Insider Intelligence

On Tuesday, Governor Rick Snyder signed a supplemental funding bill appropriating $48.7 million to Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  The additional funds will ensure DPS has enough money to remain open through the end of the current school year.  Without the additional appropriation, DPS only had enough funds to remain open for a couple of weeks.  […]

This week, the Senate passed a bipartisan package of six bills that would make major reforms to the Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  Under the Senate passed package, DPS would exist only to levy taxes and retire current debt.  The plan would create a new Detroit Community District (DCD) to assume operations of the current school […]

This week the Senate passed an amended version of a House bill requiring a student to be proficient in reading before moving from the third to the fourth grade.  The Senate added language requiring reporting on how many students were held back due to not being proficient readers and how many students weren’t proficient but […]

This week, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that begin today, every Detroit high school graduate will be guaranteed two years of tuition-free college education.  Under state law, an authority can create a promise zone in order to use a portion of a city’s state education taxes to provide two-years of college tuition to residents.  The […]

This week, the House passed a two-bill package providing a $48.7 million appropriation for the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), using funds from the tobacco settlement money.  Without the supplemental, Judge Steven Rhodes, DPS’ transition manager, testified that the district wouldn’t have funding to pay teachers after April 8, 2016.  The appropriation was tie-barred to legislation […]

This week, the State Board of Education unanimously approved a one-year contract extension for the Superintendent for Public Instruction, Brian Whiston.  The extension followed the high marks the board gave him during his first annual evaluation.  The evaluation was comprised of several key factors, including his alignment with the State Board; his work with the […]

This week, the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on a set of House bills seeking to make reforms to Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  The legislation would create a new district charged with education, while the DPS would exist only to pay off the current debt.  It also calls for the state to invest $72 […]

This week, four members of the House Democratic Caucus announced their plan to fix Detroit Public Schools.  Their proposal would create the Detroiters Coordinating to Help Enrich Children (D’CHEC), serving as an oversight and coordinating entity.  It would be comprised of seven appointed members who have resided in the City of Detroit for at least […]