Officials To Detail 45-Day Turnaround Plan For Detroit Public Schools At Community Meeting
DETROIT (WWJ) - The man tasked with turning around Detroit's debt-ridden school district is ready to submit his 45-day financial and operating plan.
DPS Transition Manager Judge Steven Rhodes will submit the plan at a public meeting Friday evening at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.
Click here to see a draft of the plan (.pdf format)
The plan lays out the current state of Detroit Public Schools and the very real challenges that face the district every day. These challenges are not new and include $515 million in legacy debt, expenditures that outpace revenues, inadequate educational outcomes, and a continued loss of enrollment.
“DPS’ operating expenses are not sinking the district. Nor are teacher salaries, which are significantly below suburban teacher salaries,” said Judge Rhodes. “Rather, the cause is DPS’ debt service. That debt service -- $63,849,494 -- is sucking revenues away from classrooms at the rate of approximately $1,394 per student. This represents about 19 percent of DPS’ foundation grant of $7,434 per student. DPS simply cannot pay that debt while attempting to provide a quality education for its students, Rhodes said in a statement.
It's not all bad news, though. The plan does point out some positive news occurring in the district, including a continued stabilization of its enrollment. According to the district'’s verified February count, DPS’ current enrollment is 45,786. This is the smallest decline from the October count to the February count in four years (the October count was 46,325). In fact, DPS actually experienced increased enrollment during the year in its elementary and middle schools.
For the 2016-17 school year, the plan projects an enrollment of 45,483 students. This projection is a decline of less than 0.7 percent from the current year, and is based on an analysis of each school, each grade and the projected demographics of the city. There are also no school closings planned for the 2016-17 school year.
A public information meeting on the plan will be held on Tuesday, May 10 at 5 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, 3200 E. Lafayette.
Meantime, state lawmakers have their work cut out for them in Lansing as they revisit Detroit school reform legislation Tuesday. But WWJ's Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick says don't expect a vote anytime this week.
"Basically, the Senate Republican Leader Arlan Meekhof is calling for a cooling off period," said Skubick. "Tempers got really hot last week in the Michigan House and they boiled over as the package came to the state Senate. Plus, tomorrow is Tulip Festival time so some of the lawmakers from western Michigan simply won't be here. Eventually, the governor and the four legislative leaders are likely to sit down and see if they can find a compromise on this package."
The House plan would provide $500 million to help wipe out the district's debt. But a Senate plan calls for $715 million and includes a "new district" with a commission to oversee school openings and closings in Detroit.
