Closed buildings give Detroit district trouble
Apr 24, 2008 11:17 AM
The Detroit school system has spent more than $3 million since
December clearing out and securing vacant schools, removing more than 200,000
textbooks and 100,000 pieces of furniture. But officials acknowledge that nearly
half of the 67 buildings closed since 2005 have not been cleared out. The
problems the district has had in closing the schools safely and swiftly were a
factor in the decision to not close any more this coming summer.
Click here to read
The Detroit Free Press article.
EARLIER: A day after a report revealed equipment and student records with personal
information remained inside a shuttered school amidst stunning vandalism,
Detroit Board of Education employees began boarding up the building. In the
10 months since Joy Middle School was closed, vandals destroyed walls and
ceilings in search of metals to sell. Neighbors said they fear for the safety of
children.
Click here to read
The Detroit Free Press article.
A month after Detroit Public Schools officials announced that most of
the district's vacant schools had been carefully secured, Joy Middle School
sat last week with unlocked doors, rubble-filled hallways trashed by
vandals, a room full of new computers left behind and a stash of students'
personal records scattered on the floor. The destruction in a school vacant for
just 10 months shows what can go wrong in the handful of schools yet to be
secured by the district. The delay in securing Joy has left parents wondering
about the security of their children's records, residents questioning the safety
of their neighborhood and taxpayers potentially on the hook for costly repairs
if the district tries to lease out the vacant building.
Click here to read
The Detroit Free Press article.
FROM FEBRUARY: Vacant Detroit Public Schools are under siege by vandals and precious metal thieves, school officials say, but the district and its police department are fighting back. Police have arrested 104 thieves at empty Detroit school buildings since September--many caught in the act, according to Detroit Public Schools' police. Three vehicles were impounded, after police found them stuffed with metal ripped out of shuttered Detroit school buildings. Officials are asking for the public's help, saying the crimes have resulted in millions of dollars worth of damage to the city's 53 vacant buildings--29 of which were shuttered in 2007.
To read The Detroit News article, click here.
