Dumped trash and roofing shingles litter the grounds of Harry B. Hutchins Middle School in Detroit on Friday, October 18, 2013. / Brian Kaufman/Detroit Free Press
Detroit Public Schools is looking to beat scrappers at their own game.
The district is seeking companies to brick-in or demolish as many as 62 schools in exchange for the salvage materials inside them, according to a request for information DPS released Thursday.
DPS has 87 buildings for lease or sale, many of which are blighted or suffering from varying degrees of vandalism. But with a budget of only $150,000 to secure vacant buildings, the district can’t stay ahead of scrappers who break in and steal everything from lockers to windows.
And with bond money spent and a deficit of about $82 million, demolishing blighted schools is no longer in the budget.