Benton Harbor, ground zero of Whitmer’s troubling urban agenda

[Zacha341]

Closing Benton Harbor's ONLY HIGH SCHOOL??

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/op...da/1430232001/

From article:

The crisis in Benton Harbor, one of the poorest cities in the state, is exposing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration as either callous or clueless about solving urban issues. The Democrat is determined to shut down the only high school in that majority black city, blaming poor academic and financial performance.

“I am worried about outcomes for kids. We’ve put a plan in place that will alleviate the debt,” Whitmer told me Tuesday afternoon. “I’m trying to avoid a dissolution of the district so Benton Harbor can maintain K-8, which is a lot more manageable.”

Whitmer’s explanation falls flat. What good is a district if it has no high school?

[Burnsie]

This belongs in the non-Detroit issues forum.

[Honky Tonk]

What good is a district if it has no high school?

Dependency votes?

[Gistok]

OK... first of all this is an OPINION piece of journalism... She cannot simply close down the high school without any other options for the older students.

I'm sure there there will be alternative options for students. She cannot simply close the high school and leave it at that.

Looks like this opinion page writer has decided not to wait for what she intends to do, before writing this Op/Ed piece.

[renf]

The governor is not handling this issue well. The state needs to address fundamental demographic trends and their implications for education.

First, birth rates and down and continue to drop. The number of children in their first year of life in Michigan is 25 percent smaller than the number at age 18. This suggests at least a 25 percent drop in enrollment in the future unless there is massive immigration or an unexpected jump in fertility rates. Benton Harbor's high school may be closed this year but dozens and dozens of high schools will be considered for closure in the next few years.
Second, Michigan has 801 school districts. Only Illinois, California and Texas have more but Michigan's are much smaller in student enrollment. The average school district in Michigan has 1900 students; in California 5800 students and in Texas 4,000. Merging school districts will be tough work since administrators and suppliers will fear that the money spit will be turned off but can anyone defend the idea that we have excellent schools in Michigan because we have 801 school districts. We have 83
in the three county Detroit met area.
Finally, the nation's African-American population has been moving to the suburbs in large numbers in the last quarter century. Racial attitudes have change and the Open Housing law was effective so racial segregation is declining but certainly has not disappeared. Detroit's African American population fell by 249,000 from 1990 to 2017 while the three county ring gained 263,000 African Americans. This suburban movement is led by the middle class and prosperous. Benton Harbor lost 30 percent of its black residents from 1990 to 2017. However, those with limited resources often cannot afford the move to the suburbs. Racial residential segregation is declining but segregation by economic status may be increasing. This selective migration is linked to the very low test scores of students who remain in such districts as Detroit and Benton Harbor.

[stasu1213]

This could be a Detroit issue. First it's Benton Harbor last she will come for Detroit

[Meddle]

Maybe it's time to eliminate the redundancies. Eliminate all city level school districts statewide and go to a county level system.

[Scottathew]

Maybe it's time to eliminate the redundancies. Eliminate all city level school districts statewide and go to a county level system.

This idea has a lot of merit for police, fire, and schools. There are so many redundancies that just don't make sense.

[Burnsie]

Until Whitmer comes after a Detroit school, this is a statewide topic and belongs in the non-Detroit forum.

[renf]

The problem of financing education and the challenge of getting students to achieve at higher levels is state wide issue. The Detroit Public Schools enrolled about 290,000 students in the mid 1960. The new Detroit district enrolls about 46,000. Our governmental leaders need, it seems to me, face the reality of both demographic and financial trends.

[Atticus]

This could be a Detroit issue. First it's Benton Harbor last she will come for Detroit

The difference is size. Benton Harbor is small enough that it's students could be divided up and sent to the surrounding 8 districts... and logistics wise the enrollment numbers of the other 8 schools would be hardly impacted. In Detroit, even the shrunken DPS is still far too large of an enrollment amount for something like the Benton Harbor situation to be considered in Detroit.

What is even sadder is that the kids in Benton Harbor would almost certainly get a better education in one of the surrounding districts. But that fact gets overlooked by power hungry district leaders in Benton Harbor, and people who let emotion and anger at the situation cloud their judgement. The kids should come first, and Whitmer's plan to close Benton Harbor High School accomplishes that.

[Honky Tonk]

What is even sadder is that the kids in Benton Harbor would almost certainly get a better education in one of the surrounding districts.

The kids should come first, and Whitmer's plan to close Benton Harbor High School accomplishes that.

Interesting. Why is that?

[Canadian Visitor]

The governor is not handling this issue well. The state needs to address fundamental demographic trends and their implications for education.

