163-3-739
Neither Providence nor Newark has plans to close anything like as many schools as Detroit may have to. The beleaguered city has seen pupil enrolment plummet by more than 50% in the past decade, as residents move elsewhere in search of jobs. Falling state aid and dwindling local property taxes have only reinforced the trend. The school system needs radical restructuring. Robert Bobb, the school district’s emergency financial manager, has tried several policies to try to balance the books, including closing 59 schools. Last month the state approved a plan to shut an extra 70 schools over two years: that would mean half of the remaining schools in Detroit disappearing. Mr Bobb thinks that is overdoing it, and that it may simply drive more pupils away.

A. 어휘
close 폐쇄하다. beleaguered 포위하다, 괴롭히다.
enrolment 등록, 입학. plummet 수직으로 떨어지다, 추, 鉛錘(연추).
residents 주민. dwindling 감소하는. property taxes 재산세.
reinforce 강화하다. radical 근본적인, 급진적인.
the books 회계장부.