representatives in Washington, DC. All of these trips provide opportunity to gather information for the
betterment of the district. Before emergency management, Board members did attend trips and were successful
bringing resources back to the community which more than paid for the cost of the trip many times over. DPS
has a permanent seat on the MASB. Typically, the Michigan Association for School Board meets in Lansing
about 9 times per year which is one annual conference and eight Board of Director meetings. The Detroit
Public Schools is on the Board of Directors, and previous to Emergency Management, the elected school board
members voted to elect a representative. The MASB selects a representative to speak for its body at the NASB,
however all Board Members from around the country may attend. By the bi-laws of MASB, only elected Board
members can attend these meetings. All School Boards in the State which serve on the Board of Directors vote
on their representative to represent itself to the State. The Board member who attends MASB meetings reports
back to the body that it represents. However, under emergency management in DPS, the EM generally and
currently selected who represents the Detroit Board of Education on the MASB Board of Directors. That
individual only reports to the Emergency Manager, not to the Board, leaving the Boa rd with no information.
The Emergency Manager has authorized no trips for School Board Members and to our knowledge no one has
attended the NASB in four years.
The Emergency Manager also refuses to provide legal counsel, CPA’s and experts in other fields to assist the
Board. This was never done before. These experts help Board Members understand complex contracts, bonds,
and other information to better serve the voters they represent. The Governor seeks to keep the elected Board
ignorant of the management of the district.
ADVERSE IMPACT
The Governor’s policy to limit information available to the elected School Board has infringed on the rights of
the minority community to have fully functional representation and oversight in the management of money and
district operations. The minority community has suffered by the decisions the Emergency Managers have made
in the dark. This is not the best way to manage a public institution and community dollars. This is not justified
to meet educational goals. This practice and policy is unacceptable.
ETHICS
Keeping the School Board ignorant of relevant information lacks transparency and good will.
NO BENEFIT
The Emergency Manager may earn a nominal additional income for DPS by charging the School Board
Members a fee to receive information via FOIA to perform their fiduciary responsibilities, and save on the cost
of copy paper, however, the benefit does not outweigh the cost of the lack of transparency to the community.
School Board Member Elena Herrrada, is the voice of Detroit’s Latino community. Southwestern High School
was the hub of the Hispanic community in Detroit. The school had resources for English Language Learners as
required by EEOA. The Governor dispersed these resources by closing Southwestern, so that the district could
no longer properly service this community. Rashida Tlaub, an elected official filed a Title VI complaint on
behalf of the community which was discriminated against. Herrada expresses frustration with the process
where the Governor makes up his mind how to use district resources and communicates information to them
more as window dressing:
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