The Future of Detroit Public Schools

A few weeks ago, Rachel Kalayjian asked, “Who will keep Detroit beautiful?” Now we should also be asking, who will keep Detroit educated?

Detroit Public Schools have been called “ground zero” for America’s failing schools. A number of social and economic factors, which I won’t get into here, have left Detroit’s public school system crippled and weary. They currently face a $327 million budget deficit, which administrators have been ordered to close by 2014.

DPS hired Robert Bobb as an emergency financial planner, and his plan for next school year was just released. Nearly half of all public schools in the city of Detroit will be closed next year. 70 will close, 72 will remain open. That’s huge. It could mean catastrophe for Detroit real estate, which has already almost hit rock bottom.

Over the past decade, enrollment in DPS has fallen by 50%, so some closures would be expected. But Bobb’s plan would mean 60 students per high school class. 60.

As college students, we are used to larger class sizes. But now re-imagine your quaint high school classes packed with 60 students and half as much interaction time with the teacher. Sounds awful, but hey, it will close that big scary deficit by 2014.

Alright. The deficit is big and needs to be cut, but doing this in a way that severely damages a student’s education is irresponsible. Furthermore, a plan this drastic is sure to drive away thousands more students — and in turn thousands of dollars in funding— from Detroit. Even Bobb admits that the plan isn’t academically or economically viable, but it’s their only choice for now.

At a time when our state should be investing in education, Governor Snyder’s proposed budget, along with anti-union measures, cuts public school funding by $470 per student: icing on the cake for Detroit.

(Photo by sxc.hu)