THis entire city is slowly turning into a ghost town. I feel sorry for those who are stuck and can’t escape!

Never been there, so I can’t really say if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

I am from Detroit, and I can tell you that this is necessary. Many of these school buildings are dilapidated, out-of-date and a few are a danger. Some of these schools were like this when I was enrolled–and that was nearly 20 years ago.

Moreover, as the article mentioned, there has been a drop in enrollment, so they have to consolidate these schools and the students. Unfortunately, I don’t know what the main drop in enrollment is from–whether it is from students in general dropping out, parents putting their kids in charter schools or from people leaving the city or State.

The local papers mentioned that some schools will combine ALL grades, K-12. I am not sure how I feel about this because I don’t know if DPS has experience in grade integration on this scale. Even though DPS mentioned that they will ensure internal seperation between grammar school age children and secondary school students, I’m still concerned about the little ones’ safety and wonder what problems could arise from this.

I have to commend Bob Paul, however. He was appointed to take over as the emergency manager of the DPS, and has to make some tough decisions. Many people criticise him–especially the citizens of Detroit, but much of this financial mess can be blamed on the School Board itself. For years, there has been mismanagement, misappropriation of funds, abuse of power, laziness, and an apparent indifference to the well-being of the students.

Many of the parents are no better because they themselves feel indifferently, act like a hot-mess at the meetings, or simply don’t have the time to participate. All this leads to the Board getting away with the same Tom Foolery behavior that has been going on for over 20 years.

At one point, DPS had a surplus of $90M (in the late 80′s, I believe); do you think they made any improvements or helped out the kids? F***no. They pissed through $90M like it wasn’t anything. In the meantime, kids had to use old, outdated text books and learn class lessons in classrooms with ceilings that were crumbling over them.

At this point, Detroit (and most of Michigan itself) is an industrial wasteland, a relic of its former self. It will never be the way it was because of the resistance to change and the esoteric attitude its leaders have. What a shame.

i am from the Detroit and i agree with u Azrael3 have not been back there in 5 years but its sad the way Detroit is becoming extinct but i know that they are goin to have a comeback well at least i hope Detroit is not a bad place its just that they need to look at other options we basically depended on the factories which make cars we have to go into technology now the world is becoming computerize by everything so somebody somewhere will come up with something cuz Detroit has too much history for it to just not exist anymore……

isishappybeingme:

Detroit isn’t exactly Baghdad yet, but it’s close to it. The infrastructure is horrible–old, dilapidated buildings, crumbling overpasses, abandoned or torched houses…It is a veritable wasteland.

Yah, Detroit has a lot of history, but sadly, the auto industry gave too many blacks (and others) a false sense of security–that they would always have a job, that they didn’t need a proper education to succeed. I also blame the black people as a whole for this predicament for the reasons that I mentioned in my previous post. Moreover, Detroit has a hustler and blue-collar mentality that is archaic and definitely NOT forward thinking. What I am saying is this, who cares if Detroit has a lot of history. It’s in the past and there is nothing about the history that can benefit Detroiters in a tangible way. All we can do is learn from it, but we need to stop crying about how we WERE the hub of the auto industry. This type of stogism kills entities.

If you ask me I look at this like a conspiracy to build more space for rich folks like condos etc.OR it could be a way to save the city but I doubt that its whats in the best interest of politics to me.This happen in another state to I believe Mississippi if Im not wrong.It could have some good in this don’t get me wrong but the equation is always some one is going to get left out in the end that’s how the game is played in America every man for themselves.Tell me it aint so

This news really hurts me! I was born & raised in Detroit. I have so many fond memories of growing up there…it’s sad how the U.S. has given up on this once great city! I still have family & friends there…I pray for them everyday!

Changing DPS into a more efficient entity is the best idea that has been implemented in a long time; although building new buildings as Mr.Bobb has proposed is not the only answer,the change has to start from senior level managers downward; Mr.Bobb has uncovered a wide array of theft and mismanagement in this system that has been going on for the last 30 or so years.As a fellow Detroiter and a product of DPS I just hope that his efforts are sucessful.

