Rep. Bledsoe to Hold Special Coffee Hours on Schools of Choice

Rep. Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe) has received so much feedback from the community regarding the Schools of Choice proposal, he is scheduling special coffee hours to focus on the topic. 

The hope is to talk one-on-one or with very small groups about the proposal that would require to accept out-of-district students to fill spots left open beyond in-district enrollment. 

Meanwhile, Bledsoe is also asking constituents to complete an online survey about the proposal, available on his district website. He has also requested Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township), the chair of the Senate Education Committee, to hold a public hearing in Grosse Pointe regarding Schools of Choice.

Bledsoe's invitation is aimed at allowing what he identifies as "key senators" to have an up close and personal look at the Grosse Pointe Public School District and to hear direct feedback from residents, according to his latest newsletter. 

His office has yet to hear from Pavlov's office about the invitation, he said. He is hopeful the hearing will happen but he said it's not often that hearings are held outside of Lansing. 

There are times when hearings are held elsewhere because of the level of impact a particular piece of legislation will have upon a specific community, and Bledsoe believes this is the case with Grosse Pointe Public Schools and the schools of choice proposal. 

Two sessions of the special coffee hours will be held Aug. 22 at the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors office, 710 Notre Dame St., Suite 2.

• 9:30 to 11 a.m. 
• 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The split hours are in hopes of accommodating different schedules of constituents. 

Bledsoe has identified the schools of choice proposal as his main focus right now. He held a question and answer for residents. because there is not a draft of a bill yet, or at least not one being shared with all legislators, Bledsoe told the crowd of about 200.