Bobb, school board members grapple over Detroit’s Proposal S

DETROIT — A public schools bond referendum to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot in Michigan’s largest city is stirring controversy as it seeks to tap $500 million in federal stimulus funds — $246 million of which being a zero interest loan — to rebuild and renovate three high schools and 15 K-8 elementary schools.

Critics of Proposal S say that at a time when the district is downsizing to eliminate a $243 million projected budget deficit, taking out a $246 million loan to build new schools seems wasteful and will keep city property taxes high. But state-appointed Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, who proposed the referendum, argues that public school facilities across the city are in dire need of renovations and that utilizing stimulus-funded bonds is the district’s only chance at getting the funds to make needed upgrades.

“There will be no major renovations at any schools unless something comes down the pipe,” Bobb told 200 voters in attendance at the Northwest Activities Center at a town hall meeting last week. “There is no pot of money hidden in someone’s desk.”

Still, some question why Bobb, after closing 29 schools just a month before, wants to build new facilities in a district with shrinking enrollment and a growing number of charter schools.

“He shut ‘em down and then wants to build new schools?” Board of Education member Otis Mathis asked voters at the meeting after Bobb spoke.

Bobb defended his stance, saying he was building new schools in “strategic” locations where population is showing signs of revival. “Every school will have technology required for a 21st century researching and learning environment,” he said. “We’re building schools where population is growing.”

But on the list of schools to re-build is Chadsey High School on the city’s west side, which Bobb opted to close this fall as part of a plan to shrink the district to reflect a dramatic drop in enrollment.

According to schools spokeswoman Jennifer Mrozowski, Proposal S will not affect the district’s efforts to curb spending by closing schools. “Closings will have to take place, in any case,” Mzrowski told Michigan Messenger via e-mail. “We have closed schools because we need to downsize the district’s square footage.”

Despite the school closures, the remaining facilities still need structural improvements, something the school system can’t afford on its own, Mzrowski said. Calling Proposal S a “historic opportunity,” Mrozowski said that schools like Chadsey were “closed based on a variety of factors, including condition of facility” but did not specify the reason for Chadsey’s closure.

Proposal S calls for the district to renovate 10 schools and build eight new ones. But some voters at last week’s meeting sponsored by the 14th Congressional District’s Democratic Party Organization were more concerned about public safety than new construction. “Getting killed in an old school is the same as getting killed in a new school,” one parent said.

Proposal S consists of Build America Bonds and Qualified School Construction bonds made available through the federal stimulus package. The Qualified School Construction bonds have to be used within three years or they will no longer be available. Bobb said the Build America Bonds would be available for longer but after three years there would be interest added to the $246 million loan.

Board of Education member Marie Thornton, who has been vocal in her opposition to the measure, warned that Bobb’s plan to renovate and build 18 schools is tentative and depends on a final approval from Michigan’s Treasury Department, which could dramatically change Bobb’s plans. “The state Treasury is not a friend of the city of Detroit,” Thornton said.

Mathis, an accountant who opposes Proposal S, said Bobb’s claim that the measure won’t raise taxes is misleading. He noted that Detroit residents are still paying for a $1.5 billion bond from 1994. “We’ll be paying for the 1.5 billion until 2032,” he said. “They say there’s not going to be an increase in taxes. But they don’t tell you that 13 mils is the max you can tax yourself,” Mathis said.

He noted that the property tax base in Detroit has shrunk dramatically since 1994 and is still plummeting, making any loan repayment schedule based on property tax invalid. “We’ve been bamboozled,” he told the crowd as some cheered him on.

While the school board members criticized Bobb’s proposal, some parents still see the referendum as progress for the district. Dolores Smith, a parent and local activist, told Michigan Messenger that she supported Proposal S and that school board members should be careful in their critique of Bobb’s ideas. “If they were doing their job right he wouldn’t be here,” she said.

Smith is not alone in her support of the measure. Detroit’s largest teachers union, the Detroit Federation of Teachers backs the proposal. DFT Vice President Mark O’Keefe spoke in favor of the proposal at the meeting, but acknowledged that taxes will continue at a high rate if the measure passes. “What has been said is the taxes aren’t going up — they’re staying at the same level longer,” he explained. “Any way you cut it, the money is going to have to be paid back.”

O’Keefe addressed the 1994 bond referendum that is now used as an example of failure because the district lost track of large sums of money. “No one’s hiding the fact that the last bond was mismanaged,” he said.

But according to Bobb, the $500.5 million the district will receive if the proposal passes will now have two tiers of oversight. First, he said there will be district investigators — former FBI agents — and district auditors “looking over the shoulders” of school officials in charge of the funds. The second layer of accountability will come from Washington. Because federal dollars are being spent this time around, there will also be federal oversight though the Government Accountability Office. “Michigan has been targeted for scrutiny, and is a state where the GAO is giving a special high level attention,” he said.

There are other concerns about the proposal as well. Some are worried that Detroit residents won’t get the contracts to rebuild schools at a time when one quarter of city residents are unemployed. At the meeting, Bobb said Detroit residents would get priority hiring on construction jobs should the proposal pass. But Thornton pointed out that while his words “sound good,” there is no provision in the proposal that says workers from Detroit will be favored. “According to the proposal they can hire from anywhere in the state of Michigan,” she said.