A coalition of bipartisan lawmakers, teacher’s unions and school employees have spoken out against an education budget signed into law by Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday.
Whitmer’s education budget is part of a state-wide budget that includes millions intended for “enhancement grants” and “critical infrastructure projects,” according to Bridge Michigan. Lawmakers from both sides and school superintendents criticized Whitmer’s $83 million budget since it cuts funding for mental health and school safety from $328 million to $26.5 million, according to The Detroit News.
The new budget undermines the attempts Michigan schools have made to provide security for schools, like hiring law enforcement following the Oxford School shooting in 2021, critics say according to The Detroit News.
Several educators across the state believe the budget cuts for schools will have harmful effects on students’ mental health, The Detroit News reported. The State Board of Education called for lawmakers to “undo” the budget cuts to mental health and school safety on Thursday.
“However, we cannot celebrate all aspects of this budget,” Chandra Madafferi, Michigan Education Association President and CEO said in a June press release. “There were deep cuts to categorical funding for school safety and student mental health — cuts that will need to be navigated at the local level to keep our schools safe learning spaces for all students and employees.”
Republican state Rep. Jaime Greene, vice chair of the state House Education Committee, shared her frustration with the new budget, stating that Michigan needs to change its approach considering the state is not performing well academically.
“It’s unfortunate that she [Whitmer] is not prioritizing the needs of our students and even the teachers here in Michigan,” Greene told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “When you have a solid foundation for education, you will have a thriving economy, and it’s unfortunate that that’s not prioritized in a Whitmer administration.”
“You would think that you would be a little bit more aggressive with the education budget, with the way we approach education, and potentially even focusing on doing an education overhaul in the state of Michigan,” Greene told the DCNF. “But no, we don’t. We cut things in the state of Michigan, especially when it comes to the teacher’s pension, especially when it comes to school safety and mental health, especially when it comes to supportive services like tutoring and extra support services to still make up for the gap that we have here in the state of Michigan.”
Michigan’s school system ranked 41st out of 50 nationally, and one in five students are not completing high school on time, according to a study done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Is this a parody account? The state budget gave zero dollar budget increase per pupil and Michigan’s education is ranked among the lowest in the country.
— Sweet Home Michigan (@sweethomemich) July 10, 2024
“The teacher’s unions and associations are upset about it and even more oddly, the school superintendents,” Republican State Rep. Cam Cavitt told the DCNF. “So everybody’s upset. And these are, you know, these are core democratic constituents. So they’ve let them down.”
Six members of the majority House Democratic caucus expressed disappointment over feeling misled by Democratic leadership regarding the budget proposal, The Detroit News reported. Some of the individuals avoided public identification for fear of retaliation.
The six Democrats stated that they were told that a separate measure guaranteeing future funding assistance for schools would be sent to the Senate for a vote in June, according to The Detroit News. The senate adjourned without the proposal being transmitted and two lawmakers said they voted for the bill assuming the longer-term measure would advance.
The budget cuts came after the Legislature decided to freeze per-pupil spending for the upcoming year, The Detroit News reported.
“Our kids deserve better,” Cavitt told the DCNF.
Whitmer has been discussed as a possible running mate for likely-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ ticket, something Whitmer has denied she is interested in.
Whitmer’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Featured image credit: (Screen Capture/MLive)
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