Good luck in Mr.Bobb’s endeavors

I live in Detroit. Detroit population is only 800,000 now. They should have been closed these schools.

doing_me74: The only conspiracy committed is by the leaders of Detroit who are predominately black, as are those in DPS. These “leaders” have been in power for decades, robbing their own kind. People are getting fed up and leaving for better neighborhoods and schools elsewhere–and THOSE areas were created specifically in mind for the whites that left Detroit. So what conspiracy are YOU SPEAKING OF???? PLEASE.

I want to get straight to the point,people don’t feel comfortable coming into a city that is not safe,last time i checked detroit was the #1 deadliest city in the country,and has been in the top 5 for the last 5/10 years,some how that city must United itself and get back to the fundamentals,lack of jobs,poverty leads to crime and pushes good people to pack up and leave the city to never return.

The Car Manufacturing Corporations has made that City what it is,can’t forget about Motown,it’s really not detroit fault that the vehicles made there has been horribly bad,Muscle Cars,Luxury Cars,Large Trucks isn’t what America needed at this time,there over priced and get bad gas mileage,i have a friend who works as a Longshoremen he told me,they would pull american cars off the ships and place in lots and they would sit there for ever,while imported ships would come in pretty much everyday and the Cars was solded by the time they got off the ships,they were out selling americans cars 10/1.

But that’s just have problem,what’s drying up these cities are Cheap Labor Man,America has become the #1 Comsumers of the World,we buy Electronics,Drugs,Clothes,Vehicles and even some foods is being imported into the Country,Solution we need more black corporations,business,Inventors,support your local mom and pope store,the most of all,the kids needs to learn they need to learn the responsibility of money and the business of the world,here something for black children to reach for Google is worth 200 billion dollars and the Richest Man in the World is Located in Mexico and it’s considered to be a poor country.

If black people don’t get it together mark my words in the near future alot of black communities in this country will be working for a Corporation or Someone that’s not even from this Country like India,Mexico,China,Canada and if you don’t believe me look at the next product you buy and where it’s made from.

Correction: I referred to the emergency manager of DPS as Bob Paul; I meant Mr. Bobb (forgot his first name, but I’m lousy with names anyway).

@fitnessman05… slow down.

detroit has been had the reputation of murder capital and no matter what they do they cannot seem to shake it. new orleans, los angeles, new york and chicago have all had the titles much more than a little bit but people don’t knock those cities like they do to the D. hell indianapolis has a VERY high murder/crime rate and we don’t hear ish about them.

over the past 10-15 years the D has made big strides in bringing the city back to life and prosperity. as bad as the Lions are, know that games at Ford Fields still shut down Woodward Ave along with games at Tiger Stadium. the downtown core has been revitalized with actual stores and night clubs, restos and swanky lofts. i’m not saying it’s no rodeo drive, but trust me it’s come a long way since 1996 when i first started visiting from Canada. the D was a city that was neglected by it’s government and it’s people and i do give them credit for starting to unite and make it a place you can roam through. these days no where is really safe, not even cities in Canada which is known for it’s “peacefulness”.

as Peter_Black said… the been needed to close schools has over the past 60 years there had been a mad exodus of people moving out of the D to neighbouring suburbs.

bottomline, DPS needs to get it together, city council needs a shake, and the D needs another mayor with the drive of Dennis Archer and even Kwame when he FIRST took office.

@MZLEE,Didn’t mean to hate on your city.

