Letter to the Editor: Grosse Pointe Realtor Shares Thoughts on Schools of Choice

There is a giant threat looming over your biggest asset.

Lawmakers and specifically Governor Rick Snyder are attempting to create a “free market,” in terms of education.  This would require that all remaining 15 closed school districts (of 550 districts in Michigan) to be open in one way or another.  There is no official bill being circulated right now, but the Governor has mentioned this as one of his goals, and there are rumors of a draft bill being passed around to some Republicans in the State House.  So details are still being worked out.

Grosse Pointe Schools are well-known as a top-tier Michigan school district.  Many people have worked very hard over the years to make them what they are, and keep them that way.  These people are all local citizens working both physically and with their wallets in the form of higher taxes.  Now all of that is being threatened with the stroke of the pen from Lawmakers in Lansing. 

This is a major threat that should not be taken lightly. The #1 reason people move to this area is the schools.  Ask a neighbor or a co-worker why they moved to Grosse Pointe.  Odds are it is the schools.  If Grosse Pointe were to become an open district, you immediately lose some value in your property.  If you do not have to live here, but can use the community amenities, it waters down property values.  The last thing we should be doing right now is anything that will significantly weaken demand for housing. 

Sure enrollment will probably be limited, and odds are it will be a lottery system, but who will control this? We are kidding ourselves if you believe Lansing is going to let us determine if we have enough room in our classes, because year in and year out, the answer would be no.  So essentially we would be giving up local control.  That alone should terrify everyone in this community. 

Say one year your local enrollment is down 50 students.  You add 50 out of area students.  Then the next year 70 more local students are entering the schools, and suddenly there is no room.  Do you kick out the non-local students, or tell the new local students that they are out of luck and need to find somewhere else to go to school?

There are other details as well that will be a problem.  You will see recruiting by sports teams.  Suddenly a star quarterback in another district is thinking he might want to play for Grosse Pointe North, and sure enough he “wins” the lottery.  Sports recruiting is not a business we want our high schools in. 

How about the renewal of the Grosse Pointe Schools Sinking Fund?  This was approved by nearly a 3 to 1 margin years ago, and is due for renewal in a couple of years.  Will local people agree to tax themselves more to educate students from all over Metro Detroit? Probably not.  This also ties in with the fact that Grosse Pointe kicks in extra per pupil funding at the local level.  If a student comes in from a different district, who kicks in the difference between what the State pays and what Grosse Pointe pays? The parents?  The State?  Grosse Pointers?  Lawmakers themselves are not sure. 

The bottom line is that nothing beats local control.  If we give that up, there is no going back.  Years and years of local control have made this district what it is.  If you want to be a part of it, move here.  With housing starting below $100,000 and going up to $5,000,000 there is almost something for everyone. 

There are a few people that are trying to paint this as a racial or demographically inspired panic.  Plain and simple, it is not.  It is about protecting your property values and maintaining local control over a local asset.  People move to Grosse Pointe for the schools.  This cannot be stressed enough.  There are big Rick Snyder donors in our area.  If you know of any, let them know your feelings or email the Governor at Rick.Snyder@Michigan.gov

Chace Wakefield
Resident and Associate Real Estate Broker in the Grosse Pointes