密歇根新闻广播 底特律公立学校深陷债务危机

Detroit Public Schools is $53 million behind in pension payments with no end in sight for the financial free-fall.

According to Chad Livengood of The Detroit News, the district is predicting a deficit¹ of $166 million.

"The biggest driver to the DPS deficit is legacy² costs and past debt," Livengood says.

With past years' debts rolled into one, payment becomes even more difficult for the schools to escape.

"The pension is the last thing that gets paid when DPS is trying to hold onto money and make sure they have enough money to make payroll³ every two weeks and keep classes operating," Livengood says.

DPS has been under state oversight⁴ for 12 of the past 15 years and is currently on its fourth emergency manager in the past six years.

But the Coalition⁵ for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren is looking to interrupt this failing system. Livengood says the group will be unveiling new recommendations to the governor this week on how they believe education in Detroit should change.

Currently, the area is a mix of charter schools and public schools, and DPS is saddled with much of the responsibility of serving special education needs.

According to Livengood, charter schools don't have the same type of mandate⁶ for servicing every need of special education students. He says this has caused DPS' special education costs to be higher than the statewide average.

So where will the money to fix DPS come from?

"I would look for this to be a big negotiation⁷ point in the budget talks, especially as the governor formulates⁸ a plan and submits a new plan to the Legislature this spring," Livengood says.

But until a budget is agreed upon, the coalition is moving forward and Livengood says he's heard its proposals may include a new position that oversees⁹ all educational entities¹⁰ in the city.

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

8 formulates   

v.构想出( formulate的第三人称单数 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• Article Eleven SEPA formulates the overall plans of the training. 第十一条环保总局统筹规划培训工作。 来自互联网
• This paper carries on the experimental analysis and formulates some anti-disturbance measures. 文章对电磁干扰进行了实验分析，并有针对性地制定一些抗干扰措施。 来自互联网

9 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

10 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。