  Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 377 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 64.139.64.80 |
‘Reform’ board bankrupts DPS http://www.michigancitizen.com /default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1 &twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1843&wp age=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=& ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reop tion=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=& rebed=&rebath=&subname= Report finds mismanagement cause of escalating deficits By Diane Bukowski The Michigan Citizen DETROIT – A “mismangement breakdown” is behind the Detroit Public School’s current financial crisis. That is the finding of a report paid for by the DPS Transition Team. Administrators appointed by Detroit’s mayors since the 1999 takeover must take the blame for growing deficits. The Florida-based MGT of America, a consulting firm which has done work in 17 of the nation’s 25 largest school districts, said the mismanagement was chiefly responsible for gradually escalating deficits beginning with a $10.6 million shortfall in 1999-2000, and culminating in gaps of $123.3 million in 2003-04 and $123.7 million in 2004-05. The report says that the district will have to pay the price of the mismanagement, as it must pay off $213 million, plus accumulating interest on state deficit reduction bonds it borrowed last year, over the next 15 years. “The current financial position being faced by the Detroit Public Schools is the result of a management breakdown,” wrote MGT Senior Partner Linda Recio in the report. “The lack of checks and balances provided by a Board of Education assisted in this breakdown, as there was no longer any process in place to provide effective oversight regarding financial activities. The laudable goal of providing improved educational programs became the focus of the organization and the availability of the resources to fund these activities became an after thought.” The deficits accumulated under CEO’s David Adamany and Kenneth Burnley, and Board Presidents Freman Hendrix, Frank Fountain, and William Brooks, appointed at various times by both Mayor Dennis Archer and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Under their purview, the district has not even had a formal budget document to facilitate public review of school spending, according to the report. “Detroit had a formal document prior to the current administration,” said Recio in an interview from her Tallahassee office. “What we received was a power point presentation. We were later given a line-item budget, but a formal budget is needed for public review.” Recio said it is uncommon for school districts not to have such a document. She presented an initial summary of the report to the steering committee of the transition team two weeks ago, but the full report was not released until June 9. The DPS Transition Team is a 160-member body appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm and headed by Rev. Wendell Anthony of the Detroit NAACP. Recio said drastic measures such as those in the five-year deficit reduction plan approved by the State Board of Education in March, involving downsizing of the district through massive lay-offs and school closings, are needed. However, she said MGT did not do an in-depth review of the deficit reduction plan. The report makes 31 recommendations. They include reductions in the numbers of DPS administrators, which it says far exceed those of comparable districts and reviews of the sale of the DPS headquarters and the leasing of office spaces elsewhere. It calls also for a review of overexpenditures for contracted food services, and an independent review of other services being outsourced “to determine if each of these contracts is still in the best financial and operational interests of Detroit Public Schools.” “It’s a disgrace, it’s a crime, and I want somebody to go to jail,” said Helen Moore, leader of the Keep the Vote No Takeover Coalition. “All this time, we’ve been saying that Kenneth Burnley was no good and incompetent, but they didn’t do anything about it to save our children’s money. They didn’t have a budget plan, but they’ve been laying off and closing schools. And now they’ve put in the man who was over the budget, William Coleman, as interim CEO until next year.” In a written statement, Burnley responded, calling the report “simplistic,” saying it ignores gains made during the state takeover, and blaming external factors for the DPS difficulties. “For example, the robust economy of the 1990’s that grew stupendously and crested at the end of that decade has been replaced by what some economists argue is a recession,” said Burnley. “In addition, the District continues to confront the kinds of problems that many other major urban school systems around the state and throughout the country are facing. These include declining enrollment, a spike in payments to the state retirement system, and rising health care costs.” Burnley said his administration had doubled expenditures on special education, although the report says the DPS actually far underspent dollars designated for special education, using them elsewhere in the budget. Cass Technical High School teacher Steve Conn