by
James Craig's low-profile gubernatorial campaign picked up the pace a bit with education-focused events at Detroit and Flint charter schools Monday.
The former Detroit police chief, seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Gov. Gretchen Whitmer next year, criticized Nikolai Vitti by name and said the Detroit public schools superintendent deserves an "F" grade because "just 8% of Detroit Public School students are proficient in reading by the third grade."
James Craig, left, and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti
Speaking at Detroit Public Safety Academy, a charter school on Rosa Parks Boulevard in Corktown, Craig said Vitti "must go," MLive reports.
“Vitti needs to be held accountable, and if not he should either resign or the board needs to hold him accountable," Craig said. "I would like to see progression."
State data shows third-grade reading proficiency at DPSCD increased from 10% in the 2016-17 school year to 12% in 2018-19 school year. State assessments were canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Detroit's reading scores dropped in this year's M-STEP test.
Vitti or a spokesperson responded swiftly through the district's Twitter feed:
2) If literacy rates in the district or city is reduced to this type of rhetoric then the entire state of educators and families should be concerned about his candidacy.
— DPSCommunityDistrict (@Detroitk12) December 13, 2021
4)Since his Republican party stripped the DPS of local control for Emergency Management and DPSCD has been run by an elected school board and appointed superintendent, ...
— DPSCommunityDistrict (@Detroitk12) December 13, 2021
... we have demonstrated improvement in nearly every key indicator before the pandemic, including enrollment, student achievement, staffing, and financial management.
Craig used his appearances to show how he and the Democratic governor differ on charter schools. The Republican hopeful, who graduated from Cass Tech and other public schools in Detroit, backs a "Student Opportunity Scholarships" proposal to give state tax breaks for donations that could go toward private school tuition or fees.
Whitmer this year vetoed legislation seeking to create the tax incentive, saying it's essentially a voucher-style system that would conflict with the state Constitution's requirement to support only free public elementary and secondary schools.
According to MLive, "Craig also expressed interest in changing the Michigan Constitution to make it easier for charter schools to access taxpayer dollars."
"I would like to see it happen," Craig said. "I could care less whether it's a public or charter school. What I care most about at the top is schools that perform. If it's a charter school that's performing, we should fund it. If it's a public school that’s performing, we should fund that public school."
