Class dismissed
In our Nov. 18 feature story, Allie Gross took a look at charter school development teams that were awarded federal planning grant dollars from the state of Michigan but failed to open schools ("Did Michigan waste $3.5 million on charter schools with questionable futures?"). Of the 87 teams that received funds, over half never succeeded in opening schools.
Reader Chuck Fellows wrote:
A simplistic analysis. Established school districts have the power to tax citizens in order to build facilities and a wealth of existing facilities and infrastructure all used to secure a monopoly in educations services. In Michigan that is billions in public subsidies. Along comes an idea to try and address the needs of those not well-served by this monopoly and the outcry is deafening.
Those who wish to start a charter school have zip in terms of resources, unless the public wishes to force public education into the hands of private enterprise. To avoid that kind of disaster grants are made available. Got a better solution? Or do you just want to leave the education of your children up to public officials and politicians that have never spent a day in the classroom.
Reader "nobsartist" responded:
A monopoly? Please explain how "for-profit" charter schools serve someone's "needs" that cannot be filled with public "not-for-profit" schools. You can't.
P.U.
Our Nov. 18 News Hits column featured an item about disgraced Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh ("Charles Pugh gets his comeuppance").
Bob Rose left a voicemail in praise of the story:
Really good writing here. I like this kind of stuff. That's what I like about Metro Times — it lays it out plain and simple, top to bottom, in and out. Unfortunately, we all were hoping Pugh would be a better person than what he was, but you hit the nail on the head with a sledgehammer with the article. I appreciate it. I know there's people jumping back "in the closet" as they say at work because of stuff like this. But they shouldn't have to. Everybody should be an individual, but unfortunately you know how humans are. We all judge others against ourselves unfortunately.
Errata
In his Nov. 18 Politics & Prejudices column, Jack Lessenberry incorrectly defined ACLU reporter and Metro Times contributor Curt Guyette's role in Virgina Tech's research of Flint's lead water poisoning. Virginia Tech researcher Marc Edwards obtained his grant funding without Guyette's help.
In the same issue, we reported that rapper Danny Brown's Wednesday show at the Majestic Theatre was a charity show for InsideOut Detroit's City Wide Poets Project. In fact, Brown helped raise money for the cause on a crowdfunding site before the show, and will host a poetry workshop with the organization in conjunction with the show. Learn more about the organization at insideoutdetroit.org. We regret the errors!
Hey, photogs!
Metro Times is recruiting for our winter photography internship program and seeking enthusiastic candidates hoping to shoot anything from concerts to presidential speeches to food to retail product shots.
The ideal candidate is outgoing, enthusiastic, and willing to shoot at least one evening event per week and is available to work in-office one day a week. Interns must be willing to pitch events as well as take assignments. A flexible schedule and willingness to take assignments on the fly is a plus.
Interns must have access to their own equipment, including a camera, computer, and editing software.
Send a resume and portfolio to [email protected].
