This week, members of the House Republican caucus unveiled their plan to help the Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  The plan includes creating a new community district that would be in charge of operations and education within the district.  The current DPS will exist only with the purpose of paying off debt.  Instead of using Michigan tobacco settlement funds to help Detroit schools as Governor Rick Snyder has called for, the House Republican’s plan would allocate $72 million per year for ten years from the state’s General Fund (GF).  The GF dollars being used under the plan would come from repealing an $80 million per year tax credit that insurance companies receive.  One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal would place the new district under the oversight of the Michigan Financial Review Commission until the district has maintained a balanced budget for ten consecutive years.  This would mean that 2026 would be the earliest there could be an elected school board in Detroit.  Another aspect of the plan that is causing controversy would allow the new district to unilaterally make decisions about employees without negotiating with the employees’ union.  “While there are some similarities between the House and Senate plans for Detroit Schools, there are also stark differences in the approach.  While all stakeholders agree a final solution needs to happen rather quickly, there will be a lot of negotiating that will take place amongst the principals who have very different viewpoints on what that solution should be,” explained Brendan Ringlever of MLC.

The six-bill package was introduced on Thursday and referred to the House Appropriations Committee.  Hearings on the package are expected to begin as early as next week. 

For more information, please visit http://gophouse.org/puttingstudentsfirst/.

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