*Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, asked parents Monday night to get behind his academic plan, an ambitious road map to the future that envisions a smaller district with the closing of 45 more schools this year and sets dramatic targets for student achievement.
“I ask you parents to walk that road with me tonight,” Bobb said as he unveiled his plan to about 800 people at Renaissance High School.
The number of school closures Bobb noted was five more than he had announced earlier. It would bring total school closures to 140 since 2005 — more than half the district.
Bobb also said that the district would need $700 million more in bond money for school improvements. He suggested a new Bates Academy, a facility for swimming and diving at Renaissance, a sports complex at Cass Tech and a new facility for special-needs students. The district already has $500.5 million in bond money voters approved in November.
Bobb’s unveiling was preceded by a loud protest outside, mostly by bus drivers upset about the outsourcing of busing to an out-of-state company.
Read more of this Detroit Free Press story HERE.
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