Detroit promises tuition-free community college to every high school graduate — public, private or charter. Detroit schools can't pay staff after April 8, lawmakers told. Detroit Public Schools can only afford to pay its employees for the work they do through April 8 and needs $50 million in immediate aid, the district's transition manager said today.
Steven Rhodes and new Superintendent Alycia Meriweather testified before a state House Appropriations Committee hearing on proposed legislation that would restructure the debt-ridden district. Lawmakers have been talking for several weeks but remain unable to agree on a plan. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Rhodes reiterated that bankruptcy isn't a good option because the vast majority of the district's debts are secured or guaranteed by the state. Officials have warned for months that DPS, with its $515 million in operating debt, was in danger of running out of cash this spring.
"We can pay employees for the work they do through April 8, but not after that. ... Another, more controversial package of bills in the House would also split the district in two. Gov. Read or Share this story: Of rats and debts. SOME schools have black mould creeping up the walls; at others, mushrooms sprout from them.
At Palmer Park Preparatory Academy, pieces of the ceiling are falling on pupils’ heads while rats run around. Jerry L. White Centre High School has no heating. Feds: 12 Detroit principals stole $1M in kickback scheme. Four weeks into the school year, DPS is facing a shortage of teachers.
Some classes are overcrowded as a result. Ann Zaniewski Detroit Free Press In its latest crackdown on school corruption in Detroit, the federal government today dropped a legal bomb on 12 current and former principals, one administrator and a vendor — all of them charged with running a nearly $1-million bribery and kickback scheme involving school supplies that were rarely ever delivered. At the heart of the alleged scheme is businessman Norman Shy, 74, of Franklin, who is accused of paying $908,500 in kickbacks and bribes to at least 12 Detroit Public Schools principals who used him as a school supply vendor in exchange for money — some for as little as $4,000, another for $324,000.
He secretly did this for 13 years, scamming school after school to the tune of $2.7 million with the help of principals who benefited along the way, prosecutors allege. U.S. "Public corruption never comes at a good time," McQuade said. . " Detroit schools want judge to end teacher sickouts. The motion names the Detroit Federation of Teachers, interim teachers union president Ivy Bailey and 23 Detroit Public Schools teachers.
"DPS has requested the court's intervention in addressing the ongoing teacher sickouts that are plaguing the district," Michelle Zdrodowski, the spokeswoman for the Detroit Public Schools said in a statement. "It is regrettable that the Detroit Public Schools seeks to punish those who speak out about the deplorable conditions in our schools," Bailey said. "It would be so much more productive to actually do something to fix Detroit schools rather than file restraining orders against those who expose the miserable conditions.
" Nearly all Detroit's public schools were closed Wednesday as many protesting teachers called in sick, turning what was supposed to be a day to celebrate into one shining a harsh spotlight on one of Michigan's struggling cities. President Barack Obama was in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show.
"Enough is enough! " Detroit Student: "I Want to Be Able to Go to School Without Worrying About Being Bitten by Mice" This is viewer supported news Donate Image Credit: Kate Levy As a federal emergency is declared over lead poisoning in the Flint water supply, the state of Michigan is facing another crisis over basic services—this time in Detroit.
Dire conditions under an unelected emergency manager have led schoolteachers to declare an emergency of their own. 94 Detroit Public Schools closed due to teacher 'sickouts' The mass sickout by more than 1,500 teachers forced 94 Detroit Public Schools to be closed Monday, school district spokeswoman Michelle A.
Zdrodowski said. Teachers learned over the weekend that the district would run out of money June 30, according to Ivy Bailey, the interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers. More than 500 people attended a rally in support of the city's teachers Monday morning outside a school district administration building, according to Nikhol Atkins, a staff member at the teachers' union. Teachers and some parents are urging Michigan lawmakers to pass a $715 million education reform package that would fund salaries for July and beyond. Michigan's 4-year high school graduation rate passes 78% Michigan's statewide graduation rate rose last year for the third straight year, while dropout rates are falling, according to state data released Thursday.
For 2013-14, the state's four-year graduation rate was 78.58 percent, up from 76.96 percent in 2012-13, 76.24 percent in 2011-12 and 74.33 percent in 2010-11. Of Michigan's 124,279 high school seniors, 97,664 graduated in four years, while 11,943 dropped out. "We have seen a steady and impressive increase in graduation rates since 2011, when the more rigorous Michigan Merit Curriculum requirements took full effect," Thomas Howell, director of the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information, said in a statement.
CEPI reported that graduation rates rose from 2012-13 to 2013-14 in all 10 of the districts with the biggest graduating classes, including Detroit Public Schools, which rose from 64.55 percent to 71.05 percent. Michigan's 2013-14 dropout rate was 9.61 percent, down 0.93 percentage points from last year.