In this week in Michigan politics, Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss Governor Rick Snyder’s upcoming budget address, the final days of the Kwame Kilpatrick trial, and how 200 administrators in Grand Rapids Public Schools got pink slipped.
Governor Snyder will deliver his budget proposal Thursday. Lessenberry says the governor will most likely discuss the possible expansion of Medicaid and funding for Michigan’s roads.
Testimony for Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s corruption trial is expected
to wrap up Thursday. Kilpatrick and four others are accused of a sweeping scheme to enrich themselves through extortion, bribery and other illegal tactics while Kwame Kilpatrick was mayor.
Lessenberry says the trial, which has been going on since September, has cost taxpayers lot of money. He adds that, “This trial has not been a big success for the defendants, especially [former] mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. But it will be up to the jury presumably in a few days.”
Finally, this week we learned that week that 200 administrators at Grand Rapids Public Schools are getting pink slipped. This comes after the district made plans to close 10 schools.
Miller wondered if Grand Rapids is falling on hard times. Lessenberry says it is less a financial issue and more about consolidation after a loss of enrollment, similar to what many school districts are seeing.
