MAINTAIN AN ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD FOR DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS NO TO MAYORAL CONTROL

Press Conference Monday, June 14, 2010 — 4:00pm Offices of the Detroit Board of Education New Center One

Monday, June 14th at 4pm in the offices of the Detroit Board of Education at New Center One there will be a press conference announcing a campaign to defeat efforts to abolish the right of Detroit voters to democratically elect their own school board and instead place the Detroit Public Schools under mayoral control.

The press conference is jointly sponsored by BAMN (The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary), AFSCME Local 207, Defend Public Education/Save our Students (a caucus of the Detroit Federation of Teachers) and the Detroit Board of Education.

"We have obtained evidence (which will be made available at the press conference) that there is a cabal of foundations advocating the privatization of education that have plotted to marginalize and eventually abolish the duly elected School Board since last fall. This self-appointed shadow governance group that is standing behind Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb has the arrogance to think that they know better than the people of Detroit what is best for Detroit's children. The Detroit electorate voted only a few years ago, by a margin of two to one, against mayoral control. These corporate-backed foundations from outside Detroit are demonstrating their disdain for the Detroit citizenry," said Shanta Driver, National Chairperson of BAMN and one of the attorneys for the Board.

"The membership of the Detroit Federation of Teachers voted last week 200 to 5 against mayoral control over DPS. Our members understand that mayoral control would be used to ram through controversial and unpopular policies, such as the further closure of public schools and the expansion of charters. An elected board is the most democratic and accountable form of school governance. Wealthy, white suburban districts would never give up their right to determine the educational policies of their schools.. Poor black and Latino communities feel no differently," said Steve Conn, DFT building representative at Cass Technical High School.

"Paid circulators who have been soliciting signatures to get the referendum for mayoral control on the November ballot have been heard telling potential signers that the petition would "stop school closings" or "bring more schools to Detroit." This is the same type of voter fraud that was used by Ward Connerly to place Proposal 2, the referendum abolishing affirmative in Michigan, on the ballot. They are using these deceptive methods because they know that if they tell the truth, very few people will sign because most people do not want to give Mayor Bing control over the schools," said John Riehl, President of AFSCME Local 207.