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I don’t know much, but I do know massive nincompoopery when I see it. A stated goal for Detroit Public Schools is, "Transform the District into an effective and efficient organization." Walking through the ruins of Cooper Elementary I say the Lions have a better shot at winning the Superbowl.

Back in 1991 Jonathan Kozol published a screed that documented the inequalities in funding of schools. Many of the facts supported his claim. Kozol was quick to condemn the system that, in his mind, distributed resources unfairly. This unfair distribution, according to Kozol, was the cause of the failure in school districts like Detroit. Were it that simple. My life in business has taught me one thing, money does not fix stupid. Cooper Elementary is a living testament to heartstoppingly stupid management.

How often have we heard the cry, “we need to invest in our children, in our future?” Let me ask you this, would you invest in a business whose managers were as openly wasteful as this?

Read more:

http://jackshow.blogs.com/jack/2006/09/essay_detroit_s.html

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080624/COL10/806240369/1007/NEWS

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/COL10/806260404