Detroit--New Orleans without the flood

Democracy Now! reports that the closures of 45 schools to be replaced by 75 privately-run charters is actually a move to privatize the entire public school system. Private foundations are ponying up hundreds of millions of dollars to fund school reform, but the public has little to no say in how the money is spent.

The foundations are not only going to be providing money to start new schools, they’re also setting up an accountability network. They will be deciding what constitutes a good school to be closed or to be opened. So that is totally taken out of the realm of the public sphere where parents and community members decide on a type of education that is necessary for the city, and foundations and folks who are not necessarily considering those voices are deciding what is good education. (Nate Walker, former Detroit school teacher and member of the school development team at the Boggs Educational Center. The Boggs Center is developing a plan to open its own neighborhood-based school next year.)