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The Michigan Socialist | News |
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If at first you don't
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School board bait-and-switch
By L. MEYERS
The Michigan Socialist
IN THE WEE HOURS of the morning of August 4, 2004,
the Michigan State Legislature passed legislation rewriting the
rules by which the people of Detroit can regain control of their
public schools system.
The amended legislation, sponsored by Democratic
State Senator Buzz Thomas, changed the options of the ballot
initiative that will face voters this November.
Originally, the options that were to be presented
to voters would have been between the state-imposed “reform board”
and the restoration of a fully empowered, elected board.
The “reform board” was established by Republican
Governor John Engler in 1999 with the assistance of Democrats in the
state legislature, including then-State Representative Kwame
Kilpatrick.
The original legislation mandated a vote on
whether to keep that board and return to an elected school board
after five years.
However, after becoming mayor, Kilpatrick began to
look for ways to make sure this democratic overturn of an
anti-democratic act never happens.
At the end of 2003, Kilpatrick proposed to hold a
special election to have Detroiters choose between the unelected
“reform board” and a toothless board, nominally elected by the
people but fully controlled by the mayor through an appointed CEO.
(See “Dictatorship
101,” Michigan Socialist, Vol. 2, No. 1, January-February
2004)
This initial proposal was rejected, due to the
opposition of a majority of state representatives and senators from
Detroit opposing the plan.
In the months since then, Kilpatrick and his
allies in the state legislature have been working on a new plan to
keep Detroit residents from regaining their rights.
The result was a “compromise” plan to have voters
choose between restoring an elected and empowered board or the one
proposed by Kilpatrick nine months ago.
Only half of the Detroit delegation, eight of the
16 state representatives and senators, supported the deal.
Nevertheless, Democratic Governor Jennifer
Granholm signed it into law, reversing her position requiring a
majority of the delegation to support it.
This flip-flop was justified by claiming that
because half of the delegation (including State Rep. Ed Gaffney
(R-Grosse Pointe), whose district contains a small sliver of
far-eastern Detroit), as well as “community” groups like New Detroit
Inc. and the Urban League fakers, backed the plan it was supported
by the “majority.”
Nevertheless, Detroit voters will still have the
ability to tell the state government and its bought-off
“representatives” in the City what they can do with their plan this
November 2.
Below is a statement issued by Martin Schreader,
Chairperson of the Detroit Socialist Party, and delivered to a rally
sponsored by the Keep The Vote No Takeover coalition, the main
community coalition opposed to the “reform” system.
The recent decision by the Michigan State
Legislature to craft and pass an “alternative” proposal regarding
the direct election of the Detroit Public School Board is an attempt
to swindle the working people of the City of Detroit.
Like a thief in the night, the state senators
and representatives passed a bill that is meant to confuse voters
and trick them into approving a plan that gives the City’s mayor
dictatorial control of the public school system in everything but
name.
Only half of the Detroit delegation to the
state legislature supported the decision — seven Democrats and one
Republican.
This is further proof that the plan, backed by
the mayor of Detroit (who was an architect of the original proposal
to rob the people of Detroit of the right to vote), is being
undemocratically imposed on the City.
The “alternative” proposal is also supported by
the Detroit Urban League and New Detroit, Inc. Both of these
entities are well known as being contrary to the interests of the
working people of the City.
Both the DUL and NDI have backed this proposal
because passage of the “alternative” will mean continued financial
enrichment at the expense of quality public education.
It is based on this shallow and self-serving
“support” that Governor Granholm has decided to sign the
“alternative” proposal into law.
Certainly, this should come as no surprise,
since Granholm, who was attorney general at the time the citizens of
Detroit were disenfranchised by the state legislature, rejected the
demands of the people of the City that she defend their right to
vote.
The Detroit Socialist Party is committed to
defending quality public education for the people of the City of
Detroit, and works for a system administered and democratically
controlled by parents, teachers and workers.
The first step to such a system is returning
the right to elect a fully-authorized to make all necessary
decisions pertaining to the daily functioning of the school
district.
To that end, we will unite with like-minded
individuals and organizations to form a grassroots labor and
community coalition to urge Detroit voters to reject this phony
“alternative” and vote NO on the November 2, 2004, ballot proposal. |
