Detroit schools are expected to reopen Wednesday after teachers who had called out sick for two days received assurances from the financially struggling district that they would continue to be paid. Teachers are upset over pay, class sizes, building conditions and Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to overhaul the district.
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The public school system – with almost 46,000 students – has been under state control since 2009 because of a financial emergency.
After 15 hours of mostly private meetings, the Michigan House approved a $500 million restructuring plan for the ailing Detroit Public Schools early Thursday. However, that will only meet the payroll until June.
“If you look at the house appropriations committee passing bills that don’t deal with the debt in its entirety, it’s just another method to set the district up for failure”, Banks said.
Democrats argued the omission would not address root problems at the schools, while Republicans say they worry including the commission would limit charter schools in the city. Cotter called it a “big step forward” for the Detroit schools.
The bill package falls at least $100 million short of what the governor asked for and the Senate passed. That’s a key part of a plan the Senate has approved, but a point of contention for some House Republicans.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter spent much of Wednesday with members trying to get to the magic number of 56 votes.
Rhodes also said the action inconvenienced parents, deprived students of instructional time and may cost the district $4 million in lost state aid, “which is equivalent to the amount necessary to hire 40 teachers”.
Republican state Senator Goeff Hansen, lead negotiator on the Senate bills, said in a statement he had serious concerns with many aspects of the House legislation, but would work toward a bipartisan solution that he said must include compromise.
A House panel on Tuesday advanced the measure, which was meant to ease teachers’ fears that they might not get their paychecks if the district runs out of money.
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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, said in a statement that previous state Senate bills aimed at funding the schools were “a thoughtful attempt”, but the House legislation will repeat past mistakes that included a lack of clear planning.
