her in a charter school, rather than a public school farther away. "It's sad. That school is a neighborhood school, so it's very convenient for a lot of kids to walk back and forth. Closing the schools where people are working and the community is helping out -- that's not the solution."
• Chris White: "If you treat the parents poorly, we have an option." Parents can simply leave the district, he said.
• Rudy Jones: He has two daughters at Courtis Elementary which is slated to close, with the girls transferred to nearby Noble Elementary. Jones said he won't send his girls to Noble because it is structurally worse and lacks computer labs and other academic necessities. "I have no emotional ties to Courtis, but brick for brick, it's a better, safer environment."
  • DPS Analysis: According to the district, Noble is rated higher in academics than Courtis using federal guidelines. Courtis would require $3.7 million in structural improvements, compared to $2.8 million at Noble.

What do students say?

• (Note that the article does not include any comments from students - if you want to cultivate them as future readers, you need to make sure they are included)

What do teachers & teacher union officials say?

• Keith Johnson, President of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said he understands some layoffs are necessary because of declining enrollment. He said he is concerned for any teacher who loses a job, but he believes many layoffs will be rescinded or teachers recalled after retirements and resignations are factored in. "It may not be as bad as it seems."
• (NOTE that it would be great to include teacher comments.)

What happens next?

• Final decision on closures slated for May 8.

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TAGS: DPS, school closings, Detroit, budget, cuts, crisis, deficit, public schools, charter schools, Robert Bobb, Keith Johnson, teachers, students

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xxxxxx@detnews.com (313) 222-2269 Staff writersxxx, xxx and xxx contributed.

NOTE: The excellent sidebar from the Detroit News story would also appear here.