U.S. school chief right to 'lose sleep' over Detroit
If anyone in Metro Detroit still doubts whether the Detroit Public Schools needs a state-appointed financial manager, certainly they should be convinced now.
New U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told journalists around the country Friday, "... I am extraordinarily concerned about the poor quality of education, quite frankly, the children of Detroit are receiving."
"I lose sleep over that one," Duncan continued. "And I think the dropout rate there is devastating."
Already the federal government has designated Detroit "high risk" because of its questionable fiscal practices and poor use of federal dollars. Gov. Jennifer Granholm's emergency appointed financial manager, Robert Bobb, will arrive to oversee the district next week. And not a moment too soon.
Since January the school district has illegally stopped making payments to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. Now DPS owes $21 million to the system -- and that's just the start of its latest financial misdeeds.
DPS also continues to deny payments to vendors, including small businesses which are struggling to survive because of the school district's neglect. DPS owes more than $42 million in back payments to such businesses and organizations.
These figures come from Detroit Public Schools' own documents turned in to the state Department of Education. The documents show the district's fiscal practices and reporting has grown worse in recent months. Its reported numbers to the state have shifted each month, making it impossible to know what is really happening.
The timing of the missing pension money and other questionable practices are highly suspect. They've occurred since the school board fired former Superintendent Connie Calloway in December -- and before Bobb begins his job next month.
While Detroit awaits Bobb's arrival, the school board should do what it is charged with doing: serving its students.
That includes preventing the misspending of public money, and reporting accurate financial information to the state. The board should immediately clamp down on new district spending.
Bobb should prepare to make immediate and dramatic changes to stop the district's financial hemorrhaging and find where the money is headed -- and hidden -- in the system. He must support federal and state investigators' scrutiny of district officials and its vendors.
And he should not be deterred from closing schools and selling off buildings so money can reach the classroom.
Getting a grip on the district's finances is a start toward improving education for the students.