The coalition and Mayor Mike Duggan also want the Legislature to create a Detroit Education Commission with the power to open and close failing schools operated by DPS and independent charter schools as well as manage shared transportation, data-gathering and enrollment systems.
Coalition members have hired the Lansing lobbying firm Government Consultant Services Inc. to help develop its ideas into legislation, said state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a coalition member and Detroit Democrat.
“We’re not just saying write a blank check,” said Gay-Dagnogo, a former DPS science teacher. “This is not a bailout. This is where we must support the academic future of our children and our state.”
Snyder asked the Detroit coalition to formulate recommendations that he could take to lawmakers this spring and pursue before the Legislature’s summer recess in June.