Posted on 08/17/2016 11:12:38 AM PDT by MichCapCon
During this past school year, the condition of the Detroit Public Schools’ buildings made national news.
For example, Detroit teacher Shalon Miller wrote about her poor working conditions in an article published by The Washington Post.
While the media coverage focused on the poor conditions of the schools, it did not mention that in November 2009, taxpayers approved a $500.5 million millage for DPS, specifically to improve the condition of the district's buildings.
Miller wrote in The Washington Post: “I wonder why my students are left in the worst conditions possible.” And she said Wednesday that taxpayers should have the same concerns.
But it’s unclear what that half a billion earmarked to improve DPS facilities was spent on. The district has yet to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request filed July 5 by Michigan Capitol Confidential asking for details of expenditures. School officials have confirmed the money has all been spent.
“Any concerned citizen would like to know where their tax dollars have gone,” Miller said. “Teachers want to know. We don’t know either. We haven’t had those answers either. Where is the money? We want to know also. Teachers have been screaming that from the rafters.”
Miller blamed the state of Michigan for the condition of the school buildings. “This is a state issue,” she said. “People want to put it in the lap of Detroit.”
Here’s an excerpt from Miller’s article: “Classrooms have old, drafty windows that are poorly insulated. In some rooms, we have to wear winter coats in class until lunch time. In other rooms, it can be ridiculously hot. Both temperature conditions are extremely distracting to the educational process. It’s hard for kids to concentrate when their hands are freezing or they’re sweating profusely. When it rains, water leaks into the classrooms from the roof. We have had to place buckets under the leaks and pray for dry weather. Unfixed structural damage causes water-soaked tiles to frequently fall from the ceiling of classrooms. The carpet has an ever-present moldy smell.”
Where does all the money go?
Into insane public union pensions and benefits.
And to public union democrat campaign contributions.
Damn Democrats! Where is your transparency? Where is your accountability? Just like Hillary, hiding information that is proof of wrongdoing and corruption. The majority of Democrat bureaucrats are corrupt! You whining teachers and students need to get rid of Democrats before you point fingers elsewhere!
Probably some huge bonuses for the top-tier (several layers) of administrators for the school district, would be my guess.
Always vote NO on bonds.
Whatever their alleged purpose.
Stop pouring the money down a rat hole. Install strict discipline including corporal punishment and sovereign immunity for educator administering that punishment under clear guideline and training. Expel immediately violators of zero tolerance for weapons or school located assaults or juvenile convictions from the streets. And strictly enforce a dress code. We lost education when we stopped the discipline.
Money doesn’t do it but make the union teachers richer who are nothing but prison guards now!!
>The carpet has an ever-present moldy smell.
WTF are they doing with carpet in a public school?
In Detroit, I would say corruption lined the pockets of Democrat thieves.
Where I live, on the west coast south of SF, it's ineptitude and incompetence. A bond issue was floated here and passed, for many millions of dollars to rebuild and fix schools in our community. The money was enough to build half a dozen schools and repair others. That was the plan. Construction started on a couple schools. A few years later, city officials started looking at the progress of the administrators in charge of the construction, and found that most of the funds were spent (wasted) on just the two they started work on. Work that is not complete. One school near me is about 3/4ths complete, the other far less than that. And work hasn't started on 4 or 5 others. Administrators blamed the contractor and fired them. What about the administrators in charge of the project? They still have their jobs, and are seeking more money to finish the schools that look like construction sites (with children attending classes in the middle of dusty conditions). No accounting for how the money was spent. Yup, Democrats run the whole thing.
It’s probably not that obvious. It’s probably in things like all those top-tier administrators each having a new car leased every year, gas card, expense account (purchasing card), new iPad, smart phone, data plan for both also covered, laptop, new office furnishings, going to multiple conferences, and each administrator needing to have their own assistant, who also needs their own car, gas card, expense account, iPad, smart phone, etc... I saw our district’s baseline budget, and the padding of administrators’ salaries with all the little (and not so little) perks, and how they hide them, is unreal.
Just another usual and customary Democrat controlled disaster city run into the sewer for the last 50 years.
I can tell you where the money went PENSIONS !!!!!
The carve outs for the Detroit Bankruptcy were the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Water Dept. & I think Dept of Ed / their Pension if my memory is correct.
The D.I.A. they took care of, no art sold at auction, The Water Dept is too hard for me to wrap my head around. But Education was supposed to be resolved, with MI as a state helping to put money into it, but they are something like 3.5 billion in debt.
I think you are right, they probably thumbed their noses at all of us and paid it out as pension liability payments and the truth and transparency be damned...
If so, don't come to me for a bail out, you are done...
The REALLY TERRIBLE thing about this IS the kids NEVER stand a chance of getting out of these RAT HOLES!!! THESE BASTARDS continue to keep these kids in squalor while they line their OWN POCKETS I am so sick to death of the corruption in ALL LEVELS of government WHY don’t these black neighborhoods WAKE THE HELL UP????
It is not about color if you will and waking up. Those that left Detroit did eons ago, those their now are their by choice or can't go. Their is an effort to prevent Charters from buying schools etc, I can't go their, it is such a mess.
They will wake up the day the democrats don’t need their votes anymore!
Talk to Donald Trump. He will tell you.
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