A deal to throw a life line to the struggling Detroit Public Schools’ district passed the House of Representatives Thursday with the bare minimum of 55 votes, all from Republicans. The plan was approved by the House early Friday, with Appropriations Committee Chair Al Pscholka saying it was necessary for the state to get the school district out of debt. “Let’s apply it to DPS and the charters in Detroit”. there are others forces in the charter movement to say we no restrictions at all, under any circumstances”.
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The Senate plan, which has been endorsed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, received support from both parties in the Senate.
Still, Michigan is a state Trump has mentioned as one he believes he could put in play in a general election, even though it has voted reliably Democratic in recent presidential elections.
Republican House Speaker Kevin Cotter says the plan will keep the schools open, pay off debt and make sure teachers are paid.
“People should be deadly afraid of bankruptcy”, he said, noting it will cost the state far more money than the $617 million the House is considering for the district, which has been under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager since 2009.
Critics questioned provisions that would allow the school board to hire noncertified teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies and require the financial commission to sign off before a superintendent is fired. Teachers would have to pay fines equal to a day of their pay for each day they protested.
The legislation has the state paying off $467 million in operating deficit incurred by the cash-strapped school system and providing $125 million to create a new debt-free school district, the news website MLive.com reported. The old district would exist exclusively to collect taxes, retiring $467 million in debt over roughly 8½ years.
Today, the state House is attempting to hash out the differences between its rescue plan and the bipartisan plan passed by the state Senate.
A Republican legislative leader is questioning whether a proposed bailout and restructuring of Detroit’s school district would provide enough money to ensure the state doesn’t have to commit more funds later. The outline was distributed to lawmakers and education lobbyists, and an agenda sent to reporters showed the items on Thursday’s schedule. But Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof told The Associated Press the $150 million is “probably the low end”.
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Talks continue. The House is in session, while senators are attending a policy conference on Mackinac Island.
