Pontiac Alternative high school may close

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Pontiac alternative high school may close

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 11:35 AM EST
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAYOf The Oakland Press

The city’s alternative high school may be shut down in January as part of the restructuring of Pontiac’s school district. Board Vice President Gill Garrett pushed for the closing of the Pontiac Alternative Leadership Academy at Bethune school at the end of this semester because it is over budget at a time when the district is facing a $10 million deficit. And trustees say it is not operating the way the board intended.

Trustees approved opening and renaming the alternative school in 2007 because they were hopeful a new plan by a community committee would make it more successful.Garrett’s proposal to close Bethune came after a financial report by Deputy Superintendent Felix Chow indicated the school is $630,000 over its $2 million budget.

Garrett and Trustee Robert Bass pointed out the board expected to spend $900,000 on the alternative program, not $2 million. They said the expenditures continued to grow without the board’s knowledge.“I am frustrated with dealing with this,” Garrett said. “Starting with January, I propose not having the program. We are spending $2 million and not producing anything. I want to find out what we spent and cut our losses.”

Trustee Christopher Northcross made a point to note the board had gone against the administration’s recommendation when it kept the school open at a time when it had no principal and the district was under financial stress. Northcross said if the board had adjusted the budget more than once last school year, they would have been aware that expenditures were greater than planned.“I agree with Mr. Garrett that every dollar spent in the building takes money from students,” Northcross concluded.

Bass said he still feels comfortable that the board did not close Bethune last school year.“Our heart and mind and focus was in the right place. I get tired of hearing we made a mistake. We didn’t make a mistake. When I stuck my neck out for that school it was because I thought it could be successful.“With our calculations, we thought the school would be self supporting with adult education and special education funds,” Bass said.“We did everything we could to control (operations) without micromanaging. When (expenditures were) increasing we weren’t getting reports and we didn’t get them when we asked.“We went through great pains for that school. It took awhile to get a principal. Now there are mostly substitutes rather than certified teachers,” Bass added.

Trustee Alma Bradley-Pettress agreed with Bass.“We put a lot of plans in place that were not adhered to. We spent a lot of time on that. We were doing our best for the children at Bethune.“We recognize Bethune had some challenges and we addressed the challenges. At this time, I agree with Mr. Garrett. We need to meet and have a discussion” (on closing the school), Bradley-Pettress said.

Even Mattie McKinney Hatchett, a county commissioner and retired educator who fought to keep the alternative school open, said in an interview Tuesday that she agrees the school should be temporarily closed. Hatchett filled in as principal in an effort to get the new design under way until a principal was hired later in the school year.“They need to shut it down and redesign it. I think it needs to be closed down temporarily, but I would fight just as hard for reopening,” Hatchett said.“It could be an exemplary school, a place people where would want to come. We definitely have a student population that needs an alternative program. And we also need to revisit the teen mom alternative program. Even that may need to be redesigned before it is reopened.”

Hatchett said a group that included herself and officials from Oakland University and Oakland Community College and Oakland Schools had been meeting to come up with a good plan for the school, all coordinated by former Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Jesse Petway, who retired this year.She would like to see that group come together again. The school needs some latitude from the teachers union and some career-directed curriculum for students not going to college, she suggested.“We need to think out of the box and we need to make a desirable school,” said Hatchett, who wants to be involved in the designing process.

If the alternative school opens again, it is likely it will be under a new design and not be in a separate school. The district is in the process of closing some of the 20 buildings that provide classrooms for 20,000 students, almost three times the 6,700 students enrolled now.Hatchett pointed out that, at one time, the alternative high school program had been at Northern High School and another time at Central High School, as well as at Perdue and Bethune.

Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com