The school district of Buena Vista, Michigan, is out of money. The schools are closed for the year. The district will offer “skills camp” to students.
The state of Michigan, which has a responsibility to provide a free public education to all children, has abandoned the students and their schools. The town and the schools are predominantly poor nd black. The town once thrived but started to die when the automobile industry collapsed. Nw those left behind have been betrayed by Governor Snyder.
The Congressman who represents Buena Vista is upset:
“The students of Buena Vista have a constitutional right to an education and deserve the same educational opportunities as other Michigan children, and that means being in a classroom full-time to complete their school year,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democratic congressman who represents Buena Vista, on Monday. “I do not believe that a voluntary camp amounts to a proper education for the children of Buena Vista.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here is the chris Hayes report tonight:
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/51872204
Thanks, Linda. I think he might be worth watching!
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what is planned for all inner city school districts. They are thinking: Why educated the poor? Keep them that way. We need someone to work for minimum wage.
Minimum wage? What are you, some kinda commie?
Maybe all the billionaires who are throwing money at school “reform” could toss some Buena Vista’s way. Or not.
Old song has come back to me, Lawyers, Guns And Money by Warren Zevon
From the album Excitable Boy,
… I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns and money
Dad, get me out of this
I’m the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I’m down on my luck
And I’m down on my luck
And I’m down on my luck…
Sue that Governor personally, sue the State of Mi. They have gone so far beyond decency, so far beyond unfair, so far below governmental. What century are they aiming for in Michigan?
Jean-ESP–some of us were just talking about that song Sunday!
After watching the Chris Hayes video, I think that Snyder should be brought up on impeachment charges. REFUSING to give state money for something that the state is legally responsible for?
Involving the safety and welfare of CHILDREN, some of our most innocent and vulnerable citizens?
We’re also waiting to see how you treat your elderly citizens, Governor. Perhaps you can send them all to Locke School in L.A.
They could probably live quite nicely in the boys’ bathroom.
So much for “closing the achievement gap”, “no child left behind, “race to the top” and the rest of the meaningless platitudes.
No Child Left Behind indeed!
Nowhere left for the child’s behind.
And no excuses, too. Apply these slogans to yourself, governor.
Shame on us!
This story got good play on Chris Haye’s show tonight. How is it that this country has so many crazy state governors? This guy, Snyder, Michigan’s governor, now is asking for federal money to pay for make up day camps for the students who are loosing six weeks of school. And his state has a $500,000,000 “rainy day” fund and won’t use a penny of it to float this district in which 91% of the students are in eligible for free lunch programs. This is truly a travesty.
To answer your question: Regressive Rethuglicans and Corporate Whore Dimocraps.
Start shipping them to where the schools are, lets see how fast schools re-open!
This is my first time to reply on this blog. I can’t believe that this is happening in the US. It breaks my heart that education is not given the right priority and attention in Buena Vista district. While it is true that this is a man-made disaster, why not make creative emergency actions to treat it like a natural disaster and do the other legal pursuits parallel to it?
Reprehensible. This country is broken.
If there are any special education students in the mix the ACLU should be waging a Class Action Lawsuit against the State of Michigan on behalf of those students. Every
parent organization in the freaking country should be shouting from the roof tops and the NAACP needs to stepup it’s game!!!!!!
This is not the first time this has happened. Some years ago a school in California was shut down. Does one government official’s child go to that school district? Could the parent’s of that district afford lawsuits? Can the children advocate for themselves? Do children regress through the Summer (research on challenged learners says they do)and will be left behind? Is this education abuse and a governmental disgrace and neglect? Are camps sufficient to the description of a school? Do parent’s in that district pay taxes and help to fund schools? Will children be left alone or without good care while parents work? Is their health, welfare, and safety now abruptly at risk?
Follow the money (or lack of it) and find out if there are any charter contracts in the wings to somehow save the day! Flow thru funds have always been lurking somewhere in a budget to save the day.
Our founding Father’s would roll over in their graves on how far we have fallin in our promise to our citizenry, especially children! I am so disgusted!!!!!! The unraveling of the education system of this country has nothing to do with The People and many have been warning of the coming of this travesty but self interest and denial led the way.
Now the kids will pay…..with their futures and ours!!!
READ Sheldon Wolin and Douglas D. Noble on their shouting from their pages of what was to come and how it would happen. It is all there in black and white! Excuse the pun but if you look where the unraveling is the Black populations are the first to get kicked to the curb! Children are children and we should all care. People need purpose to thrive. I am sick to my stomach at the callousness of this.
True. What about FAPE?
We all know what this means and what it is about. I hope that this district sues the Governor of this city.
I’m sure the folks over at ALEC are rubbing their hands with glee and watching anxiously to find out if anyone who matters cares that this has happened. This could really be a defining moment.
If a public school can be simply shut down and its students abandoned without any kind of major consequence for the powers that be, this could be the watershed moment the privatizers have been waiting for.
We might see this begin happening everywhere in the next couple of years, unless there is some major blowback.
You are soooooo right!!!!!!
I keep asking, where is the justice dept and the Office of Civil Rights? I agree with Yvonne S. This country is seriously broken.
Chris Hayes just reported, due to bad publicity, they are trying to come with a plan to reopen schools. It appears it was more because their summer skills camps idea was mocked and they were embarrassed. Pathetic!
http://www.thetimesherald.com/viewart/20130514/NEWS05/305140037/Buena-Vista-school-district-may-reopen-official-says
GOOD for the media exposure in this case! Yay!
I still think, however, that Gov. Snyder deserves to be charged with dereliction of official duties and impeached. What is going on in Michigan is FAR worse than anything Gov. Rod Blagojevich (IL) was imprisoned for.