Detroit Students Invite President Obama To Visit Schools, See Problems First-Hand
DETROIT (WWJ) - It worked in Flint -- a letter from a student to the President, inviting him to visit the city -- and now two Detroit Public Schools students want Barack Obama to see first hand the problems going on in the embattled school district.
Kamari McHenry, a junior at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, was fed up with the bickering in the legislature and the lack of stability in DPS, so he and another 11th grader, DeMarcus Taylor, wrote a letter to Obama inviting the President to Detroit to see first-hand what's going on in the schools.
"We're losing good teachers left and right. They don't even got enough money to pay their phone bills, I mean, it's just destruction," McHenry told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "We're worrying about if we're going to have school each day through the sickouts and we always on the edge of our seats. It's like you never know what to expect when it comes to Detroit Public Schools."
McHenry had a hard time putting the multiple issues of DPS into words because there are just so many problems.
"It's just horrible how our students is learning. School should not be a place where we feel like we're not worth it," he said. "Like I was telling the superintendent yesterday, I told her straight up we is not ready, we is not prepared for college. If I go to college right now to take the exam or whatever, most likely I would not pass. That makes me feel like it's just too much going on."
The students think a visit from Obama will not only accelerate help for the district, but it would give the community hope and a sense that they're not alone.
"I want President Obama to know how it feels as a student to be educated in Detroit Public Schools and the deplorable conditions we are learning in," said McHenry, "And I really believe President Obama will take time out of his busy schedule to visit not only my school but various DPS schools. I also want him to encourage our students and our teachers that there is somebody in this fight with us."
The district has been under continuous state control since 2009. The district's list of problems include $515 million in legacy debt, expenditures that outpace revenues, inadequate educational outcomes, and a continued loss of enrollment.
Lawmakers are currently debating legislation to turn the district around, but are at odds on a plan. The House plan would provide $500 million to help wipe out the district's debt, while a Senate plan calls for $715 million and includes a "new district" with a commission to oversee school openings and closings in Detroit.
