Scot Bertram | Trump Signs Executive Order to Dismantle Department of Education

 

—Here are 3 big things you need to know—

 

One — President Trump has officially signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, first created by then-President Carter back in 1979.  The White House says test scores for kids have been in decline for years, and it's time to see education authority be returned to individual states.  Education Secretary Linda McMahon will have to get Congressional approval to officially abolish the department.

 

Two ---- Governor Gretchen Whitmer is happy state House Speaker Matt Hall has passed a three-point-one-billion-dollar plan to fund road fixes, but says the plan could create budget holes and doesn't solve the problem.  Whitmer says she will work with the state Senate on a compromise that will be acceptable to both parties.  Whitmer and Republicans in the House want to put all taxes collected for fuel to the roads instead of being split up now for road funding, education, and more.  The GOP plan would fill the School Aid Fund hole with money from the General Fund and wouldn't raise taxes but Whitmer says new revenue has to be brought in from somewhere.

 

And number three —    A private company said Wednesday it has obtained a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to start housing immigrant inmates at its 1,800-bed prison in northern Michigan. GEO Group, a for-profit prison company based in Boca Raton, Florida, owns and operates North Lake Correctional Facility near Baldwin. The company issued a statement that there will be an activation of a federal immigration processing center at North Lake, boasting it will bring in $70 million dollars in annual revenue.