Bills that would allow the state to intervene more quickly when school districts run into money troubles are on their way to Governor Rick Snyder. The so-called “early warning” bills would trigger an escalating set of measures when a school district runs into difficulty. The measures would first have intermediate school districts step to assist in developing a fiscal recovery plan. If that fails, the state could intervene up to naming an emergency manager.
But state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) says the goal is to avoid state takeovers.
“So we don’t have to get to an emergency manager who has to all those possible drastic things to make sure an entity can stay whole,” he says.
But some local officials say they’re concerned the measures would make it too easy for the state to take over. In 2013, the Inkster and Buena Vista districts were dissolved after they became insolvent.
But state Senator David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) and other Democrats say these bills go too far.
“I think we should be trying to help our local school districts as it relates to identifying problems down the road with our financial stability,” says Knezek, but he says districts should have more opportunities to right themselves. He says the legislation would un-do protections adopted by the Legislature to ensure the state doesn’t move in too quickly to usurp the decisions of local voters.