The Detroit News reports that members of Michigan’s state House of Representatives worked well into the night until a slate of reforms for Detroit Public Schools passed by the smallest of margins.
Voting on the package of bills ended at 4:30 a.m. Thursday, backed mostly by Republicans. The bills provide $500 million in debt relief for Detroit Public Schools. They also includes stricter anti-strike policies to crack down on the teacher sick-outs that have kept 45,000 students out of schools and given the struggles of Detroit’s schools national attention.
Despite the attention, the sick-outs may have backfired on teachers’ unions and inspired a backlash from Republican legislators. “The sick-outs made things far more difficult,” said House Speaker Kevin Cotter, a Republican. “There was a desire for accountability, and to say strikes are illegal in Michigan for teachers, but there are no teeth to it. So what we did in this package is beef it up so it can be enforced.”
The bills would create a new Detroit public school district without any debt, but the current collective bargaining agreement would not be transferred to the new district. Therefore, teachers may have to reapply for their jobs. Also, the new collective bargaining agreements cannot cover employee work schedules or the school calendar, so the district may be allowed to extend the school day or year. Also, teacher salaries would be determined by a merit pay system.
Critics say the bills should restore local control of Detroit schools, but the bills would allow residents to elect a school board in August 2017. Debt-relief funds don’t come from the state’s general fund, but from tobacco settlement revenue.
Before the bills can advance, they will have to be reconciled with a Senate version of reforms. The Senate version would establish a Detroit Education Commission to oversee school closures and openings, including public charter schools. Critics say the commission would end up limiting charter schools and pushing students back into the traditional public school district. Many of the city’s charters are authorized by the state’s public universities, not Detroit Public Schools. The House plan creates a way to close failing charter schools but would not change the way schools are opened. The Senate plan also provides $715 million in debt relief instead of $500 million and does not include the House’s collective-bargaining restrictions.
It’s unclear if the bills will head to a conference committee or if the House and Senate will vote on the other chambers’ legislation unamended.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
