Gov. Rick Snyder
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder says lawmakers could first tackle the Detroit school district’s debt and possibly leave until later his call for a new commission to close poor-performing traditional and charter schools.
The Republican governor told The Associated Press in a year-end interview that pending legislation to split the district in two to retire debt and to empower a chief education officer to hold schools accountable could go on “parallel or somewhat separate tracks.” Snyder says the more urgent issue in terms of timing is the state-run district’s finances.
Charter school advocates oppose putting independently operated charters under the oversight of a commission.
Detroit schools are among three legislative priorities left unfinished this year and that Snyder will prioritize in 2016. The others are updated energy laws and criminal justice changes.
