title: Michigan House approves, sends school funding package to state Senate
text: (Reuters) - Michigan lawmakers on Thursday approved paying off a $467 million deficit incurred by Detroit Public Schools and to fund costs associated with creating a new school system, online legislative records showed and local media reported.  The state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved the bill package, sending the legislation to the state Senate which could take up the legislation when it convenes on Tuesday, according to online records.  “This plan saves Detroit’s school system and returns local control to the city, preventing a disastrous bankruptcy that would have affected every community in the state,” House Speaker Kevin Cotter, a Republican, said in a statement.  The legislation has the state paying off $467 million in operating deficit incurred by the cash-strapped school system and providing $125 million to create a new debt-free school district, the news website MLive.com reported.  The Detroit public school system, or DPS, has nearly 46,000 students. It has been under state control since 2009 because of a financial emergency. Thursday’s legislation comes less than a month before DPS was expected to run out of money to pay employees.  House Democrats said in a statement that the legislation would force the closing of DPS schools and allow failing charter schools to “proliferate.” “House Republicans are playing games with the Detroit Public Schools, and the children of Detroit are the ones who will lose,” House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel said.  Democrats also opposed the legislation because it does not include a Detroit Education Commission, a body that would work to prevent low-performing schools from opening and ensure schools are placed in underserved areas, MLive.com reported. 