Robert Bobb DPS Privatization Announcement

**princealbert** · January-27-11, 12:19 PM

I knew I didn't trust this guy:

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/...dps-operations

**StubbyStone** · January-27-11, 01:30 PM

i don't have a problem with it, especially if it's saving DPS money... everything needs to change at DPS, including maintenance positions...

**adamjab19** · January-27-11, 01:46 PM

"Marsha Mack Bell
YOU KNOW IT IS PRETTY SAD THAT THIS ONE MAN CAN CONTROL EVERYBODY..MR ROBERT BOBB IS NOT DOING ANYTHING WITH ARE CHILDREN MONEY..HE IS NOTHING BUT A LIER AND A THIEF..SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN ARE STILL GOING WITHOUT THERE SERVICES...I HAVE A DAUGHTER OVER AT CASS TECH SHE HAD ASTHMA SHE HAVE A LETTER FROM THE DOCTOR ON FILE...NOT TO GO UP THE STAIRS USE THE ELEVATER.BUT YOU NO WHAT THE SCHOOL TOLD ME THE REASON WHY MY DAUGHTER HAVE TO GET SICK WHEEZING ASTHMA ATTACKS IS BECAUSE MR BOBB HAVE NOT P..."

Nice, well written post on an 'improving education piece.' They need to privatize THE WHOLE system. The single most important aspect to a community and these people, leaders and followers, still have their thumbs up their asses, pussy footing around about it! Sweeping changes need to be made and they haven't, just moving money around...

**Detroitnerd** · January-27-11, 01:47 PM

Break the public unions. That's what this is about. On paper you "save money" -- but what you're really doing is passing on costs to the community. Bobb "saving money"? That's a laugh. He's on a runaway spending SPREE. But if it hurts the unions, nobody in the "responsible" business community [[the ones kicking in for his salary!) are going to complain.

**esp1986** · January-27-11, 03:06 PM

With a privatization this large, encompassing so many facilities, many of the apparent casualties will end up with their same jobs back, just through another employer at a lower wage.

DetroitPole · January-27-11, 03:25 PM

Of course they go after the little guy when if you've been paying attention at all for the past 30 years the problem with DPS has been THE ADMINISTRATION not Groundskeeper Willie! Sure this can probably save a few bucks but it isn't going to cover the deficit; there are bigger fish to fry.
Also, I'd go easy on that parent. I'm much more educated than my parents, and they were good people who cared about me and wanted me to succeed in life even though they were working class people with no advanced education. This person's daughter goes to Cass so she must be doing something right and she has some interest in her education so I would not judge too harshly.

**bailey** · January-27-11, 03:53 PM

Agreed Pole... why is the staff at HQ not on the chopping block? Also, WHY is the city renting thousands of square feet when it has 100s? of empty buildings all over detroit. Wouldn't it be cost effective [[and maybe kind of a neat place to work) to re-purpose an old school or warehouse for administration offices? At least you own it. IIRC, DPS paid more to rent a portion of the building than the building's owners paid when it bought the building. Nice deal for them, but somehow that doesn't make much sense.

Also- kinda hoped we'd stop seeing things like this:

The district is contracting with five minority-owned, Detroit-based firms and two other minority-owned firms to provide maintenance, landscaping, and custodial services.

how about just going with the lowest bidder who can satisfy the contract?

**Detroitnerd** · January-27-11, 03:58 PM

Somebody was trying to explain this to me, and, if I remember this right, the rationale was that you can have people taking a profit at multiple levels. There is a group that owns the school and takes a profit for just owning the school. Then there is another company that does maintenance and takes a profit. And then there is the actual "academy" that pays out all these people and still makes a profit. So many middlemen have to be fed profits with this system. Of course, as to whether it will educate the kids, that's a secondary concern; it just has to be as profitable as possible.

fubarnation · January-27-11, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by StubbyStone

i don't have a problem with it, especially if it's saving DPS money... everything needs to change at DPS, including maintenance positions...

Every penny will count when they negociate a contract for their next superintendent. DPS has a history of being overly generous on the high profile positions.

