Detroit Board Set To Vote on Plan 'To Empower' Schools

By Lynn Olson

The Detroit Board of Education is slated to vote next week on a plan that would give teachers, parents, and students at individual schools substantial control over their educational programs, budgets, and resources--including the right to purchase services from vendors other than the central administration.

Under the proposal, called the Detroit Public Schools Empowerment Plan, "empowered schools'' would receive 92 percent of the district's per-pupil allocation--or about $4,000 per child--for every student they enrolled, plus any additional categorical funding attributable to that student.

Schools would be required to maintain a balanced budget. But they could spend the money as they saw fit and carry over surplus funds from one year to the next. They could also purchase services from private vendors rather than the...