First, birth rates and down and continue to drop. The number of children in their first year of life in Michigan is 25 percent smaller than the number at age 18. This suggests at least a 25 percent drop in enrollment in the future unless there is massive immigration or an unexpected jump in fertility rates. Benton Harbor's high school may be closed this year but dozens and dozens of high schools will be considered for closure in the next few years.
Second, Michigan has 801 school districts. Only Illinois, California and Texas have more but Michigan's are much smaller in student enrollment. The average school district in Michigan has 1900 students; in California 5800 students and in Texas 4,000. Merging school districts will be tough work since administrators and suppliers will fear that the money spit will be turned off but can anyone defend the idea that we have excellent schools in Michigan because we have 801 school districts. We have 83
in the three county Detroit met area.
Finally, the nation's African-American population has been moving to the suburbs in large numbers in the last quarter century. Racial attitudes have change and the Open Housing law was effective so racial segregation is declining but certainly has not disappeared. Detroit's African American population fell by 249,000 from 1990 to 2017 while the three county ring gained 263,000 African Americans. This suburban movement is led by the middle class and prosperous. Benton Harbor lost 30 percent of its black residents from 1990 to 2017. However, those with limited resources often cannot afford the move to the suburbs. Racial residential segregation is declining but segregation by economic status may be increasing. This selective migration is linked to the very low test scores of students who remain in such districts as Detroit and Benton Harbor.

First off...........the 801 school districts, if by that we mean school boards is completely insane to me.

I googled this btw and got the number 587, so I'm not sure if I googled correctly.............

But... regardless even that would be insane.

Ontario has almost 50% more people than Michigan and has only 76 boards; that includes Catholic Boards and the French-language Boards.

In total we have only 34 English Language secular school boards in all of Ontario.

I can't fathom the notion of a school district with less than 2,000 students in it.

I'm sure we have these in some rural parts of Ontario......but nothing like that in the urban south.

The High School I went to was bigger than some Michigan school districts [[2,200 enrollment)

Does no one else find the number of little fiefdom's excessive?

[Gistok]

I live in St. Clair Shores, pop. 50,000. We have 3 school districts... which has always seemed excessive to me. But when a question came on the ballot a few years ago to consolidate them into 1 district, of course this was on an August millage/primary election instead of a November regular election, the low voter turnout got all the parents [[who had the scare tactics of the 3 school boards fresh in their memory) to come out and vote consolidation down. And it lost.

Even nearby Warren MI, pop, 135,000 has parts of 5 school districts within its' borders. Everyone wants to keep their jobs.

[Danny]

Gov. Snyder shut not only Inkster High School, but also all of Inkster Public School district due to poor performance. It's part of Michigan Law that a school building or a district fails that basic skills test shut it down.

Don't play the race card about Benton Harbor's ghetto by the lake scene. Black folks in Benton Harbor had their shot and their irresponsibility cause their High School to approach closure.

You want to look other black communities like Oak Park and Southfield they are doing fine. The main point is are the people in the community responsible enough to invest in their children's future rather than competing against other performing schools.

[Canadian Visitor]

I live in St. Clair Shores, pop. 50,000. We have 3 school districts... which has always seemed excessive to me. But when a question came on the ballot a few years ago to consolidate them into 1 district, of course this was on an August millage/primary election instead of a November regular election, the low voter turnout got all the parents [[who had the scare tactics of the 3 school boards fresh in their memory) to come out and vote consolidation down. And it lost.

Even nearby Warren MI, pop, 135,000 has parts of 5 school districts within its' borders. Everyone wants to keep their jobs.

Good info. Thanks.

Question, as I'm unfamiliar w/Michigan law on this point, would these multitudinous school districts be protected by
'home rule' or does the State have the power to consolidate them w/o local consent?

Just for the sake of curiosity I decided to look up one of the rural-south school boards in Ontario, one up in Cottage country.

Trillium-Lakelands

That board covers 11,500km2 or 4,440mi2 and has 41 elementary schools and 7 high schools

You can understand my mind boggling at the idea of school districts, outside of the most rural areas having 1 or even no high schools or only 2-3 elementary schools.

****

Edit: So this had me wondering about cities/towns.

Turns out Michigan w/roughly 2/3 of the population and 1/4 the area of Ontario has 533 incorporate municipal governments. By way of comparison, all of Ontario has 444.

[bartocktoo]

Gov. Snyder shut not only Inkster High School, but also all of Inkster Public School district due to poor performance. It's party of Michigan Law that a school building or a district fails that basic skills test shut it down.

Don't play the race card about Benton Harbor's ghetto by the lake scene. Black folks in Benton Harbor had their shot and their irresponsibility cause their High School to approach closure.

You want to look other black communities like Oak Park and Southfield they are doing fine. The main point is are the people in the community responsible enough to invest in their children's future rather then competing against other performing schools.

I've become very much a Democrat since becoming a father 15 years ago...so no agenda...Whitmer is all about herself.

[Meddle]

So, how much money could be redirected to benefiting students by cutting out the administrative and facilities costs of 6-800 districts by consolidating them to 83 [[one per county)?

