LOOKING FOR A BETTER EDUCATION: Unhappy parents go back to DPS: "Stephanie Esters of Detroit said she sent her children to three charter schools before giving up on them. She said they're like traditional public schools -- some are good, some are bad and many fall in between. She is not convinced they are the answer to Detroit's educational problems....

Detroit Public Schools often takes a financial hit when students come back from charters, said Robert Moore, senior deputy chief executive for the district. The district has a hard time collecting from charter schools that are supposed to send the proportionate amount of state per-pupil funding when a student leaves the school. The district says that the charters don't always send the money, or if they do, they are slow to do so."