LANSING -- "Pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered."

Those words, said by Rep. Lisa Lyons (R-Alto) during the debate Thursday over House Bill 4813, sparked a controversy on Monday after video of Lyons' remarks was posted online and a liberal activist wrote a Detroit News column criticizing the remarks.

The remark came during floor debate Thursday night over a pair of bills which would authorize the state education superintendent and state treasurer to dissolve Buena Vista and Inkster school districts.

According to a statement posted on the "Lisa Posthumus Lyons for State Representative" Facebook group, the remark was targeted at lobbyists who Lyons believes were pressuring House Democrats to abandon the legislation.

"It is unfortunate that what I said on the House floor last week during a passionate debate on ensuring kids in failing districts have a school to go to in September is being twisted around by those opposed to what we accomplished," Lyons said. "The reference I made was not toward teachers or any individuals, but rather toward special-interest lobbyists who were strong-arming House Democrats and were trying to strong-arm Republicans. Those lobbyists worked diligently to kill the bills and then had House Democrats walk away from helping the students when they couldn't get their union interests as the top priority."

State Rep. Lisa Lyons (R-Alto)

Both the House Education Committee and the full House rejected an amendment which would have obligated the school districts absorbing the troubled school systems to interview teachers from the dissolving schools. The floor amendment also would have given those teachers credit for their service time in the dissolving districts if hired. Rep. David Rutledge (D-Ypsilanti), who had sponsored House Bill 4813, asked that his name be removed from the bill after the amendment was rejected on the House floor.

Rutledge was a co-sponsor on House Bill 4815, a related bill which makes changes to the school funding formula to allow for additional payments to school districts taking in the displaced students.

The legislation is considered critical to ensure that students in the deficit-plagued Buena Vista and Inkster districts are able to attend school in the fall, as state education and treasury officials anticipate neither district will have the funds to open in the fall.

The Senate is expected to take up the legislation this week.

Brian Smith is the statewide education and courts reporter for MLive. Email him at bsmith11@mlive.com or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.