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Raise the curtain.

Duh! - DPS fails kids, fed school chief says

By Theblogprof, Section News
Posted on Sun Feb 15, 2009 at 07:57:30 AM EST
Tags: corruption, Detroit, DPS, education, MEA, politics (all tags)

(Promoted by Nick...)

Cross-posted at theblogprof
To most of us around the Detroit metropolitan area, this in NOT news. It's just the way it is. And the way it has been. And the way it's going to be. Why? Incompetence (let me list the ways!). As long as circus clowns run DPS and the City Council, no amount of top-down directives will change the culture in the motor city. Just not happening. But that won't stop the powers-that-be display feigned indignation. Feigned because they will not do the one thing that would save the kids in DPS - school choice. Case in point, from the Detroit News - Education secretary says district must be improved:

The new U.S. Secretary of Education on Friday said the federal government has a moral obligation to reform Detroit's failing city schools, which he said will be a "huge focus" of his tenure. "Without getting into too many details, I am extraordinarily concerned about the poor quality of education, quite frankly, the children of Detroit are receiving," Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters during comments on the federal stimulus package. "I lose sleep over that one. And I think the dropout rate there is devastating."

Duncan better get used to the sleepless nights, because those will not go away during his entire tenure. What's the biggest problem?

The Detroit schools are beset by daunting problems: troubles with funding, a poverty rate among the highest in the state and students who perform poorly.

Funding. FUNDING??? Isn't the DPS more than fully funded already? You can see what's coming down the pike here - throwing good money after bad. Additional funding will simply be mismanaged. Aren't there bigger fish to fry here? As far as Duncan, the freep adds:

Asked after the call if Duncan had specific plans to help Detroit Public Schools, John McGrath, a Duncan spokesman, said, "At the moment, no."

Here that? "No." Why not? Also there's this:

Duncan's remarks came days after the Free Press revealed that the district will be short about $74 million it will need to cover four payrolls in March through June. School officials said Thursday night that employees will be paid, but they could not explain how.

Nice. How about an idea I posted a while back: IOUs! Give out IOUs! They work:

In any case, we come to today. The day after Congress rushed through, without disclosure or debate, the biggest boondoggle in this great country's history. The predictable result for failing school districts? Here's what from the Detroit News:

But Detroit is far from the only district facing similar problems. Locally, Highland Park, Inkster, Ecorse, River Rouge, Pontiac and Oak Park have recorded poor test scores and low graduation rates. All have higher poverty rates than most school districts and each is expected to fare well from the federal stimulus package passed Friday. Some districts will get millions in new federal education money while Detroit may get several hundred million. (emphasis mine)

That's right. Throwing money down the hole. By the way what does Detroit, Highland Park, Inkster, Ecorse, River Rouge, Pontiac and Oak Park have in common? There is one common thread: an unchallenged Democrat hegemony. Everything else follows from that one fact (poverty, despondency, dilapidation, etc). One more snippet that is quite telling:

Duncan also criticized the area's leaders for putting politics ahead of kids.

Does this shock anyone? Politics before kids? Detroit City Council? DPS? Let me throw in one more layer of political influence that hurts the kids - the MEA. The same MEA that recently wanted to save MI money by making the pension problem worse. The same MEA that launches recall campaigns against school board members with an iota of common sense. So I ask again, does this shock anyone? I ask because I have become numb to this absurdity. And things look to get worse as the DPS Board will focus more on academics. Perfect!

That being said, I sure don't want to be accused of not being "part of the solution" but rather being "part of the problem." You see, anyone who points a finger at incompetence, corruption and hypocrisy, especially in Detroit, is accused, in a knee-jerk fashion, of causing the perception of incompetence, corruption and hypocrisy. Almost as if the perception of Detroit has nothing to do with the reality of Detroit. Thus, my solution is the solution of Milton Friedman: school choice. Parental control. Government run public school monopolies have been an abject failure, one that we will be paying for for a long time to come. The Macinac Center for Public Policy (what can say "Michigan" more than that?) has a good post from 2001 on this subject (it's long, but an excellent read).

Imagine what it would be like if you were only allowed to shop at one grocery store based on where your residence was. Or gas up at only one gas station. Or one home improvement store, etc. How would those entities develop over time? Would they seek the best technologies? Would they strive to contain costs? Would they continually endeavor to increase customer satisfaction? With monopolies, the answer is always "no." Monopolies, especially government monopolies, do the bare minimum with the full maximum. It's their nature. Only school choice will save the kids of Detroit.

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