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AFT Michigan on House DPS Plan: ‘A Recipe for Disaster’

Detroit needs real local control and charter accountability

MICHIGAN — The Michigan House Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin Cotter, have passed an education bill package that is harmful to the students, teachers and employees, and families of the Detroit Public Schools. The House bill is a stark contrast to a bipartisan Senate version that would restore local control in Detroit, get the debt under control and respect the rights of teachers and staff of DPS.

The following statement was issued by David Hecker, president of AFT Michigan and Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers:

The initial Senate bill gained community, business and bipartisan support because its intention is to improve education for Detroit children. That is clearly not the intention of this bill, which is a recipe for disaster and seeks to dismantle public education in Detroit. It is not a solution. Michigan Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin Cotter, are doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. They are denying Detroit Public Schools students necessary funding, they are attacking dedicated teachers and school personnel, and they are denying the right of an elected school board to determine a superintendent. This bill denies the people in Detroit real local control and fails to propose an actual strategy to stabilize all schools in Detroit. Instead it bends to the will of the DeVos family and the for-profit charter industry who are intent on cashing in on kids.

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