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Are state lawmakers willing to vote to take away money from schools in their district to help Detroit Public Schools?
It’s the $715 million question that awaits lawmakers when they return to Lansing after the first of the year and talks resume on how to help DPS get out of debt.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant, says it’s a tough pill to swallow but might go down easier if the state could guarantee it would be a one-time sacrifice for school districts.
However House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, doesn’t think any money should be taken out of the school aid fund to help DPS. He wants the money to come from somewhere else.
The governor’s plan to help the financially strapped district would create two Detroit school districts, one to manage academics and the other to manage the debt, and comes with the aforementioned $715 million price tag.
The state’s treasurer says if DPS doesn’t get any help from the state in 2016 the district will likely run out of money by the spring or the summer.