[Canadian Visitor]

So, how much money could be redirected to benefiting students by cutting out the administrative and facilities costs of 6-800 districts by consolidating them to 83 [[one per county)?

This ^^^^^^

[archfan]

So, how much money could be redirected to benefiting students by cutting out the administrative and facilities costs of 6-800 districts by consolidating them to 83 [[one per county)?

Probably quite a bit, but you'd have to convince 3000 or more board members and many more administrators to give up their fiefdoms.

[Richard]

Yes they always seem to have nice new administration buildings while the children sit in derelict classrooms.

They are thier own government with accountability to nobody,mayors are held accountable but school boards are exempt,something is not right with that picture.

[Honky Tonk]

Yes they always seem to have nice new administration buildings while the children sit in derelict classrooms.

They are thier own government with accountability to nobody,mayors are held accountable but school boards are exempt,something is not right with that picture.

Anecdotal evidence. A friend lives in one of the 'burbs around Detroit. A couple of years back, there was a big campaign in that 'burb to vote for a millage increase for "education". [["you're not against our children getting a good education, are you?") The millage passed, raised $5 mil, and the 'burb used the increase to build new athletic facilities and administrative offices. Now, I'm all for kids putting down their cellphones and getting exercise, in fact it should be a mandatory, but not a priority over graduating with 3rd grade reading skills. The big problem with "education", IMO, is what goes on after they leave the classroom. Are they completing assignments? Are they reading required text? Are they doing the required research to absorb what they've been taught? A teachers job is just that, to teach. If there is a lack of interest on the part of the child, or the parent, to follow through, no amount of money is going to solve the problem. That is unless you plan on increasing it to the point that every child has their own personal nanny.

[Wesley Mouch]

Richard and Honky Tonk made my point. There's little evidence that money makes it to the students. There's a long list of people who feel that property funding their part of the education team will improve results. Pay teachers more. Get better results. Nicer buildings. Get better results. Better books. Get better results. Better tests. Get better results. Better sports teams. Get better results. Yet our public school system in urban centers doesn't get better results even when money is showered on them.

Money is not the answer. Restructuring how we do education seems necessary. So we need to experiment.

That's why I'm in favor of Charters. Not because they do things I like, or aren't unionized, or focus more on building character -- but because they are all experiments. Chances to try something different. And if they fail, they die.

There's a blog called relinquishment.org. Neerav Kingsland is an educator who went through the New Orleans schools vs. Katrina. His conclusion, if I may distill it, is that the only thing that works for improving education is closing failing schools. Not reform. DiBlasio's nearly $1B program to improve schools seems to be money down the drain. Reform doesn't work. If a school is failing. Shut it down. That works.

Benton Harbor should close that high school tomorrow. Better kids spend a year or two walking 4 miles to school than keep a dysfunctional school destroying students.

btw... The latest piece on reqlinquishment.org is about students left behind by charters. Recommended. https://relinquishment.org/2019/06/18/all-public-schools-traditional-and-charter-rising-in-newark/

[Meddle]

Probably quite a bit, but you'd have to convince 3000 or more board members and many more administrators to give up their fiefdoms.

That's why you don't do it at the neighborhood level like has been discussed. You do it in Lansing and make the restructuring statewide with accountability added. Set a percentage of funds that is 'not to exceed' for facilities and administrative staff.

[Canadian Visitor]

Money is not the answer.

It is a PART of the answer.

You want students prepared for the world of tomorrow, they need tablets and access to 5G internet and online courses.

You want students to learn advanced subjects, you need teachers qualified to teach them. No one is getting the Masters degree in Chemistry so they can earn 50k.

No money does not solve everything, particularly if its wasted on overly elaborate sports facilities or excessive administration.

But it is a part of the equation.

Restructuring how we do education seems necessary. So we need to experiment.

Why do you need experiments when you have one of the top-ranked school systems in the world just across the border in Ontario?

Copy it?

No, you're not going to have a robust French program, and its American History, not Canadian.

But the rest is awfully similar in terms of what is or should be taught.

So look at the school day/school year length.

The amount and quality of summer school or support for struggling students.

Look at what the student expectations are; and how parental engagement works.

You don't need Charters to see what works.

There's a blog called relinquishment.org. Neerav Kingsland is an educator who went through the New Orleans schools vs. Katrina. His conclusion, if I may distill it, is that the only thing that works for improving education is closing failing schools. Not reform. DiBlasio's nearly $1B program to improve schools seems to be money down the drain. Reform doesn't work. If a school is failing. Shut it down. That works.

That's not how its done anywhere else in the world in higher-performing education systems.

Get the systemic stuff right first.

Then you transfer the successful principal into the failing school with a mandate to inspire and assist faculty who are looking to do better and you remove those teachers that aren't.