A plan backed by the governor to help get Detroit Public Schools out of debt is expected to be formally introduced in the Michigan Senate today. The governor first announced the plan over the summer, which calls for spending over $700 million and splitting the district in two. Teachers in Detroit have been calling in sick lately forcing schools to close in protest of the plan, which has drawn the ire of House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant. He says the sick outs take the focus away from kids who need an education. He calls the move counterproductive. Cotter, and other lawmakers, also don’t want money to come out of the school aid fund to help DPS. That would mean other schools in the state would get less money, something DPS says it could run out of by April. Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, concedes it might take some time to move the legislation and won’t put a timeline on how long that could take.
