Detroit school takeover and ‘rightsizing’ of city opposed

Spokespersons for corporate Detroit have issued plans to take total control of the public school system as well as “shrink” the city over the next decade. These efforts come amidst the worst economic crisis in Detroit since the Great Depression. The city leads all other major urban centers in joblessness with an official unemployment rate of 28 percent.

WW photo: Alan Pollock

A plan to turn over control of the Detroit Public Schools district to Mayor Dave Bing has sparked outrage throughout the city from community organizations, unions and the elected Board of Education. Last year Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Robert Bobb “emergency financial manager” to purportedly balance the budget of the beleaguered school district and improve its fiscal operations.

The deficit for DPS, however, has increased by $100 million since Bobb’s appointment. Nevertheless, he was recently awarded an annual pay raise of $81,000. Lawsuits have been filed against Bobb by the elected Detroit Board of Education, the Detroit Federation of Teachers and independent groups of teachers and parents.

Bobb has also announced the cancellation of the existing bus contract held by Safeway. The switch to First Student Transportation Co. will leave over 300 bus drivers out of work, many of whom have over 25 years of service with DPS. There is no evidence that the change will save DPS approximately $50 million as Bobb has alleged.

On March 10-11 several dozen bus drivers and their supporters traveled to the state capital in Lansing to protest Bobb’s actions and demand that their contract be reinstated and that Bobb be fired. The drivers met with a number of African-American state legislators from Detroit who pledged support. Gov. Granholm, however, refused to see these workers.

Protest actions and public hearings in opposition to these attacks on public education have prompted the backers of privatization to accelerate the process of a takeover of the schools. On March 11, Bobb and several groups announced a sweeping plan to seize control of the district, place it under the ostensible control of corporate-oriented Mayor Bing and hire private management companies to administer its operations.

At a March 11 press conference the school takeover plan was announced by Skillman Foundation CEO Carol Goss, who was flanked by members of other groups including New Detroit Inc., the University Preparatory Academy Charter School and the Detroit Parent Network, which is financed heavily by the Kresge Foundation.

“It’s a sad day,” said Ruby Newbold, president of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. “We are saddened by what is going on in the city of Detroit. How dare you dismantle our school district!”

“This community is not going to take it anymore,” said Newbold, which sparked a standing ovation from the audience.

A demonstration is planned for March 15 to oppose the takeover plans for DPS. The protest will take place outside Renaissance High School, where Bobb will deliver his “state of education” report and seek public support for the plan to eliminate the Detroit School Board and place total control under Mayor Bing and private management firms.

Plans launched to “rightsize” city

Meanwhile, proposals have been announced to restructure the city by razing neighborhoods and commercial districts to create what is touted as a more “efficient” system of municipal governance. In speeches and articles in the corporate dailies and Crain’s Detroit business weekly, corporate interests and foundations are promoting the notion that large sections of the city should be bulldozed, fenced off and sold to the highest bidder.

In a recent interview with WJR radio in Detroit, Bing stated: “If we don’t do it, you know this whole city is going to go down. I’m hopeful people will understand that. If we can incentivize some of those folks that are in those desolate areas, they can get a better situation.”

Bing continued: “You can’t support every neighborhood. You can’t support every community across this city. Those communities that are stable, we can’t allow them to go down the tubes. That’s not a good business decision from my vantage point.” (Detroit News, Feb. 25)

One of the principal architects of this downsizing plan is the suburban Kresge Foundation. “That the city must shrink is beyond debate, said Rip Rapson, president of the Troy-based Kresge Foundation, which has offered to fund the plan. And a land use plan is crucial to developing viable long-term strategies.” (Crain’s Detroit, Jan. 30)

Opposition to these plans is widespread throughout the city. The Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs has called for two major activities in response to the burgeoning crisis. On March 23, the coalition will sponsor a demonstration outside Mayor Bing’s “State of the City” address, where unions, community organizations and other opposition forces will voice their outrage with the administration and its corporate backers.

On March 27, a town hall meeting will be held at Central United Methodist Church downtown in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Works Progress Administration. The WPA put 8 million people back to work during the 1930s at the height of the Great Depression.

According to a Moratorium NOW! leaflet: “Today, with tens of millions of workers — especially youth — unemployed, we need a real, public jobs program, NOW! We can’t wait for some imaginary future jobs from the banks and corporations that have already been bailed out with trillions of our tax dollars. There is plenty that needs doing immediately in Detroit — repairing roads and bridges, cleaning parks, insulating and fixing up thousands of vacant homes so no one is homeless or without heat.”