North Michigan News

The Michigan Legislature recently sent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a bipartisan agreement designed to return Michigan students to school safely with local control over the process, and Rep. Jack O’Malley (R-Lake Ann) -- who is a member of the House Education Committee -- added his vote to those supporting the measure.

Under the plan, school districts will work with their local health departments to determine whether in-person, online or a mixture of the two would be the best plan of approach for a specific community, according to the Michigan House Republicans website.

The bill would also ensure families have a role in deciding the best options for their children, and school boards would be required to re-evaluate their chosen course of action at every monthly meeting throughout the school year. 

Rep. Jack O'Malley | Michigan House Republicans

The plan is based on the view that the students who are most significantly impacted by in-person instruction are younger students, 

“COVID-19 has impacted different areas of our state differently. Northern Michigan has not seen the same level of cases that southeast Michigan has, so a one-size-fits-all approach coming from Lansing on to how our schools operate this fall doesn’t make sense,” O’Malley said, according to Michigan House Republicans. “This plan is going to allow districts to use the facts they have on the ground and local medical experts to make an informed decision on how to proceed.”

The Legislature had previously provided additional funding to school districts for the added costs of returning to school while handling concerns about the pandemic. The $583 million came from federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act funding distributed to the state.

That bill provided schools an additional $350 per student for resource purchases, set aside $50 million to provide educators with hazard pay and dedicated $18 million to safety measures and local benchmark assessments, Michigan House Republicans reported.