Detroit's Population -- declining more slowly

[Király]

It's a state problem. Education funding should come from 100% from the state, not from the local municipality. British Columbia figured this out a century ago, when local communities were built and went bust on the forestry and mining sector. Equal funding for all schools in the province meant kids in a copper mining community still got a decent education when the price of copper went down.

Michigan cannot continue to turn its back on communities that have fallen on hard economic times and let them fend for themselves insofar as education for children goes.

[Bham1982]

It's a state problem. Education funding should come from 100% from the state, not from the local municipality.

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

[Colombian Dan]

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

Detroit more closely resembles: Jackson MS, Birmingham AL, Baltimore MD, Memphis TN, New Orleans LA.

NYC, Boston, Seattle, SF are in a whole different league when compared to Detroit.

[Bham1982]

Detroit more closely resembles: Jackson MS, Birmingham AL, Baltimore MD, Memphis TN, New Orleans LA.

NYC, Boston, Seattle, SF are in a whole different league when compared to Detroit.

I agree 100%, but my point is that even the "superstar" cities haven't fixed urban public education. The schools might be better than in Detroit, but SF public schools still suck [[compared to the burbs). If SF can't fix its schools, it's unlikely Detroit will do so anytime soon.

Good schools don't seem to be a necessary ingredient for thriving cities.

[mwilbert]

Except it does, more or less. In fact, poorer communities like Detroit get more school funding [[as they should).

The demographic challenges in Detroit proper have almost nothing to do with education. First, basically no city center has "fixed" public education, yet places like NYC, DC, Boston, Seattle, SF are all booming, and second, we have school choice in MI, meaning any Detroit school child can [[in theory) attend almost any public or charter school in the state.

You are correct. The state provides the vast bulk of the funding for Detroit schools, and while there may be some degree to which Detroit's schools are so unusually bad that they discourage some people, bad city schools are pretty usual. It is perfectly possible to raise kids in the city, but people who focus on school quality as a major factor in their location decision are not going to use the DPS in any case, not now and not in the next couple of decades I would guess.

That is in no way to suggest that we shouldn't try to figure out ways for more children in Detroit to attend better schools without travelling vast distances, but if you think fixing the schools is required for the city to improve or to stem the tide of falling population, abandon all hope now. Fortunately, it almost certainly isn't necessary. Unless you are one of the weird people who can't acknowledge that anything has changed, it should be apparent that all the improvement that has already occurred, along with the massive slowdown in the loss of residents, happened without the DPS improving at all. There are about 126 million households in the US and only about 35 million of them have school-age children, which leaves 91 million households who aren't personally and immediately concerned about school quality.