The financial picture Gov. Rick Snyder’s treasurer and Detroit Public Schools’ emergency manager painted for state lawmakers on Tuesday isn't a surprise.
The forecast is dire.
It came during the first legislative hearing on the governor’s plan to rescue debt-ridden DPS writes, Chad Livengood reports in The Detroit News:
State Treasurer Nick Khouri said Michigan’s largest school district faces “insolvency” as early as the spring if the Legislature doesn’t approve a plan to assume $515 million in DPS debt. Even a debt-free school district will face challenges stabilizing enrollment, paying its pension bills and containing costs, Khouri said.
“We’ll never get there if you don’t take care of the legacy costs,” Khouri told a House subcommittee that sets K-12 school spending.
Snyder is asking lawmakers for a 10-year, $715 million aid package to create a new, debt-free school district and pay off operating debts owed by DPS for everything from unpaid pension bills to past-due vendor invoices and loans dating back a decade
