Michigan GOP Legislative Leaders Still Sitting on $300 Million for COVID-19 Safety in Schools
“The window is closing” to spend the money effectively, Crain’s Detroit Business Senior Editor Chad Livengood says.
Local school districts have done their best to deal with the reality of holding in-person classes amid a deadly pandemic for months this school year — and they’ve been doing it without the help of $300 million in federal money earmarked specifically for that purpose in August.
“[GOP leaders] say they want schools to be open. And this is a way for schools to be open and stay open.” –Chad Livengood, Crain’s Detroit Business
That’s because state lawmakers simply haven’t gotten around to passing it along.
Listen: Crain’s Detroit Business Senior Editor Chad Livengood discusses the $300 million not being sent to schools to help with COVID-19.
Guest
Chad Livengood is a senior editor with Crain’s Detroit Business. He wrote a column in Crain’s titled “Legislature sits on $300 million in COVID funds for reopening schools — back in August.”
“School superintendents I’ve talked to are working under duress every day … They are trying to manage a constant churn of students testing positive, teachers testing positive … There’s an untold amount of loss of learning that’s going on this year,” says Livengood. “[GOP leaders] say they want schools to be open. And this is a way for schools to be open and stay open.”
“The window is closing for the effectiveness of this, especially as we’re in the midst of a surge,” he says.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
