Governor Rick Snyder’s call for a bailout for Detroit Public Schools has been unanswered so far by the state legislature. DPS is more than $500 million in debt, and school officials have warned that they won’t be able to pay teachers after June 30 without a cash infusion from the state.
In response, a bipartisan group of state senators passed legislation aimed at turning around the district in March. That plan included more than $700 million for Detroit schools. It would have created an entirely new district, while gradually giving local control back to Detroit citizens. DPS has been under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager since 2009.
But state House Republicans rejected the Senate plan in favor of another. The $500 million House plan, which would continue to limit local control of schools, passed without any Democratic support earlier this month.
“Everyone’s got something to dislike with some aspect of any one of the packages that we’re talking about,” says Rick Pluta, Capitol bureau chief for the Michigan Public Radio Network.
Pluta spoke with IPR about the situation within Detroit Public Schools: