There is renewed hope in the community of Benton Harbor this morning after the city’s board of education arrived at a tentative agreement with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to keep Benton Harbor High School open, but the tough work is still very much ahead.
In order to keep the doors open for proud Benton Harbor Tiger students, families, alums, and others, the district will face its toughest test in years. Academic improvement is paramount, side by side with paying down an $18-million debt that has had a stranglehold on the district in recent years.
The Governor’s office issued a statement following Wednesday meetings at the state capitol saying, “The State of Michigan’s number one concern has been developing a plan that puts students first and improves outcomes for kids in the Benton Harbor District.”
The meeting in Lansing was between members of the school board members and officials from both the State Treasurer’s office and the office of the Governor, and while the details of the agreement remain private, the school board has called a meeting for July 2nd to take up next steps. The board has to sign-off on the tentative agreement if it is to move forward. The Governor’s office says the deal to keep Benton Harbor High open comes in exchange for measured academic improvement, goals to attain that improvement and progress on paying down the debt that has been mounting each year.
Controversy and outcries erupted when the Governor and treasury officials unveiled a plan to shutter Benton Harbor High after the next school year and dispatch those students to outlying districts throughout the region and to a specially developed program at Lake Michigan College. The result would have transformed the district into a K-8 district, with the long term goal of re-opening the high school after the debt was reduced and academic performance advanced.
The school board voted to reject the Governor’s plan, but appealed for a meeting to discuss alternative options, which Whitmer warned needed to be “viable alternatives,” adding, “Doing nothing is not an option.”
If the board had, in fact, done nothing but protest, the state warned that the Legislature would be asked to step in and dissolve the district completely.
Whitmer’s office said Wednesday that the state “has identified national experts who have experience turning around school districts that are struggling and we would like to engage in a day of learning alongside the board and community partners.”
Following Wednesday’s meeting, the Governor’s office said, “Representatives from the Governor’s office and the Department of Treasury had a productive meeting with Benton Harbor school board members regarding a tentative joint plan that requires the district to meet attainable benchmarks and goals to show improvement in academic outcomes among Benton Harbor area students while stabilizing the finances of the district.”
Details of the tentative agreement have not been disclosed.
