Thursday, February 11, 2010

More Detroit schools to close | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

More Detroit schools to close | freep.com | Detroit Free Press:

"Roughly 40 Detroit public schools will close, and the district will impose layoffs, furloughs and other concessions upon its staff this year to help close a $200-million deficit, emergency financial manager Robert Bobb said Wednesday.

Bobb said the closures will include underutilized high schools. Neither Bobb nor district officials would say which schools will close.

And the plan isn't a total surprise. School officials talked last year of possibly closing 60 schools over two years.

Bobb's comments came during the Crain's Newsmakers of the Year luncheon at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, where he and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing were lauded as 'change agents in charge.'

Bobb said his last 11 months as the Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager have been filled with ups and downs, with the positives being getting to work with DPS students and negatives including being sued by the school board. But, he added, he sees hope."