**DetroitTeacher** · January-27-11, 05:08 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

Agreed Pole... why is the staff at HQ not on the chopping block? Also, WHY is the city renting thousands of square feet when it has 100s? of empty buildings all over detroit. Wouldn't it be cost effective [[and maybe kind of a neat place to work) to re-purpose an old school or warehouse for administration offices? At least you own it. IIRC, DPS paid more to rent a portion of the building than the building's owners paid when it bought the building. Nice deal for them, but somehow that doesn't make much sense.

Also- kinda hoped we'd stop seeing things like this:

how about just going with the lowest bidder who can satisfy the contract?

Teachers have been saying this for years and years. There are many schools that could be repurposed for use as admin offices. Unfortunately, they don't have elevators and secret offices where folks can hide and never be available in the school buildings. I've been calling payroll since Tuesday and have yet had any live person answer the phone or call me back. I can't mosey down to payroll because I don't know in which building it's located and if I did, they wouldn't let me in anyway. Being in a school building [[and an old one, at that) would be too accessible for these people. They are OK for the kids but admin won't be caught dead in them.

**reddog289** · January-28-11, 02:31 AM

As a custodian in a local district, I don't agree with this but I myself see the writing on the wall. I see myself in the same position as the DPS workers who were let go.They as the bus drivers, security guards, let go to save a buck for education money.
As a custodian I see alot. I see alot of stuff that wouldn't fly back when I went to school.Alot of dumb feel good tricks to get the kids to behave.I could go on but I won't.
I hope things work out with this grand plan of Mr Bobb, But I don't have much faith in it as I don't trust anything that includes the words private contractor and Detroit in the same sentence. But I remember the photos of Wilber Wright School and Cass Tech and wonder who dropped the ball on that and let them get away.Bobb might need to look further up the totem pole.

**DetroitTeacher** · January-28-11, 06:32 AM

Bobb is the top of the pole, although we peons are the ones feeling the pole in the arse.

**1953** · January-28-11, 08:52 AM

I work for a company that contracts with Sodexho. While there are some disadvantages to it, they are a well-run, well-managed firm that provides quality service. Most importantly, they are focused on the kinds of operations that DPS leaders are not generally knowledgeable about. If this saves $75 million over the next five years, then it is likely a very good business move. Its unfortunate that so many will lose their jobs, but we can no longer tolerate sub-par schools. This city, state, and nation deserve better than they are getting from DPS.

**DetroitTeacher** · January-28-11, 06:12 PM

No one even wants to know what they are doing with some teachers [[to the detriment of the kids). I wish I could spill the beans, but we've been asked to not give specifics. The kids are really getting screwed, though. 60 in a class would be about par with what they are asking us to do right now.

**OK, they aren't ASKING as much as giving us no choice but to do what they tell us or we'll lose our jobs or get reassigned to God knows where...and it's NOT for the benefit of the kids, just the opposite.

**reddog289** · January-29-11, 01:43 AM

My father told me back in the 40's when he went to Northwestern there were 40,50 kids in the classroom. 60 is crazy.
Going back to the subject, If Kwames bud Bobby was listed somewhere with those companies that got the contracts I would really be livid.

**DetroitTeacher** · January-29-11, 07:36 AM

40-60 kids wouldn't be bad, Red, except that we now have a totally different breed of kids than they did in the 40s. We also have classes with more special ed kids than not. They need tons more attention and individualized instruction than most. With 60 kids in each class, it's just a matter of containing them and no real teaching goes on...too many trouble makers. This is going all the way down to the Kindergarten level, mind you!

I'd also be questioning anything with ties to Kwame [[or Bobb, for that matter). Bobb sent out a memo yesterday stating that if you work for DPS, you can't become a vendor or contractor with them. I guess that cuts down on the nepotism but I can see ways around it.

**Wesley Mouch** · January-29-11, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

Somebody was trying to explain this to me, and, if I remember this right, the rationale was that you can have people taking a profit at multiple levels. There is a group that owns the school and takes a profit for just owning the school. Then there is another company that does maintenance and takes a profit. And then there is the actual "academy" that pays out all these people and still makes a profit. So many middlemen have to be fed profits with this system. Of course, as to whether it will educate the kids, that's a secondary concern; it just has to be as profitable as possible.

