Detroiters welcome State Oversight

Detroiters have been expressing their opinions lately on the almost certain arrival of at least some kind of state manager. Whether it will come with the cooperation of city officials or not, intervention by Lansing seems inevitable. Interestingly, according to individual views posted in today's Detroit Free Press, it looks as though many more residents support it than not.

The general concensus appears to be that elected city officials aren't up to the task and that state help is necessary. Some do feel that the city government ought to remain in power but that Michigan ought to give Detroit the money it needs or support the city with a bond millage. The problem with that attitude is that Detroit leaders have shown no ability to get a decent hold on city spending. Additional funds through bonds will not address that.

Further, simply asking that Lansing give Detroit whatever money it needs ignores the obvious responsibility the state has towards its constituents in the rest of Michigan. Even granting the obvious size and importance of Detroit towards Michigan's overall well being surely cannot mean giving the city free reign over a horse it has not been able to tame as it is. It is either arrogance or stupidity to expect Michigan to do whatever Detroit demands of it with no type of oversight.

Still, it is heartening to see so many city dwellers willing to accept that Detroit needs help which its leaders seem unable to provide. Perhaps there is hope for Detroit after all, in the long run. In the short run, expect jeers from the people in power who will lose it in the coming days. It's hard to go from big fish in small ponds to little fish in a larger sea. But the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the entrenched and privileged few.

Emergency Manager Needed in Highland Park

Due to a severe budget deficit, it has been recommended by a review team that Highland Park Public Schools be brought under an emergency manager. Described as being in a financial free fall, the action would make Highland Park second to the Detroit Public Schools as the only districts under a Michigan emergency manager.

Yet refreshingly, the response of Highland Park School officials has been rather conciliatory. Superintendent Edith Hightower has said that they must live with Lansing's recommendation, and that her first job is to see that the students in her district are educated. The District is in trouble despite its efforts (it has done several things called for by the state in attempts to remedy its problems on its own) yet has acknowledged they aren't working. School board Chairwoman Alma Greer echoes the point.

Of course, someone always wants to protect their turf, and this is no less true with the Highland Park Schools. One Board member, Robert Davis, speaks of legal action to prevent an emergency manager from stepping in. He's an elected school board member, you see, and Highland Park parents will be losing their right to elect their representatives if the situation plays out as seems likely. That's garbage, of course: Highland Park citizens have and will express their opinions about state actions through their state legislators whom they elected. No one's right are being violated; Mr. Davis is simply grandstanding. A lawsuit will only drive the district further in debt or, at the best, delay necessary actions.

It is good to see that the reaction to this difficult situation is, on the whole, positive. Such an approach is best, for Highland Park, for its students, and its taxpayers. The rest of Michigan, and we will pointedly include the City of Detroit in this, should taker note. Sometimes it is best to take our medicine and get on with things.