DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – When Nikolai Vitti’s current contract expires in June 2028, he will have served as the Detroit Public Schools Community District superintendent for 11 years.
By comparison during the district’s dysfunctional past, the district had nine different superintendents in the 18-year span from 1989 to 2007, according to the state of Michigan.
Vitti has a long record.
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Vitti, the second-longest serving superintendent in the district’s history, has served as a stabilizing force getting the district back to financial stability.
One of Vitti’s biggest accomplishments marked slowing the exodus of students.
The district’s enrollment went from 173,848 in 1998-99 to 96,194 in 2008-09, a dramatic 45% reduction over the 10-year span. Several of the Detroit Public Schools worst-performing buildings were removed from the district’s oversight and put in the Education Achievement Authority. The EAA was created to give more oversight to these struggling schools. They were returned to the Detroit district in 2017-18, that led to a bump in enrollment going from 45,720 the previous year to 50,875 in 2017-18.
Many schools, including Detroit, saw a drop in enrollment when schools reopened during the pandemic. But the district has had two consecutive years of slight enrollment gains, going from 47,492 in 2022-23 to 47,850 in 2023-24 and up to 49,083 in 2024-25.
A tough job.
Vitti took over a district with a long history of dysfunction. From 1999 to 2020, the district was under state control for all but three years (2006 to 2009).
The audit done by a third-party accounting firm in 2006-07 found 120 “findings”, the accounting term for financial concerns.
The district has also received a huge injection of money during Vitti’s tenure.
In 2016, the state Legislature approved a $617 million bailout of the district.
ARPA funds.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District received $1.2 billion in federal money under the American Rescue Plan Act.
This year, the school district is starting to spend $94.9 million approved by the state Legislature over a settlement regarding a “right-to-read” lawsuit filed by students claiming they didn’t receive a proper education while enrolled in the district.
The district’s per-pupil funding has increased from $10,844 in 2009 to $15,767 in 2024, when adjusted for inflation. That’s a 45% increase in funding over that 15-year span when adjusted for inflation.
“The empowered and elected Board in partnership with Superintendent Vitti has delivered on their commitment to rebuild the school district,” Detroit Public Schools Community District Spokeswoman Chrystal Wilson said in an email to Michigan News Source. “Many doubted this could be done. One of their most impressive areas of reform and improvement has been the strategic and responsible use of funding despite the state’s unequal and inequitable K-12 funding formula.”
Wilson continued: “The District has used unequal and inequitable state funding, along with federal funding, to improve every area of the District’s performance from student achievement, enrollment, staffing, student programming, and graduation rates. Responsible stewardship has led to only 0-2 audit findings over the past 6 fiscal years with zero financial penalties as compared to 27 audit findings and $2.8 million in penalties in 2010-11.”
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