It is being reported that the Detroit School teachers are striking because of the horrible conditions of the school buildings and classrooms.  The reason we are being told that the buildings and the school rooms are in a state of disrepair is due to a lack of funding.

Certainly the way the media is reporting it you would think there could be a lack of funding.  Some teachers believe that there is not a “level playing field” when it comes to “poor communities”.

Is that true, are the poor communities of the state, i.e. Detroit receiving less funding then the other school districts?

Well let’s look at the numbers.

One thing that the media is not reporting is back in 2009 the Detroit voters approved over $500 million in new debt.  That new debt they took on was suppose to improve the physical conditions of Detroit’s schools, exactly what the teachers are saying is not happening.

That begs the question, where did all that money go?

Did they actually issue all those bonds and did the DPS system receive the $500 million?  Again if so what did they use all the money for?  There may be legitimate answers to these questions but someone has to ask them before they can be answered.

The Michigan Capitol Confidential new site reported that the Detroit Schools received more money per pupil in the 2013/2014 school year than any of the state’s 10 largest school districts.

What do the numbers look like?

Detroit schools received $12, 931.00 in total funding (local, state and federal) per student.  The state wide average is $9,121.00 per student.  That is over $3,800 more per student.

Let us put this in another perspective, a school district less than 30 miles from Detroit (Chippewa Valley School District) received $8,549 per pupil, $4,400 a year less than Detroit.

That begs the question, where is all that money going?

The Live with Renk show, airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

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