Education leaders give support to Duggan's DPS plan

DETROIT (WJBK) - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says he has a plan to help schools in the city, and he hopes to get other local and state leaders to support him. His plan is to create a Detroit Education Commission, which he details Tuesday morning at a news conference.

FOX 2's Roop Raj was there. You can watch his report of the conference in the video player above or continue reading below.

"I spent most of the last month in Lansing and the atmosphere there is just toxic. You can't sit down and have a conversation like this. You've got folks on one side who are attacking charters as taking money and not being accountable, and you got folks on the other side saying DPS can never succeed; the district is a disaster," Duggan said.

He asked lawmakers in Lansing to get onboard with his Detroit Education Commission plan, which he says would benefit traditional and charter schools. Some lawmakers in Lansing, though, don't think so.

"Instead of having DPS vs. charters, what if we come together and have a single standard and it treats each of us the same and we encourage each other and grow both?" he asked at the conference.

He was joined by representatives from 20 other charter schools in Detroit that support the DEC. Here's how it would work.

Both charter and traditional schools would be graded on their performance. Schools that fall below a B grade can't open new schools. The commission would be in charge of them, instead.

Supporters, parents and charter school administrators hope Lansing gets onboard. Right now, the $715 million Senate plan is being debated. Duggan's plan makes changes to even that Senate bill, changes that are said to mean accountability.

But out of the 65 charters of Detroit, some were not shy about saying they are not on board. The bottom line is they fear parents won't have as many school options under Duggan's proposed plan.