Underperforming schools in the cash-strapped city of Detroit can be closed this school year, Michigan's Attorney General said in a legal opinion issued Wednesday to clarify an existing state law. The position is the latest development in a battle between the state's Republican and Democratic lawmakers over how best to address Detroit's struggling school system. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said schools operated by the Detroit Public School Community District that are among the lowest achieving 5 percent of all public schools during the three preceding school years can be shuttered by the state's School Reform Officer (SRO).
