Drastic Cuts Proposed For Detroit Schools

[NorthEndere]

I don't agree with the last few sentences. As long as he gets out before everything totally implodes, he will not be greatly tarnished. Look at Michelle Rhee with DC public schools. They are still in shambles, but she got her out when the their new mayor was elected and is still one of the most sought after education consultants in the country, essentially, for being a bully, not because she got stellar results.

Bobb's not going to be blamed for any of this, at least not nationally. So long as he makes it out before DPS cease to exists as a legitimate, full-service school district, his legacy will be just fine. This nation has a very short memory and attention span. He'll be remembered as the hero of Detroit, or at least a guy who tried, regardless of how much he ends up helping or further hurting the district. That's just the reality of how things work. These new crop of managers that travel the country pretending to straighten things out are little more than personal PR machines.

[R8RBOB]

I don't agree with the last few sentences. As long as he gets out before everything totally implodes, he will not be greatly tarnished. Look at Michelle Rhee with DC public schools. They are still in shambles, but she got her out when the their new mayor was elected and is still one of the most sought after education consultants in the country, essentially, for being a bully, not because she got stellar results.

Bobb's not going to be blamed for any of this, at least not nationally. So long as he makes it out before DPS cease to exists as a legitimate, full-service school district, his legacy will be just fine. This nation has a very short memory and attention span. He'll be remembered as the hero of Detroit, or at least a guy who tried, regardless of how much he ends up helping or further hurting the district. That's just the reality of how things work. These new crop of managers that travel the country pretending to straighten things out are little more than personal PR machines.

Somehow I can't disagree with you.

Little known fact about Robert Bobb. He was the city manager of Oakland, CA back in the last decade. He was fired by then-mayor, now governor of California Jerry Brown. I'm sure he will be alright.

[Zacha341]

Yeah, an interesting approach... how many way can this be spinned? Everyone is getting weary. And I am sure the older students [[teenagers) are not ignorant to what is going on...

Wait... it was him who announced this plan, right? And now he is trying to look like the hero coming in to save us from his plan? Is that right?

[Zacha341]

Exactly... who would subject their children to this? It seems DPS is in spin-down mode....

....Forget about attracting new students, why would anyone in their right mind re-enroll their kid in DPS with this level of uncertainty swirling, unless they are super-humanly committed or can't afford another option? Again, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy, the whole "we had to burn the village, to save the village" lie that history won't allow us to quit.

[begingri]

Cockrel calls DPS plan for 60-student classes 'insane'

Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News

Detroit — Councilman Kenneth Cockrel Jr. said this morning a plan to put 60 children in Detroit Public Schools' high school classes is "absolutely insane" and would be detrimental to the beleaguered district.

A deficit-reduction plan proposed by Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb would drastically boost class sizes and close nearly half of the district's 142 schools. The Michigan Department of Education approved Bobb's plan last month and ordered him to implement it to eliminate the district's $327 million legacy deficit by 2014.

"If that is allowed to come, you're looking at the death of the Detroit Public Schools. We cannot allow that to happen," Cockrel said during today's session. "Things are bad, but they are not that bad. DPS will collapse. Sixty kids in a classroom is absolutely insane."

Councilwoman JoAnn Watson called the plan "unconstitutional" and said it


Continued at: http://www.detnews.com/article/20110...nsane%E2%80%99

[R8RBOB]

In a statement this afternoon, DPS spokesman Steve Wasko said Bobb "has stated repeatedly that he is required by law and by Michigan DepartmentofEducation edict to implement the Deficit Elimination Plan that that department approved."
Wasko said Bobb submitted the plan at the behest of the state and that it "is NOT the plan we want, nor is it good for DPS or its students."
"It's time for all Detroit leaders to come together to develop a plan for long-term financial and academic sustainability of the city's schools," Wasko said.

So here is where politics waves its wicked hand. Bobb is saying that the state requested that he submit a deficit-reduction plan and he came up with one that he knew was a loser but he had to submit something. The talk about putting 60 heads in a classroom was last year under the administration of Jennifer Granholm. Somehow, I don't think Jenny would have had her state superintendent implement such a draconian plan that would result in the death of DPS. Somehow, the Snyder administration inherited the plan and they are like "groovy plan" let's implement it.