LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Legislature's $617 million bailout and restructuring package for the embattled Detroit Public Schools district has been approved by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Snyder signed the legislation Tuesday afternoon, saying control will be returned to a locally elected school board as early as January 2017.
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This marks a new day for Detroit families, with DPS free from debt and strong accountability measures for all schools in the city that promises a brighter future for all of Detroit’s children,” Snyder said.
The Republican-controlled Senate passed a main bill 19-18 earlier this month, and the GOP-led House followed with a similar razor-thin 55-54 vote. Some Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition during an emotional debate that brought some lawmakers to tears.
Snyder, who had warned legislators that insolvency would be disastrous for students and the state if the district ran short of money this summer -- as it would have without further intervention -- said in a statement that the measure is "fresh start" and an "unprecedented investment for the education of Detroit's children."
The financially and academically ailing 46,000-student Detroit Public Schools has been managed by the state for seven years, during which it has continued to face plummeting enrollment, deficits and, more recently, teacher sick-out protests.
What this legislation will do for DPS
Under the bills, the district would be split in two and control would be returned to an elected school board. A commission of state appointees would oversee the district's finances, similarly to how it now reviews the city's budgeting as part of a $195 million state rescue in 2014.
The new debt-free district would educate students. The old district would stay intact for tax-collection purposes to retire $617 million in debt over 8 and 1/2 years, including $150 million in transition costs to launch the new Detroit Community Schools.
This legislation gives Michigan’s comeback city a fresh start in education,” Snyder said. “Now the residents of Detroit need to engage with their schools and help find good leaders who can provide the best possible chance of success for families in the city."