Detroit students' education takes back seat in funding talks

DETROIT (AP) — Anthony Sawyers is a sophomore at Detroit's pre-eminent public high school, Cass Tech, where textbooks aren't allowed out of his classrooms — even to take home to study.

Detroit Public Schools spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski says it is moving toward using more technology, and that students also have access to Microsoft Office 365 for mobile and desktop computers at home.

[...] not everyone has home computers, and the question for Sawyers remains: "If the schools don't have enough money now to buy textbooks, how will books get bought if the district runs out of money?"

Lost in the cacophony of Detroit teachers' frequent protests over pay — including the possibility there might not be enough for payroll this summer — poor building conditions and being under state oversight is how the lack of money affects 46,000 students' ability to learn.

A $717 million plan OK'd by the Senate would keep the old district to retire the schools' debt and create a new district to educate students, while House Republicans have come up with a $500 million proposal.

The Senate plan would create a commission to make decisions about opening and closing schools, including an uncapped number of publicly funded charters that enroll about 36,000 students.