This is happening. Received by a BAT in Detroit today. How do you attract the most qualified teachers when starting pay is $35,000 per year and decreasing? Dear Detroit Public Schools Staff, Detroit Public Schools Deficit Elimination Plan, which was recently submitted to the Michigan Department of Education, calls for the elimination of the districts deficit by the end of 2019. Further, school districts are prohibited from operating under a deficit budget pursuant to the State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1702). Given these requirements, as well as the reduction in federal grant funds allocated to the district, the decline in the collection of property taxes and the failure of the county-wide education enhancement millage, in addition to the fact that wages and benefits account for nearly 80 percent of all district expenses, we have no other option than to implement an additional 10 percent wage cut on district employees. This will be effective October 1, 2014. We are very sensitive to the economic hardship this will place on district employees and their families. Please know that we did not make this decision lightly and considered every available option, including large-scale layoffs. However, due to the severe reduction of our workforce caused by other layoffs in recent years, we determined that further staff reductions would impede and/or prevent our ability to fulfill the districts mission of providing a quality education to the children of Detroit. That said, we want you to understand that the purpose of the Deficit Elimination Plan (DEP) is to offer the most conservative projections/estimates, based on a variety of revenue and expense assumptions that are available at the moment in time the DEP is submitted. Now its our job to continue to offer the best programs possible, delivered by the most qualified educators to help retain and attract students in order to beat these projections. Last year we halted a 20-year trend in enrollment loss, and we are now working every day with your assistance - going neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block, and door to door to retain the students we enrolled and attract new ones to the district. We are also committed to new programs that our families desire - like the new gifted and talented program at the Mark Twain School for Scholars. It is only by offering programs such as these that our families want and deserve, and growing our enrollment, that we will be able to put our district on the path to recovery. Already strides have been made in our MEAP results and other academic indicators, and we continue to have amazing things to celebrate, like our five Gates Millennium Scholars; the fact that the majority of the schools ranked as the top K-8 schools in the city are from Detroit Public Schools; and, that our 2014 seniors amassed $138 million in scholarships and grants. Again, we understand this is a very difficult announcement. But, the only way to a more sustainable school district is to continue working together, with our students in mind, to grow our enrollment -- thereby improving our financial condition, and ultimately leading to restoration of these wage cuts. Increased enrollment is the only way that DPS can not only survive, but thrive. Your support and participation in this vital effort have never been more critical. Sincerely, Jack Martin Emergency Manager
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 20:53:12 +0000
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