Michigan Senate approves emergency funds for Detroit schools

(Reuters) - The Michigan Senate on Thursday approved a $48.7 million emergency spending package aiming to keep the cash-strapped Detroit public schools open in April.

The appropriations bill originated in the state House of Representatives, where it passed earlier this month. A spokesman for Governor Rick Snyder said he intended to approve emergency spending to keep schools open.

Detroit's public school system, Michigan's largest, operates 97 schools for about 47,000 students. It is sinking under $3.4 billion of debt and other obligations, and its academic performance is among the worst in the United States.

The emergency spending is immediate and would allow the school district to continue operating in its current year, which ends in mid-June.

On Tuesday, the state Senate also approved a long-term $715 million package for the school system in Detroit, one of the poorest U.S. cities, but that legislation has not yet been debated in the House.

If approved by the House, the long-term bailout would take effect in the next school year.

The schools are being run by Transition Manager Steven Rhodes, a former federal bankruptcy judge appointed by Governor Rick Snyder. Rhodes had said that without the emergency funds, he would have to close schools after April 8 because the district is out of money to pay teachers and staff.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)

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