Pontiac Agrees to new Partnership Agreement.

Written Saturday April 29th at 2:45 PM

Pontiac High School will be in existence next school year.

The Pontiac School District will sign a partnership agreement with the State Department of Education on Monday at 6 PM at the O’Dell Nails Administration Building meaning that Pontiac High School and Walt Whitman Elementary will not close at the end of the school year. The agreement will be signed at the Pontiac School Board Meeting according to the Oakland Press.

Oakland Schools and State Superintendent Brian Whiston have already signed the agreement.

Pontiac High School and Walt Whitman Elementary school were subject to closure because of low academic achievement. Both schools were place on the Priority list as two of the 38 schools that were subject to close but with the new partnership agreement signed they were taken off the list for now.

The Pontiac School District had two other elementary schools that were removed from the Priority list this year because they met the academic status.

The Pontiac School District signed a consent agreement with the State in 2013 has turned around the district going from a $51.7 million-dollar deficit to $25 million still in the red and graduation rates have also increased from 55 percent to 69 percent in the last three years.

The new partnership agreement will replace the consent agreement in which they have with the State Treasurer from 2013. For the consent agreement to be replaced the State Treasurer has to sign an amendment to replace the original consent agreement, which is expected to happen.

The new partnership agreement sets up goals for student achievement in Math and Reading along with attendance, culture, and climate. It also means that the Pontiac School District will have 18 months to meet the three to five percent target growth in those areas.

The new partnership agreement says that the district must add some partners to assist them in their road to recovery. Pontiac does have partners whom will help and support them in their recovery in Oakland University, Oakland Community College, The State Education Department, Oakland Schools, and General Motors.

The partnership agreement guarantees that Pontiac High will be a school next season and the Phoenix will be competing this upcoming season. Pontiac will move down from Class A to Class B with 848 students next season.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this story.