LANSING, Mich., Dec. 18, 2023 — The signage of the $615 million supplemental budget by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is good news for five school districts across the state, including Pontiac School District (PSD). Upon the bill signage, forgiving $18 million in debt for PSD, state Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) issued the following statement:
“This is a proud moment for me, personally, as the former Board President of PSD. Being able to pay off the emergency loan debt is a relief as at one time PSD had a $51 million deficit. At that time, we had the largest per-pupil deficit in the history of the state of Michigan. I ran for state Rep. because of PSD’s dire needs. The consent agreement devastated our schools, stripped our resources down to the bare minimum and saddled us with this devastating debt. The signage of the supplemental bill into law today takes this burden off the district. Since I’ve been in Lansing, I’ve been on a mission to change the trajectory of PSD to get back on track for both academic and financial excellence.”
Pontiac Schools is one of five school districts that received money from the state to forgive their debt. The other school districts are Benton Harbor, Inkster, Ypsilanti and Muskegon Heights. The five districts will receive $114 million in debt relief from the School Aid Fund in total.
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