An urgent fix is needed to save Detroit Public Schools from a total collapse.
More than a half billion dollars is needed from Lansing.
Two vastly different plans have passed the Michigan house and senate and time is limited to get a deal.
The governor knows this is crunch time. And he told me, he’s on it including first thing this morning.
Money and trust are the 2 biggest issues in play in a DPS fix.
With the threat of payless paydays, teachers staged 2 days of sickouts, closing down the schools.
When the Michigan house passed its plan last week in the middle of the night, it only provided $500-million to cover DPS debt and, many believe, took steps to penalize the teachers - allowing uncertified teachers on a temporary basis and sanctions for strikes, among other issues.
The state senate passed a plan for $715 million for 10 years to cover DPS debt and start a brand new DPS.
The question now: how do you resolve that $200-million gap?
Timing is critical; the legislature—while full time—also takes a summer vacation.
So just as we saw with the high stakes funding fix of roads last year, a lot of this negotiation will go on behind the scenes.
