MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — There was good news in Muskegon Heights on Monday: the school district's decades-long debt with the state was forgiven. It means savings for the community too, according to the superintendent.
“That was exciting news. It’s like it came out of the blue. Boom. It happened,” said Reedell Holmes, superintendent of the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System.
More than $30 million of debt was erased for the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System.
The district is set to become a traditional public school again, too.
“This is something we’ve been waiting for for a while now,” Holmes said.
Holmes says that this will have wide-ranging implications for taxpayers in Muskegon Heights too, with savings coming on property taxes.
“What’s going to happen, is it’s going to relieve the taxpayers of not having to pay that debt ourselves,” Holmes said.
Holmes praised the governor for her action on Monday.
“We knew that Governor Whitmer would come through. She has the heart for people in the state of Michigan,” Holmes said.
Holmes, saying it's a great day to be a Tiger.
“We just waiting now to see what the future holds. And I believe the future is going to be very bright for the students of Muskegon Heights,” Holmes said.
District leaders tell FOX 17 they're hopeful that the debt forgiveness will bring students back to the school district, who may have gone to other area schools.
