Default concerns
Without state assistance, the old school system could default on its unpaid debts and a judge could impose a property tax increase on all property owners in the township to pay it off, according to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.
“This is just such a unique circumstance,” Horn said.
Craig Thiel, an analyst at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, said the bill is a “convoluted laundering” of tax money to get around the unintended consequences of the Legislature’s hasty decision to dissolve the Buena Vista and Inkster school districts in June 2013.
If the Legislature pays off one school district’s debt, Thiel said, there soon could be others in line.
“It’s the problem that won’t go away for the state,” he said.
Detroit News Staff Writers Karen Bouffard and Gary Heinlein contributed.
Article Appeared @http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/education/2015/04/06/michigan-wrangles-school-debts/25344595/