Coalition: State of Michigan should assume Detroit Public Schools debt, restore school board

DETROIT – The Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren met Monday to present proposals hoping to fix the Detroit Public Schools district.

The coalition demands power be returned to elected local leaders (school board) and is calling on the state of Michigan to assume the district's $170-million deficit.

Here are some of the coalition's key recommendations:

Return governance of Detroit Public Schools to an elected school board.

DPS should transition from emergency management and follow a course set out in state law.

Charter authorizers and charter school boards should improve transparency, focus more on quality, and better coordinate all charter schools.

Changes to state law or local practice must be made to ensure that charter schools adopt best practices for charter authorizing as suggested by National Association of Charter School Authorizers, and that authorizers should ensure independence of charter boards from educational management companies.

The state should assume the DPS debt.

Moving forward, the district and state both have a responsibility to ensure that finances are properly managed on behalf of children and taxpayers. Detroit is facing many challenges including growing poverty, a declining population, and the difficulty of reducing fixed costs as enrollment declines. State policies created an unfair playing field for DPS, such as the cost of paying for an expensive retirement system it did not design. The state is statutorily liable for the debt, and it is culpable because much of it accumulated while the state was in charge of district.

Create a new nonpartisan coordination entity, the Detroit Education Commission.

The DEC will coordinate and rationalize citywide education functions, in partnership with Regional Councils, to incorporate neighborhood-level input. Serving as a nonbiased and transparent oversight body, the primary function of the DEC will be to serve as a gatekeeper for opening, closing, and siting all new schools in Detroit. It will hold all local schools to the same high academic standards while not interfering with school decisions about hiring, budgets, and curricula. The DEC could also play an important role in preserving choice and coordinating citywide services that help parents take advantage of their options such as transportation, enrollment, and special education.

Establish School Leadership Teams.

Improve school autonomy with teams that should include parents, staff, and students, so that all schools create a culture of shared accountability and responsibility.

Empower and fund the State School Reform Office (SSRO) and State School Reform District (SSRD).

The SSRO/SSRD should migrate the Education Achievement Authority central administration and execute its responsibilities. The inter-local agreement between the DPS Emergency Manager and Eastern Michigan University should be terminated. The SSRO should audit and assess EAA schools in Detroit, and create a plan to responsibly transition those schools back to DPS, using one of the established reform strategies identified by state law.

Creation of shared system of data, enrollment, and neighborhood transportation.

These improvements will help solidify school choice in Detroit by making it easier for parents to learn about the quality of their school options when signing up children for school. Choice will also be strengthened by ensuring all kids have a safe and reliable way to get to school.

Allocate funding based on student need.

The State fund and accelerate the adequacy study so that it is complete by December 2015, and used to inform budgeting decisions in the 2016-17 school year, such that student funding is weighted by need, not by school governance type.

Recruit and retain the best education talent for Detroit children.

A strategy be developed to recruit, develop, competitively compensate and retain high-quality educators across all schools in Detroit.

[READ: Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren comprehensive plan]

Gov. Rick Snyder issues statement:

"I respect the work of the coalition and its many members who put so many hours into planning a new course for education in Detroit. These are ideas that sprouted from people across the city, including educators, union leaders, business leaders and the philanthropic community. Their common traits are a love for Detroit and its people and the belief that we can and must do better as we prepare the next generations of leaders. There must be higher standards for all schools. Detroit can only be a stronger, more vibrant city if its schools provide the opportunity for all students to be successful academically and in life.

"I share those beliefs. We will thoroughly review the coalition's recommendations as the state continues its work on a comprehensive approach to reform to present to our partners in the Legislature, looking for areas of alignment and common ground in the weeks ahead. I look forward to continuing our work in this area that is vitally important to our largest city and our state as a whole."