Lawmakers looking at a plan to spend $715 million over a decade rescuing Detroit’s ailing school district said on Thursday that they will not pass legislation that affects the funding in other districts across the state, the Associated Press reported on Friday. Instead, Republican and Democratic legislators are talking with Gov. Rick Snyder’s (R) administration about other funding sources, such as diverting a portion of tobacco tax revenue or the state’s settlement with tobacco companies. The Senate Government Operations Committee on Thursday held the first of a number of hearings on legislation to split the state-managed district in two this summer and gradually return control to a locally elected board. The district’s 46,000 students would attend school in a new district, while the old one would remain intact to retire $515 million in operating debt over eight to 12 years. A commission of state appointees created to review Detroit’s finances in the wake of bankruptcy would oversee the new district’s budget until the debt is repaid and other conditions are met.