People are making profit under the current arrangement, too. The good profit [[jobs). The bad employees who don't actually exist but get paid profit. The suppliers who are overpaid for products because the schools aren't good at controlling this profit. The contractors who get overpaid for work because they grease the right wheels profit. [[And a friend of mine who is a contractor profits when he fixes the mess left by the disfunctional construction management profits too.

Its not a case of profit = bad. Its a case of how you get the job done and minimize everyone's profit to the student educational benefit. That's the only measurement that matter.

**maxx** · January-29-11, 01:44 PM

That sixty in a class doesn't include early el, does it?

**Detroitnerd** · January-29-11, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

People are making profit under the current arrangement, too. The good profit [[jobs). The bad employees who don't actually exist but get paid profit. The suppliers who are overpaid for products because the schools aren't good at controlling this profit. The contractors who get overpaid for work because they grease the right wheels profit. [[And a friend of mine who is a contractor profits when he fixes the mess left by the disfunctional construction management profits too.

Its not a case of profit = bad. Its a case of how you get the job done and minimize everyone's profit to the student educational benefit. That's the only measurement that matter.

It's a weird world when we say that the problem is "corruption" -- people skimming off the top and hurting the kids -- and our solution to that is to "privatize" -- and let businesspeople and profiteers skim off the top, thereby hurting the kids.

Eliminating the corruption is Job 1. Not systematizing and legalizing it to benefit the business community.

**DetroitTeacher** · January-29-11, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by maxx

That sixty in a class doesn't include early el, does it?

Yep...all the way down to Kindergarten...so I hear from a principal at an elementary school.

**Scottathew** · January-29-11, 05:51 PM

Privatization makes sense. Unions, especially unions for government workers do not deliver efficient services at market prices.

There's too much fat and bloat with union labor, especially for a bankrupt school district. This isn't just an "urban" thing, many of the suburban school districts are doing it too.

Keep in mind, this doesn't mean the union workers were lazy or did a bad job. In fact, the union probably does a better job. However, the price difference between adequacy and somewhat better is 10's of millions of dollars.

The pricing model for union labor simply doesn't work in the 21st century.

**Detroitnerd** · January-29-11, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by 48091

Privatization makes sense. Unions, especially unions for government workers do not deliver efficient services at market prices.

There's too much fat and bloat with union labor, especially for a bankrupt school district. This isn't just an "urban" thing, many of the suburban school districts are doing it too.

Keep in mind, this doesn't mean the union workers were lazy or did a bad job. In fact, the union probably does a better job. However, the price difference between adequacy and somewhat better is 10's of millions of dollars.

The pricing model for union labor simply doesn't work in the 21st century.

Are you familiar with the term "begging the question"? How about "tautology"?

**Kevgoblue** · January-29-11, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

It's a weird world when we say that the problem is "corruption" -- people skimming off the top and hurting the kids -- and our solution to that is to "privatize" -- and let businesspeople and profiteers skim off the top, thereby hurting the kids.

Eliminating the corruption is Job 1. Not systematizing and legalizing it to benefit the business community.

Great post, Nerd!

**stasu1213** · January-30-11, 10:12 AM

The laying off of custodians, closing of the schools, and 60 students to one teacher, are part of a steering program that is being done in Detroit. Parents would get so frustrated that they would move out of the neighborhood where the school had closed in move into a neighborhood that has open schools. 50 kids in a classroom in the 1940s and 50s at Northwestern is a different scenario than 60 kids in a classroom in 2011. Most kids during the yester years came from two parent households where the kids were fed breakfast before going to school. Parents attended parent/teachers conferences during that time. Today, the kids are pratically raising themselves. Negative influences are more prevalent than they were in the 50s. Drugs and gangs activities are at a all time high in the schools. More and more children are on Ritalin and other mind altering drugs to so-called calm them down. More Parent are not going to parent/teacher conference. Need I say more

**Zacha341** · January-30-11, 08:00 PM

Theft will be off the chain, if they privatize the custodian staff with a bevvy of $8.00-10.00 temps from various agencies who'll have to be reassigned keys every time they quit, and the turn over rate will be HIGH. This is not to say theft did not occur before, but it will increase. And the management of muliple temp agencies to fullfil those orders per each school will be combersome as well especially seeing that these staffers often work beyond school hours.