School Board Race: Keeping public schools public for Detroit’s children

Latest

Children, parents and teachers protest the dismantling of public education in Detroit under the emergency manager dictatorship appointed by the governor that has exiled the elected school board. Photo/daymonjhartley.com

 
Editor’s note: Elena Herrada is a member of the Detroit School Board—in exile. The elected school board has been stripped of its authority by the governor appointed Emergency Manager that serves corporate interests. — People’s Tribune
DETROIT, MI — There are 62 people in Detroit’s school board race. New legislation allows only seven board members. It allows this body only one thing: To privatize public education. All public schools would become charters. Four people can vote to charter the whole district.
This is the why so many are suddenly interested in the school board race. There are candidates who worked for the non-elected Emergency Manager, Kevyn Orr and Mike Duggan. There are many who have never attended a school board meeting. There are candidates who have been far removed from the reality of Detroit under emergency management, and from Detroit without the residency requirement for city employees that provided our tax base. People say they love Detroit Public Schools because they graduated during the era of our heyday. This is no time for nostalgia or delusions that we have control of our school district. We do not. We are under the financial review commission who answers to bankers and bondholders. They were not elected and do not have children in Detroit Public Schools.
This is why I ask for your vote. There are a small number of candidates who support public education. Many have their marching orders from Judge Rhodes, Mike Duggan, and Governor Snyder. Here is the list of those who can be trusted to defend public education and the right of equal resources to all children in Detroit: Tawanna Simpson; Ida Short. ; Reverend David Murray, Patricia Singleton, Elena Herrada, Yolanda Y. Peoples, Victor B Gibson, LaMar Lemmons, Herman Davis, John Telford
There are others but their close ties to Mike Duggan make them suspect—we do NOT want mayoral control. We cannot go the way of New Orleans, of Muskegon Heights, Inkster, or Highland Park. Please help us. Everything is at stake. This is not about personalities. This is not about political posturing. This is about keeping public schools public for Detroit children.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

President Trump's executive order fuses drug use and homelessness, ignoring that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use because people use drugs to cope with pain. Forced institutional settings rather than housing will not help the ill or unhoused.

Chicago Resistance Speaks: ‘Until All Are Free, None Are Free’

An uprising is growing as the government tries to impose a dictatorship. Chicago resistance leaders recently offered their thoughts in public remarks made at demonstrations and press conferences.

Los Angeles Continues to Rebuild and Resist

Angelinos, suffering from the profit over people economy, continue to rebuild after the fires and to protest immigration raids, while also experiencing joy in such difficult times.

Chicago Teachers Union Says: Trump, Stay Out of Our City

Chicago Teachers Union rejects any unlawful federal occupation of their city, while welcoming federal leadership that fully funds public education, restores SNAP, and expands Medicaid to healthcare for all.

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

More from the People's Tribune