It's doesn't have to be that way... if the district under the new management [[I applaud the reality check going on here) moves quicky and sells the parcels with development [[after all, these parcels are larger and could be of enough size for developers to do something) then they won't sit and rot. The reason the schools did before is because of the completely inept management. Or, conversely, as I've seen in other cities, keep the old building and turn it into lofts or something.

Not that I expect DPS to exist as it does in 5 years. The exodus of students is staggering, and Detroit will be [[I would almost argue already is) a De Facto charter system due to the votes of parent's feet [[just look at the drop in enrollment in the last few years). In some ways, if the kids are going to charter schools, at least their tax dollars aren't completely leaving the city.

DPS, due to various economic factors, is learning the lesson it needs to learn. Both the city of Detroit and DPS need to realize that resources are finite, you can't keep kicking tough decisions down the road, and that the city's main focus can't be a provider of jobs but must as a provider of services.

Unfortunately, there's some good folks, like teachers, who are going to take a big hit on this. But that's the reality of the economics. Tens of thousands of less students = less teachers needed.