I got interested in Detroit when they came out with the Country Most Dangerous City List,i can’t really talk,because my city is also on the top 5 dangerous list(Oakland,Ca)i notice a pattern with that list,all top 20 cities were cities with a large population of African American people(Coincidence)our maybe blacks are just killing each other in masses.

i think we have a mutual problem here,you love your city i love my city,our city went thru the same problem with schools,the state took over the school district and closed some schools that had declining attendance and poor scores,but recently was taken back by Oakland Unified,you see different named cities same problems,when i went to school in Oakland theres no problems with public schools but today some schools look like little prisons,there’s noway i would send my child to a public schools today,these children come from broken backgrounds and has very serious psychological problems,what’s going on in there household,neighborhood and city is affecting there learning in the classrooms.

Well if i was Mayor of Detroit i would clean house period,i would boost revenue from tourism,crime would be my number priority i would get right into the neighborhoods where it’s all happening,kick out repeated felons forever,promote charters schools giving parents the freedom to send there child anywhere they want,put aside funds specifically for children 14-18 yrs of age for after school jobs & programs,Allocate money for everyone who lost there job in the Auto Industry for New Training.

fitnessman05:

Your suggestions and ideas on how to improve Detroit are lofty, but not attainable at this time. The reason? Money. The City (like many others) is in a huge deficit and is having a hard time allocating resources such as the police, sanitation, etc. Crime is an issue for the leaders, and its residents, but the City is low on manpower and overrun with crimminals.

What little tourism we do have is always in flux, due to the economic downturn. Casinos were put in place to help attract visitors, but have not been successful because one has filed bankruptcy and has laid off many of its employees (who live in the city), have closed many of their venues, and really only are at full swing whenever a major event is in town. These are not the types of casinos that draw in people because of the casinos themselves; they draw in only the locals, who are unfortunately pissing their paychecks away.

The new mayor of Detroit, David Bing, a former CEO of the company he started, has plans to “shrink” the city. That is, he plans to relocate many residences (about 10,000) who are in neighborhoods that are seriously blighted and have only one or two homes occupied on a residential street. What this is SUPPOSED to do is help concentrate people into more “attractive”, viable areas so that the other (now leveled areas) will have certain city services cut off to save money. How this will go over, I don’t yet know, but I hope it is successful…but it is pretty much the same approach the DPS’ emergency school manager Bob is taking, which is to consolidate.

The problem not only lies in lack of money, but how the entire Metro area is racially stratified and how there is an old relic attitude on both sides. The people of Detroit, primarily black, are resentful of whites, feel that when whites left the City in the 60′s they turned their backs and refuse to really work with suburban leaders to build a bridge and help the City.

Detroit is very esoteric, too. You have to be “in the know” to really be accepted, they do not like outsiders. As far as I remember, they had only two Superintendants from out of state take over DPS. Both were black women: Debra McGriff was hired in the mid-90′s and the latest casualty was fired last year. On paper, these women were extremely competent. However, McGriff resigned because of conflict with the Board, which is to say, THEY gave HER a hard time (probably because they were hiding something). The 2nd person was fired after only 8 months (I believe); they said that she was incompetent, but the truth is that she found a lot of corruption and they were afraid that she would be exposed. They fired her and guess what? The State of Michigan had someone else take over.

Moreover, there are a lot of ignorant, blue-collar people who keep voting in the same incompetent people based on the hyperbole these “leaders” dish out; yet, time and time again, these idiots in office have proven to be ineffectual. Case in point; the entire City Council. Who the hell votes in a person simply because she is a Motown legend (a la Martha Reeves)? That’s the type of chronic dumb shyt you are dealing with when you deal with a lot of Detroiters. It’s this type of thinking or they just don’t care. I’m not saying all Detroiters are ignorant or stupid, but it seems that there’s a disproportionate number of them. I lived there for over 30 years and know what I am talking about.

I don’t think Detroit will change anytime soon unless they start to invest in education and really promote higher learning or technical trades. Plus, these parents need to be held accountable for what their kids are doing or not doing. Participation is key. However, nearly half of the adult population in the city is illiterate, which means that ignorance will beget ignorance unless an outside force steps in. And gawd forbid if THAT happened (sarcasm intended).

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