Panel Considers $500 Million Plan For Detroit Schools
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Michigan lawmakers facing pressure to rescue Detroit's state-managed school district are at odds over how much to spend and other details.
A state House committee is considering a $500 million restructuring plan Tuesday, as students missed class for a second straight day after teachers called out sick over fears they will not be paid this summer.
The bailout is less than a $720 million proposal approved by the state Senate in March. Unlike the Senate legislation, the House bills would limit employees' bargaining rights and prohibit labor contracts in place in the current district from being transferred when a new district is launched.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has said the district's debt will reach about $515 million by this summer. However, some lawmakers are saying the amount needed for the district may be more than $800 million, which is far more than anticipated.
"We recognize that the future of Detroit's schoolchildren, our state, is on the line," said Representative Al Pscholka, chair of the State Appropriations Committee. "Again, there's never been an indication from this body or this committee that we would not help the children of Detroit. We'll step up, we'll act, we'll be the adults in the room."
Pscholka said it doesn't matter who's to blame for the state-managed district's long-lasting problems, but that "the future of Detroit's schoolchildren ... is on the line." He said lawmakers have never indicated they won't solve the district's financial problems.
"Teachers, you're going to get paid," he said.
The district is projected to run out of cash by June 30. Without funds from the state, teachers who have opted to receive their pay over 12 months instead of the course of the school year will not get checks this summer -- compensation for work they've already performed.
Stopping short of calling it a strike, the teachers called the massive sick-out in response to the possible pay-less paydays. Union president Ivy Bailey has said that by refusing to guarantee teachers will be paid for their work, the district is effectively locking them out of their classrooms.
The state approved $47.8 million in emergency money in March to keep the school district operating, but that amount only pays the bills through June.
Snyder proposed overhauling the Detroit Public Schools a year ago, but legislators are at odds over issues such as charter schools, labor contracts and how quickly an elected school board takes power.
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