Parental control

Background: Emergency financial manager Robert Bobb wants the mayor to take control of Detroit Public Schools. While Bobb appears to be doing a good job cleaning up the financial mess and Bing appears to be a capable mayor, this is a bad idea. First, Bing has a bigger mess to cleanup than Bobb and will not be able to focus on DPS. Second, whose to say the next mayor isn't another Kwame Kilpatrick? Give parents control over their children's education. That's the long term solution.

Robert Bobb’s call for turning control over the Detroit Public Schools to the mayor is wrong and misguided. Mayor Dave Bing needs to focus on fixing a government entity even more dysfunctional than the school system. The only long term solution to save the children of Detroit from failed schools is competition through choice. Give parents the power, not another politician, by encouraging change through charter schools, tuition tax credits, and vouchers. Besides, when Bing is gone, what is the possibility he is replaced by a politician who fits the mold of a Kilpatrick or a Conyers?

[Letter to the Editor - The Detroit News. Published 09/04/2009.]