Detroit Public Schools to Outsource

In a growing trend for cash strapped cities and school districts, Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb announced plans to outsource all custodial, building repair, maintenance, engineering and lawn care services. He says the move, which will eliminate 823 budgeted positions from the payroll, will save the district $75 million over the course over the next five years.

To soften the blow to the local community, Bobb said DPS will contract with five Detroit-headquartered, minority-owned businesses to perform roughly half the services, while the other work will fall to additional minority-owned firms and Sodexo School Services, a Maryland-based company run by Detroit native Stephen Dunmore.

"This is about reinventing Detroit Public Schools and redirecting resources to the classroom," Bobb said in a released statement. "At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, 'What is our core mission?' Is our core mission cleaning schools? We need clean and well-kept facilities. However, our core mission is educating students. "