Thomas Pedroni, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education was quoted on WBND-TV (South Bend, Ind.), "Town hall held to discuss future of Benton Harbor high school"
WBND-TV (South Bend, Ind.), 6/4
Town hall held to discuss future of Benton Harbor high school
By Kelvin Henry
Benton Harbor Area Schools board members hosted a public meeting Tuesday night to help save the high school from closing. "One of the things that has been said to us is that the board, as was in the Governor's press release, that we have no plan. That is not true," a Benton Harbor School board member said during Tuesday's community meeting. Board members say the state took no action on two proposals they submitted. Their plan included a balanced budget for 2019-2020, but to move forward, they and some students believe the school's debt should be forgiven. Wayne State University professor Thomas Pedroni said many of the Benton Harbor area schools financial problems are the direct impact of state policies including many consent and cooperative agreements, but mainly michigan school choice policy which lowers enrollment numbers, which in turn takes away from a public school districts resources. "It was really state policies coupled with state management that led to a lot of the hardships that districts like Benton Harbor face," Pedroni said.