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Ten years ago, the Detroit Public Schools Community District was in its infancy and charting a path for students that promised to be different than the traumatic and chaotic one that had become the norm for decades.
It would be debt free, after years in which Detroit Public Schools, the district that used to educate students, was mired in so much debt that bankruptcy seemed a certainty. The focus would be on academics instead of paying off debt. And it would be overseen by a new elected and empowered school board, after years in which the DPS board had little to no say.
After a decade of DPSCD, there are some encouraging signs. While overall achievement is still low and well below statewide averages, the district has seen steady improvement, and researchers have said that growth is a sign academic reforms are having an effect. The district’s board has adopted balanced budgets in each year of its existence. The district has had consistent leadership since Superintendent Nikolai Vitti was hired in 2017, unlike the revolving door of the previous district.
But there have also been challenges. Some board members and community members increasingly are criticizing academic performance, saying students aren’t improving fast enough. Vitti has frequently raised concerns that the district isn’t receiving funding from the state that is equitable to suburban districts. And while the district has invested $700 million (from federal COVID relief funds provided during the pandemic) into a facility master plan for upgrades and rebuilds across DPSCD, it covers just a fraction of the facility needs.
In the race for five open seats in the Nov. 3 election — four seats with four-year terms and one seat with a partial two-year term — 34 names will appear on the ballot. Three of them — Natalie Bien-Aime, Henrietta Ivey, and Darious Morris — have indicated they are no longer running.
The candidates weighed in on the 10-year anniversary, answering questions in a Chalkbeat questionnaire about what the district has done well, what it’s gotten wrong, and whether schools are better off.
Here’s what they told us.
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
