...you need to look at the players.
When Governor Engler took over the DPS several years ago, you could hear the screams and howls clear across Eight Mile about the loss of local control, that he's only doing this "because" he's a Republican and Detroit is predominantly Democrat, etc.
Fast-forward to today.
We have a Democratic governor who is known for not taking controversial stands on anything.
We also have a presidential campaign underway.
She's NOT going to do anything that would even give the appearance of antagonizing that base by even suggesting doing what needs to be done.
We also have an issue with the teachers unions in Michigan.
Teacher unions aren't the biggest supporters of charters and they're not afraid to tell you that.
Add to that, they're working up the courage to go on strike in Grand Rapids and in the Wayne-Westland District, even knowing that such strikes have been illegal in Michigan since 1996.
With that above-mentioned election in the offing, and the Democrats wary of ticking off another segment of their support base, I highly doubt that they'll allow the expansion of charters (even when they're needed) in Detroit.