There is a battle playing out between the Michigan Senate and House over how to make sure Detroit Public Schools doesn’t go into bankruptcy, WXYX.com reported yesterday. The Michigan Senate in March passed bills that would provide Detroit Public Schools about $700 million to address debt and restructure into a new district, but the House never moved on them. The House then in May passed its own legislation worth just over $500 million. The legislation also threw out some union contracts, allowed uncertified teachers to work in Detroit, and delayed electing a school board. The Senate refused to act on the House bills. So, on June 1, the House pulled their legislation out of the Senate, and went to work rewriting it. New legislation being drafted keeps some aspects of both previous plans in the House and Senate. It would split Detroit Public Schools into two districts. One would exist to pay off the existing debt. The other would exist to educate kids. It would pay off the district’s estimated $467 million in operating debt with Tobacco Settlement funds.
