Better schools a key to a better Detroit, Detroit News says

Hotels, rail systems, stadiums, even public housing cannot refill Detroit's neighborhoods if families see no future for their children south of Eight Mile. Infrastructure crumbles in time. An educated child grows, prospers and bears another generation of educated citizens.

That's why Congress and the Obama administration should create a federally-funded pilot program for private and charter schools in Detroit.

Funding of perhaps $5,000 per student could go to any Detroit child attending a school within city limits. The federal involvement would overcome the state constitutional ban on government funding for K-12 private schools and the cap on charter schools. The location requirement would help build neighborhood schools and redevelop neighborhoods.