Desperate Detroit Schools Offer Kids $1,000 Just To Show Up For Class

Anyone who has been keeping up with Detroit’s staggering decline knows that the city doesn’t have a lot of money to throw around these days.

Nevertheless, absenteeism has become such a big problem in Motor City’s schools that educators have resorted to bribing students to come to class.

According to TheBlaze:

This month, Detroit Public Schools launched a new initiative called Perfect Attendance Pays in an effort to reduce chronic absenteeism, the Detroit Free Press reported.

High school students who attend all of their classes during a two-week period can receive a $200 gift card. The district has designated five such two-week periods between now and late March, meaning that students with perfect attendance during the periods can receive up to $1,000.

Last year, fully 66% of district students were considered chronically absent. In other words, they missed at least 18 days of the 180-day school year. Michigan law requires kids ages 6 to 16 to attend school “during the entire school year,” or their parent or guardian could be charged with a misdemeanor.

News of the citywide student payout soon began to spread on social media:

Detroit is bribing their students to go to school, giving them $1K gift cards for just showing up everyday. They need butts in those seats for count day. #TheDugganShow#Bribes4CountDay https://t.co/FpH0tnaUWU pic.twitter.com/qQ5foXVBPQ

— Heather Dow (@PatriotPostGirl) January 16, 2025

Detroit’s new plan to pay students for perfect attendance misses the mark & doesn’t solve Michigan’s real education crisis: overcrowded classrooms, underpaid teachers, & lack of resources.

We need real reform that focuses on improving the quality of education, not just time…

— Michael Markey, Jr (@michaelmarkeyjr) January 16, 2025

Of course, this is far from the first time the deep blue city’s education system has faced sharp criticism:

Randi Weingarten says she "strengthened" Detroit public schools.

4 percent of Detroit public school students are proficient in math.

5 percent are proficient in reading.

Detroit public schools spent about $22,000 per student in 2022. pic.twitter.com/ypLEa3L6CX

— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) October 21, 2024

Fox 2 Detroit also reported on the latest effort to throw money at the city’s truancy epidemic, including a statement from one supporter of the program:

A retired principal said the key is helping students and thinking outside of the box.

“I think people are thinking ‘Oh we’re trying to pay students to come to school and that’s not the case,” said Dr. Tonya Norwood.

Detroit public high schools returned from winter break with a new program to consider if they’re struggling with absenteeism. It is called the “Perfect Attendance Pays” initiative.

Here’s a relevant clip from the outlet’s news coverage: