school

9-year-old Leah Rice is "Live from the kitchen!"

Mark Brush — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:18:33 +0000

Today, the State of Opportunity team turned their microphone over to 9-year-old Leah Rice.

She reflects on her family, highlights of her summer and her thoughts on going back to school.

(She was placed in an advanced class, to which she says "uh, Boo-yah!".)

You can hear Leah's story here.

Michigan voters to decide many issues on Tuesday's ballot

Steve Carmody — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:01:01 +0000

Voters across Michigan go to the polls on Tuesday.

More than 200 communities are holding elections.

Most of the questions involve school bond issues.

Bloomfield Hills schools are asking voters to approve a $58 million bond issue to pay for renovations to a high school. This proposal is a scaled back version of similar proposals that have failed in the past.

Some school districts are asking voters to approve bonds to pay for technology upgrades. For example the Allegan public school district is asking voters to approve an 18 million dollar bond issue. Part of that would be spent on computers.

Not everything on the ballots involves schools.

The issue in Delhi Township, near Lansing, is sludge. Or more accurately, what to do with it.

The township is asking voters to approve a surcharge on their water bills to pay for a sludge dryer. Supporters say the dryer would turn human waste into bio-fuel. Opponents say it’s just a waste of money.

*Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Bloomfield Hills school bond issue had failed twice before. The current proposal, however, is not that same as previous bond issues. The copy has been corrected above.

New law guarantees bonds for troubled school districts

Sarah Cwiek — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:17:22 +0000

Governor Snyder has signed legislation he says will let financially-strapped school districts guarantee their bond payments—using state school aid funds.

The legislation applies to all school districts with deficit elimination plans or emergency managers. But it was written with the Detroit Public Schools in mind.

Detroit State Representative Fred Durhal, who sponsored the bill, says the new law should help set bondholders’ minds at ease.

Plymouth-Canton school district banning books

Jack Lessenberry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:35:53 +0000

There’s an interesting controversy going on in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, a middle-class school district in Western Wayne County. It has to do with banning books.

"Detroit College Promise" awards $500 tuition grant to students

Jennifer Guerra — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:00:00 +0000

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Detroit last week, he brought up the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program. He called it the “best economic development tool” for a city, and urged Detroit to develop something similar.