When parents have an issue with their child’s school, there’s at least one place where parents are guaranteed a hearing on anything from school finance to student discipline: a school board meeting.
Yet in Detroit, a city with an infamously troubled school landscape, dozens of board meetings are hard to find or poorly attended — if they happen at all.
Even finding the meeting times can be difficult. When a Chalkbeat reporter called to inquire about the board meeting at Covenant House Academy, the person on the other end of the line said “I don’t have that information,” and quickly ended the call.
David Ellis Academy did post its meeting schedule online, but the April meeting was set for Easter Sunday. It was canceled without notice.
These schools had not broken the law. But critics view such incidents as proof that charter schools in Detroit, which bring in more than $350 million from taxpayers for the 36,000 students they serve each year, aren’t doing enough to engage the community.