© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Two Michigan lawmakers say state should forgive dissolved Inkster school district's debt

Dwight Burdette
/
wikimedia commons
Former Inkster High School

Two politicians whose districts include Inkster say the state should forgive the $36 million debt of the city's dissolved school district.

State officials dissolved Inkster Public Schools in 2013 after deciding it had no viable plan to get back in the black.   

Representative Julie Plawecki says the students are doing well in neighboring districts, "however, Inkster still has this debt that they will pay on for years to come, and at the end they're left with nothing, not the land, not the schools, nothing."

Plawecki says if the state Legislature is prepared to financially aid Detroit Public Schools – a move she supports – it should also help Inkster, which was given no option but forced dissolution of the district.

Plawecki and State Senator David Knezek, both Democrats, have introduced a bill to erase the district's debt. The bill is scheduled to be read into committee tomorrow.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
Related Content