LANSING – The Michigan House of Representatives on Thursday passed a plan proposed by State Representative Bettie C. Scott (D-Detroit) that will ensure Detroit Public Schools receives the funding it needs to help Detroit students succeed by lowering the number of students needed to qualify as a first-class school district.
"Our school district has seen difficult times, but now is simply not the time to take away our district's first-class status," Scott said. "Every child deserves the chance to earn a top-notch education and gain the knowledge needed to compete for the good-paying jobs of the 21st century economy. By passing this plan today we are giving our Detroit students that chance."
Under Scott's plan, the number of enrolled students necessary to designate a school district as first class will be reduced from 100,000 to 60,000. The plan will not only allow Detroit Public Schools to maintain its first-class school district status, but will also help the district to maintain transparency and operate more effectively for Detroit students.
Detroit Public Schools is the only district in Michigan that qualifies as a first-class district. Utica Community Schools is a distant second at 29,000 students. The plan also codifies the first-class school district's pupil count already in place under the 2008-09 School Aid budget.
"I became a State Representative to serve all the people who believed they had no voice in the political process outside of their own," Scottsaid. "I know that by working together, we can create change that will allow Detroit to rebound and come out stronger. I am pleased that there was strong bipartisan support that joined me today to protect all children in Michigan by ensuring Detroit Public Schools will survive as a first-class school district and will receive the necessary funding to give our students the education they deserve."