MI GOP State Rep Says Detroit Public Schools Should Be Dissolved
More: State Rep Says Detroit Public Schools Should Be Dissolved
State Rep. Tim Kelly said today that Detroit Public Schools is so troubled that he would support dissolving it.
Speaking during a taping of the WKAR-TV public television show “Off the Record,” the Saginaw Township Republican said DPS is “bound for elimination one way or another anyway.”
“They’ve hemorrhaged kids — started with 150,000 and we’re down to 47,000… They’ve had their opportunity and quite honestly, they’ve squandered that opportunity, and not only for the last 15 years,” he said.
Kelly, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on education, also acknowledged the state bears some responsibility for DPS’ financial mess.
The state has controlled DPS for much of the last 15 years. It has been run by governor-appointed emergency managers since 2009, and was under state control from 1999 until 2005.
“I think there is culpability here, we have been involved in the last 15 years in Detroit,” Kelly said. “While I would suggest it would be worse if we hadn’t intervened, we have some blood on our hands. And I don’t know if it’s worth $500 million or $50 million a year for 10 years, but there is some bit of culpability.”
The “charter schools” can’t want to get their hands on the DPS money.