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Detroit public affairs commentator Bill Johnson tees up a local education discussion with this headline at his blog: "Duggan for school czar?"
There's just one answer in his view, and it has two letters.
It’s difficult to make the case for placing education under Duggan’s control.
Mayor Mike Duggan and Bill Johnson
Johnson, a former Detroit News editorial writer and columnist who's now a communication consultant, writes that "pressure is building to give control of the Detroit Public Schools to Mayor Mike Duggan after the tenure of the DPS emergency manager runs its course."
Under Mike Duggan, DPS would magically be immune to the forces that usher in fiscal problems. The educational neglect of children would cease to be viewed with indifference.
Of course, this is a fallacy. There’s no reason to believe any of this would become reality in the foreseeable future. Giving the mayor carte blanche authority to reform DPS is an idea whose time has not come.
After the commentary was posted at his site and by his former paper, related news broke Tuesday afternoon. "The City of Detroit and Detroit Public Schools have reached an agreement that will allow the district to erase millions of dollars in debt," WXYZ and others report.
The deal calls for the Detroit Public Schools to turn over control of 57 vacant schools and an additional 20 vacant lots to the city. In exchange, the city will forgive $11.6 million of the school district's debt. That debt is mostly from electric bills DPS owes the city.
City Council and school board approvals are needed for that swap.
In his essay, Johnson ticks off reasons for wariness about letting the mayor oversee public schools:
First, there should be some sign that the mayor knows how to make the dysfunctional system of buses run on time before making him responsible for a dysfunctional school system.
Secondly, the mayor has yet to demonstrate he can make school zones safe for students – or residents for that matter. The delivery of effective and timely essential services is still a work in progress. There are more blackouts than lighted streets in morbidly distressed neighborhoods.
Without a few successes, how can citizens feel comfortable about entrusting the mayor to come up with a realistic plan under which students believe they have a future?
