Why is the UP college in no rush to add Detroit charter schools?”
July 24, 2009 UP college in no rush to add Detroit charter schools BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER The tribal community college in the Upper Peninsula that can now authorize charter schools in Detroit has no immediate plans to do so, despite an opinion released this week from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox that affirmed the college’s legal authority to open an unlimited number of Detroit charter schools. Bay Mills Community College released a statement today supporting efforts to improve the Detroit Public Schools district, which has lost 20,000 students to charter schools already located in the city. The issue is politically controversial because Detroit Public Schools is experiencing sharp enrollment declines and a $259 million deficit, partly due to the competition with charter schools. “It would be premature for us to jump in and start authorizing charters in Detroit at this time,” said Pat Shannon, director of the Bay Mills Charter School Office. “We need
