|
 Detroiters
on Road to Having Say on Schools
March election could decide who has control.
by Chris Christoff and Chastity Pratt, Detroit Free
Press, December 4, 2003
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The fate of
Detroit Public Schools took a surprise turn Wednesday as the
House approved a plan to let the city's voters choose next March
whether to hand control of the schools largely to the mayor or
to an elected school board.
Either plan -- an unusual two-item choice for a ballot -- would
end state control of the schools, which has stirred resentment
among some Detroiters but has been credited by others for
improving the administration of the school system.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan, announced last month, called for
him to appoint the district's chief executive and for a
nine-member elected school board to play a largely advisory
role. That plan drew fire from some Detroit City Council members
and unions, who wanted to give voters a larger say in how the
schools are governed.
The plan was also opposed by most Detroit lawmakers, and thus
faced a likely veto by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Granholm insisted
that the mayor's plan have the support of a majority of Detroit
lawmakers.
Despite the compromise, the new plan is likely to stir intense
rivalries between Kilpatrick and a faction that opposes anything
but a return to an elected board that has full control over the
schools.
"I don't see how there can be controversy in giving people of
Detroit a choice of governance for their schools," said Rep.
Bill McConico, D-Detroit, who helped draft the compromise. "It's
not Lansing imposing a new system of governance, it's providing
an option."
But as the mayor was outlining his new plan before the media
Wednesday evening, City Council members held a forum attended by
about 200 people, most of whom said they opposed mayoral control
of the schools.
The people at the forum who said the district is improving under
the appointed school board or who said they favored the mayor's
original proposal to take control of the district were booed and
heckled.
Helen Moore, a leader of the Keep the Vote No Takeover
Coalitionthat unsuccessfully sued the state in federal court to
try to get the elected board reinstated, said the Legislature
should keep its promise to allow Detroiters to decide between
the current system and an elected board in November 2004.
"This is a betrayal of our right to vote in November. The
legislators should keep their promise, but they are fearful. The
main issue is they want to make sure that Detroiters don't turn
out en masse for the presidential election," she said.
Kilpatrick, who was in Lansing on Wednesday lobbying House
Democrats, said that the new plan is the smartest way to settle
the debate over governance.
"The goal has not changed; the strategy has," he said, adding
that the new plan calls for Detroiters to be involved in, and
accountable for, the fate of the schools.
The mayor said he wanted the vote over governance to be moved up
from November 2004, as stated by current law, to March because
the issue of who controls the schools has been the most divisive
matter in the city during the past five years.
Side issues enter debate
The proposal for a March 16 special election easily passed
the House, 88-16, with all but four of the 11 Detroit lawmakers
in support.
The bill will now go to the Senate Education Committee, which
could hand it to the full Senate for approval next week.
McConico said it was appropriate that the state pay for the
March special election -- which could cost as much as $1.5
million -- as a matter of fairness because it removed control of
the schools from Detroit voters.
But such remarks were sharply criticized by Rep. Jack
Brandenburg, R-Harrison Township, who would rather keep state
oversight of Detroit schools.
"I resent them continually saying the Republicans stole their
rights," Brandenburg said. "Detroit gets more state money than
any school district in the state, and they graduate the least.
Were we supposed to support their ineptitude forever?"
Also opposing Kilpatrick's original plan is Sen. Burton Leland,
D-Detroit, who said the mayor has enough problems to deal with
without assuming authority over the state's largest school
district and its large bureaucracy.
"Our city is still dysfunctional," Leland said. "The mayor has
the hardest mayor's job in the country. He has a long way to go
to get us to the world-class city he talks about.
"His plate is running over right now."
A spokesperson for Granholm said she was encouraged by
Wednesday's House vote, and would wait to see how the bill fares
in the Senate before she commits her full support.
Meanwhile late Wednesday, House Republican leaders proposed
cutting a $15-million grant the governor restored to the
district over the summer.
They are also proposing $20 million in cuts to intermediate
school districts and a $13-million cut to the Freedom to Learn
program that would give laptop computers to sixth-graders. The
proposal is intended to fill the shortfall in the school-aid
fund.
Mayor: Focus on kids, not politics
Since 1999, the Detroit Public Schools have been controlled
by a board appointed by the governor and the mayor, with a CEO
chosen by the board. The school-takeover law requires a November
2004 election in the city to determine whether to continue the
current system.
That election would not occur if the revised bill is signed into
law. Instead, either option on the March 2004 special ballot
would require the election of a new school board in November --
one with ultimate control of the schools, or one with mostly
advisory powers.
Kilpatrick said he wants the vote to take the focus of the
discussion on schools away from power and money and get people
to talk about solving the problems of student achievement and
parental and community involvement.
"We need the people of Detroit to embrace this plan . . . to
move the city forward," Kilpatrick said. "It has to be about the
children. It cannot be about politics."
Campaign gearing up
Kilpatrick listed the UAW and the Service Employees
International Union as well as seven state legislators among his
supporters.
Starting Monday, he said, he and his supporterswill start
lobbying Detroiters to vote against going back to a system that
allows an elected board full control.
"We will be out there working our butts off to make sure we
don't go back to the old way," Kilpatrick said.
If voters do not take to his plan, he has no alternate plan, he
said.
"If the city does that, we're in a different place than I ever
thought we were," he said.
The mayor also outlined several initiatives that the city will
work on with the district:
On Monday, the city and the district will hold a citywide event
to drum up parental and community support.
Next week, the city will roll out a liquor initiative to deter
sales to underage drinkers and close liquor stores near schools,
among other things.
Soon, the Health Department and the district will sign a
memorandum of understanding to ensure that all school kitchens
are up to code.
Currently, both sides are working with local TV stations to
develop cable programs.
Next year, the city will roll out a community technology
initiative to place computers in public facilities such as
libraries and recreation centers.
WHAT'S
PROPOSED
The House bill passed Wednesday would allow Detroiters to
vote on whether they want an elected school board or a plan that
would give much of the power over the district to the mayor. The
mayor proposes the following:
Governance: The mayor would have the power to hire and fire the
district's chief executive officer, who would be accountable
only to the mayor. Detroiters would vote for nine school board
members elected by separate geographic wards. The board members
would review contracts and budgets, form committees and write an
annual evaluation of the CEO for the mayor. The board would be
largely advisory.
Academics: Students would be required to master the first level
of algebra by the eighth grade, and all high school students
would be required to spend at least two years learning science
and working in a lab. A second-language program would be
mandatory. Kilpatrick is also calling for more
advanced-placement classes.
Charter schools: New schools would have to be chartered locally
and in partnership with the public schools.
Parental involvement: A citywide campaign would be undertaken to
increase community involvement in schools.
Business and community partnerships: A clearinghouse would be
established to link every school to a local business, community
group or church.
Free Press staff
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