said that Granholm and the state legislature must go further than issuing the report to address the district’s problems. “It’s the state that imposed that appointed board,” said Conn. “The state must pay for this crime by reimbursing the people of Detroit for all the losses. The state must put an end to the ridiculous policy of tying funding to student enrollment, to start with. The state can forgive the $213 million that DPS borrowed as a next step, and then figure out what else is owed and pay us that difference.” DPS union leaders had not returned calls for comment before press time, but an informal meeting of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees (DAEOE) was scheduled June 14 to discuss recent mass lay-off notices, according to a message on its office phone. The Detroit Federation of Teachers website said 2,365 lay-off notices had been mailed out to its membership, with the actual final elimination of 500-600 jobs expected. The DFT and other school unions are also mobilizing for a state-wide rally calling for adequate state funding for all Michigan schools, to be held in Lansing June 21. The complete MGT report, entitled “Diagnostic Financial Assessment of Detroit Public Schools,” is available online at www.detroitnaacp.org. | ||
Brian Member Username: Brian Post Number: 2856 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.37.84.44 |
Quin, I beat you to it. Freman Hendrix Helped to Destroy the DPS https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/5/48075.html?1119319286 Freman's Folks are hiding from this topic. Its something they can't defend. And as teachers are being pink slipped, FIRED, Freman is catching heat around Detroit. How many Detroiters patronize the Yacht Club on Belle Isle? Not many, but that is where Freman is holding, another, fundraiser. Coincidently they are the same people who are pusing a FEE for Belle Isle. | ||
Ilovedetroit Member Username: Ilovedetroit Post Number: 701 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 63.149.5.130 |
Brian - You are right. You have been talking about this for months...I bet Metro is running with rage now! And yes the DYC is pushing for a fee for Belle Isle...I am sure Hendrix is hanging with all his fancy republican friends out there. | ||
Brian Member Username: Brian Post Number: 2864 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 67.37.84.22 |
Both MD and BD can't respond and the Hendrix team has been told to ignore this issue. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 2379 Registered: 02-2004 Posted From: 207.74.110.81 |
This one little charade is not going to stop Hendrix from becoming mayor. It's like putting Michael Moore's movie " Fahrenheit 9/11" in to stop President Bush's campaign, but Bush became president anyway. So let this report be a allegation for there's no concrete evidence that Hendrix mismanage DPS funds. | ||
Ilovedetroit Member Username: Ilovedetroit Post Number: 707 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 69.246.4.46 |
No this is a campaign killer Danny...he was the engineer on that train. | ||
Metrodetguy Member Username: Metrodetguy Post Number: 1556 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 207.200.116.134 |
...As opposed to the 2002-2005 Detroit shipwreck with Kilpatrick as captain and McPhail as the first officer. Campaign killer indeed | ||
Metrodetguy Member Username: Metrodetguy Post Number: 1557 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 207.200.116.134 |
Brian/"Ilovedetroit", how many "Real Detroiters" patronize bowling alleys in Roseville and $500 events at the Atheneum Hotel (sites of McPhail fundraisers)? How about the other candidate that you two support, Kilpatrick? How many "Real Detroiters" patronize homes in Orchard Lake/West Bloomfield (site of his fundraiser)? | ||
Brian Member Username: Brian Post Number: 2866 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 208.39.169.124 |
Are you trying to justify your previous comments MD? Your candidate said that mostly Detroit residents support him but he was busted getting support from non-Detroiters. At least no other candidate made that same lie. Tell your candidate to stop lying and then it would not be an issue. | ||
Metrodetguy Member Username: Metrodetguy Post Number: 1569 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 207.200.116.134 |
Brian, (once again) your comments don't make any sense. Once again, you're attempting to smear Hendrix with false allegations, while trying to cover up documented occurances involving both McPhail and Kilpatrick. | ||
Ilovedetroit Member Username: Ilovedetroit Post Number: 728 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 63.149.5.130 |
Metro - Your comments make no sense..once again you are trying to smear the McPhail campaign with false allegations. You need to realize that your candidate is in trouble and since you are a paid member of his staff you need to get your head out of your butt and do your job. Stop making false allegations against McPhail and do your job. Or better yet keep up the lies that you tell and Kilpatrick will knock you out of the primary. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 2410 Registered: 02-2004 Posted From: 141.217.173.162 |
RUMORS, RUMORS! ALLEGATIONS, ALLEGATIONS |
