Detroit Public Schools: An Inside Look

Gov. Rick Snyder announced former General Motors executive Roy Roberts as the new emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools Wednesday May 4 at the Michigan Office in the Cadillac Place building in Midtown, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The 72 year-old was the highest-ranking African American in the auto industry. He retired in 2000 after serving as GM Vice President for North American Sales, Service and Marketing.

Former General Motors executive, Ray Roberts, was named DPS emergency financial manager

Gov. Snyder said he wanted someone from the Detroit area and called Roberts, a Bloomfield Hills resident, a team builder with perfect qualifications.

As of now, new decisions or changes have not been planned by Roberts. The current plan for school closures and school board will remain in place until an evaluation can be made to determine if changes should be made, according to Roberts. He will have the authority to modify or cancel union contracts beginning May 17.Roberts is the district’s seventh leader in six years.

He will be paid $250,000 for a one-year contract. Snyder could extend the contract when the year is up. Roberts and Bobb will work closely to work on a transition plan over the next few weeks. He starts his first day on the job on May 15, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Roberts will be met with a load of unpaid bills and a district that has spent a third of its money to repay short-term loans. Robert Bobb was puzzled by the district’s spending when he first arrived.

“In the world I live in you don’t issue bonds to cover ongoing operating expenses,” said Bobb.

The district has accumulated $45.8 million in unpaid invoices dating back to 2009, according to documents from the DPS Office of Accounting. If the bills aren’t paid by June 30, the deficit could go up  and hurt the district’s chances of borrowing, according the Detroit Free Press.

Detroit Public Schools has increased short-term borrowing in order to pay its bills. DPS predicts to make $1.5 billion in revenues. They also plan to have $500 million of it set aside to pay on notes from 2005, 2009 and 2010, according to the district’s March cash flow statement. The money will retire much of that short-term debt, but the district plans to take out more short-term loans next year, according to the statement.

The Michigan education and treasury departments have been monitoring the DPS budget since 2005.

Detroit Public Schools has a $327 million budget deficit, up from $219 million in 2009. About 1% of graduates are college-ready, compared to 16% statewide. The graduation rate for DPS is 62%, compared to 76% statewide. Former superintendent, Connie Calloway believes that the district has a tough road to travel.

“Without a successful public education system, like most of the urban centers, they’re not going to make it,” said Calloway.

Who is Roy Roberts?

Roy Roberts is the ninth of ten children, raised in Muskegon. His father raised him after his mother died at age 2. Roberts graduated from Western Michigan University, where he is  a trustee emeritus.

He currently serves as the managing director and co-founder of a Chicago-based private equity investment firm called Reliant Equity Investors.

Roberts has been named executive of the year by a national magazine. He was also given the American Success Award, presented by former President George Bush.

For more visit http://www.freep.com/article/20110506/NEWS02/105060466/-48-5-million-unpaid-bills-await-new-Detroit-Public-Schools-manager

This video is just a collection of some photos of Robert Bobb and Roy Roberts.

Thomas Moss, Jr., an assistant principal at Renaissance High School gives his take on education and why DPS struggles. He links city government to education when explaining the issue DPS faces. Moss also attributes a quality education to parental involvement, noting that it is an essential component to a child’s education. Moss has been with Detroit Public Schools for over 15 years. He started off as a substitute teacher, then moved on to be an attendance officer at Cooley High School, which is now closed. While at Cooley, Moss became a social studies teacher and head football coach. Later on, he was promoted to assistant principal until it was closed in 2010. I chose to interview him because he has performed in many different capacities with DPS and could offer some insight on why the district in trouble.

Interview – Thomas Moss Jr. by tempren08

Emergency Financial Manager of Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, has proposed to convert over 40 schools to charter schools. The plan is called “Renaissance 2012.”

The deficit elimination plan that is already in place calls for closing 70 schools over a two-year period by 2013. It will also decrease the number of principals and increase class sizes. But, Bobb doesn’t think the plan would benefit students’ education experience.

Along with “Renaissance 2012,” Bobb proposed four other plans. Two would call for more school closings. The third proposed the expansion of charter schools. The school district currently contains nine charter schools. The fourth plan includes the creation of a new district, a request for a fixed level of state funding despite enrollment levels and conversion of 41 public schools to charter schools.

School Board President Anthony Adams believes this to be plan. The fourth plan, known as the hybrid model, would save the district $75 million to $99 million in operating costs, $22 million in closure costs, while adding an estimated $21.85 million in revenues from charter schools for building and equipment leases.

Enrollment is expected to drop 30 percent from nearly 73,000 students in 2011 to nearly 51,000 by 2016. Bobb’s last day as the emergency financial manager is June 30. The state plans to replace him with another financial manager.

Charter operators and entrepreneurs visited a conference April  14 to get a closer look at Bobb’s new plan, Renaissance 2012, to eliminate the deficit DPS faces. Over 70 organizations interested in chartering public schools came to the conference. Those interested were encourage to apply and given information on buildings, tours and what it takes to establish a charter board.

I think the whole charter school thing is pointless because it will most likely produce the same results as DPS. As of now, it’s not a requirement for teachers to be certified, unlike it is in DPS. Teachers get paid less to deal with the same kids that go to DPS. I understand the idea is to fix the deficit but selling schools to the highest bidder isn’t the right way.

For more visit http://detnews.com/article/20110415/SCHOOLS/104150370

This map locates some Detroit Public Schools that will either be closed or converted into charter schools. When hovering over the location, it will either say “Closure Summer 2011” or “Closure Summer 2011/Possible Charter.” Most schools on the map are elementary schools.

View DPS Closures/Charters in a larger map

Despite the bad reputation the Detroit Public Schools system has acquired, it has some beneficial programs in the works. The DPS Chess Program, lead by director Tanya Moss, has been around for over 15 years. It provides students with the opportunity to meet students from schools throughout the city. The program also allows students to travel all over the country competing in tournaments.

Students from elementary, middle and high school are eligible to compete and represent their schools in weekly tournaments held in different locations throughout the city. The next level is the state tournament, which all schools are eligible for. But, it is there that the top three teams in the city are chosen to go to the national tournament. In the past, nationals were held in Nashville, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, Denver, Kansas, Milwaukee, Columbus, Tuscan, and Dallas.

Tanya Moss is the chess coach at Crockett Technical High School and the Chess Director for Detroit Public Schools

Moss, whose been director for 11 years loves her job. She started out coaching her own team in 1998 at Cooley High School , which was currently closed due to budget cuts. Her team was the first to place first in the nationals in DPS history in Phoenix.

“I do it to see the excitement of winning on the kids’ faces,” she said.

Along with competing with students from various backgrounds and states, students are also allowed the opportunity to explore these cities. A lot of students that compete have hardly traveled outside of Detroit. So nationals is a huge reward they look forward to. Every school has earned trophies at nationals, including trophies for outstanding individual performance. Students compete for three days, while trying to build up their ranking and earn a trophy for themselves and their team.

This year Cass Technical High School, King High School, and Crockett Technical High School are competing in the national championship. In the middle school division, Spain Elementary School, Bates Academy and Hutchins Elementary School will travel to nationals. Lastly, Spain, Bates and Fisher Magnet Upper Academy will compete in the elementary division. This year, a fourth team in the middle school division will be allowed to compete. Renaissance High School’s ninth grade players will play in the tournament.

This year’s national tournament will be held in Columbus and Nashville in April.

I’ve participated in the national tournament before and it is such a great experience, especially for those who haven’t even traveled outside of the city. Where else could they get an opportunity to meet and compete against other players from all over the country and learn how to better their skills as players for free? This is one of DPS’ greatest achievements.