Snyder urges Detroit school restructuring; announces education reform initiative
LANSING, MI -- Quick passage of legislation to restructure the cash-strapped Detroit Public Schools was urged Tuesday by Gov. Rick Snyder in his State of the State address.
Snyder also announced he's appointing a commission on 21st century education to identify how to improve education governance, funding systems and career and college readiness in Michigan schools.
The goal, he said, is for Michigan to have one of the nation's top 10 school systems within the next 10 years.
"To be blunt, we have 19th century education system in the 21st century and it's time to ask ourselves why," he said.
But first, he talked about Detroit Public Schools, which currently serves about 47,000 students and, he said, is in "a decades-long crisis," both in regards to finances and academic outcomes.
Many parents "can't find the quality education they seek" while the district is spending $1,100 per student on servicing its $500 million operating debt, Snyder said.
"Let's solve the problem and help the kids," he said. "The time to act is now and avoid court intervention, which would cost us much more and be a lot more detrimental."
State-appointed emergency managers have run the district since 2009, leaving the elected school board with little power, particularly after the passage of laws strengthening Michigan's financial emergency law in 2011 and 2012.
In October, Snyder proposed a $715 million bailout plan, creating a new Detroit Community School District that would be fully funded by the state.
The old district would continue to operate solely as a vehicle to collect an existing millage and pay off accumulated debt.
Snyder has proposed increasing per-pupil funding to make up for the millage money, which would be used to pay down about $70 million a year in debt over the next decade. That would cost about $50 per-pupil in School Aid Fund dollars that could otherwise go to districts.
Legislation introduced this month by Sen. Geoff Hansen, R-Hart, laid the groundwork for the restructuring DPS into the two districts as proposed by Snyder.
The legislation would also create a nine-member appointed board to lead the district until new board members are elected – they would run on the November 2016 ballot – and take office in January 2017.
Five of the interim board members would be chosen by Snyder, with the remainder being chosen by Mayor Mike Duggan. The interim board would pick the district's superintendent.
However, legislation that would cover how to fund the new district has not been introduced.
Don Wotruba, executive director of the Michigan Association School Boards, issued a statement earlier Tuesday in which he called the Senate bills "a good first step."
"But we're still a long ways from a solution that works for Detroit, the state of Michigan and our students," Wortuba's statement said. "We hope this solution will come quickly as DPS can no longer wait to have a long-term fix in place. We appreciate this legislation restoring control back to a locally elected board this November, but until we address the district's crippling debt and infrastructure, I fear we're only setting up this board to fail."
On the broader issue of education reform, Snyder said Tuesday, "we've made progress," citing expansion of preschool programs, new standards on teacher Snyder urges Detroit school restructuring; announces education reform initiative | MLive.com:
