Governor's new high school idea sound familiar?

In her state of the state address a couple of weeks ago, the governor introduced a new idea to improve high school graduation rates and encourage more students to attend college. There was a note familiarity to the idea...
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The Proposal: Specialized High Schools

As described by Peter Luke in his column of February 4th, "A new $300 million state fund would over the next three years provide planning grants and startup cash to districts that agree to dramatically change the way high school students are educated. The proposal would replace large high schools that don't work well with smaller schools of 400 pupils or fewer. The principal and a teaching staff of his or her selection would have broad freedom to personalize learning environments for students.

The financial incentive for districts to participate is clear. Every student who drops out of school represents a loss of nearly $7,500 in annual state aid."
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Why Does This Idea Sound Familiar?

Five years ago, retired businessman Robert Thompson offered $200 million of his own money to build 15 specialized high schools in Detroit. You could accurately describe it as startup cash in a district that dramatically needed to change the
 way high school students are educated. His offer would have replaced large high schools that didn't work well with smaller schools. The principal and a teaching staff of his or her selection would certainly have been given broad freedom to personalizelearning environments for students.

If it was such a good idea five years ago, why didn't it happen? Follow the money.

As described in a National Review article on July 28, 2004, "Granholm may have committed her most ignoble act in late 2003: the craven rejection of $200 million proffered by Michigan businessman Robert Thompson to build charter schools for Detroit's inner-city poor. Her cave-in to Michigan's powerful teacher-union lobby was a slap in the face of Democrats' claimed constituency, the thousands of urban black families on waiting lists to send their kids to charters."

The Thompson offer of five years ago and the governor's idea of two weeks ago are similar; they both look for ways to improve graduation rates in failing districts. They key difference is that Mr. Thompson's proposal uses private dollars and works outside of the MEA and union scale employment; the governor's proposal is a government solution that will cost much more to implement.

A private investment of $200 million would have provided hundreds of new jobs in an ailing economy. Under the governor's proposal, new schools will be constructed under the prevailing wage which means inflated labor costs with the bill going to
the taxpayers rather than a private business owner.

While I certainly am open to any ideas the governor has to improve the abysmal graduation rates of inner city school districts, I find it unfortunate that the governor and the city of Detroit were unwilling to accept a $200 million gift and the Legislature was unwilling to lift the cap on charter schools to give students in Detroit better opportunities for success.