Detroit Schools Plagued By Mismanagement, Student Losses
DETROIT (AP) - Efforts by Michigan lawmakers to fix Detroit's public schools could end more than seven years of continuous state oversight, during which the district's finances have only worsened.
But officials say only money from the state will fix the district's problems, both financial and educational.
The state takeover from 1999 until 2005 was intended to improve academics, poor test scores and low graduation rates. But it also left the district with a deficit.
Budget missteps, corruption, financial mismanagement and enrollment losses ushered in the current state oversight in 2009.
Now, legislators are looking to use $500 million or more in taxpayer money to resolve the debt. If approved, local control could return by next year with a review commission overseeing district finances.
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