Governor Rick Snyder says he’s slowing down his plans to fix Detroit’s schools in order to keep the process moving.
In the face of resistance from Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature, the governor says he wants to break up the work, focusing first on retiring the district’s massive debt.
“I always want to move faster when I can, but I’m just being pragmatic here to say, the most time-sensitive is the financial piece of it.”
Snyder wants to break the district’s operations into two. One would assume the district’s debt, while the other would focus on educating children. The debt would be paid by city taxpayers, while the new district would be paid for out of the state School Aid Fund.
He says other issues can wait. The Detroit schools are currently being run by a state-appointed emergency manager.