On July 23, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a budget that falls far short of what our students and teachers deserve. It cuts funding for school safety, stops investing in our classrooms through per-pupil funding, and puts the future of our teachers’ pensions at risk.
I voted against this budget because it represents a direct attack on the future and security of our children.
Even school unions and associations have expressed disappointment with the budget, angered by the lack of a per-pupil base allowance increase and the shocking $302 million cuts to funding for school safety and mental health.
This budget is a disaster, that is obvious to everyone.
For the first time since 2011, the per-pupil base grant, the main source of funding for public schools, will not increase. When inflation is taken into account, this budget effectively reduces funding; the $9,608 per pupil now has only the purchasing power of last year’s $9,331. School leaders are already warning that this will lead to cuts and layoffs at many Michigan schools.
As a recent report by Bridge Michigan found, Democrats allocated $67 million of the education budget to pet projects in their own constituencies. Private organizations even receive “education grants,” such as the Detroit Opera ($800,000), the Detroit Science Center ($500,000), Detroit’s Downtown Boxing Gym ($1 million) and the Marygrove Film School ($2.1 million).
In total, between the school budget and the omnibus budget, which includes the rest of the state’s spending, more than $400 million is spent on special projects. If that $400 million were instead put into per capita funding, it would result in an increase of $289 per student, which would be enough to offset inflation.
Our students should feel safe and supported in school, yet this budget cuts funding for school safety and mental health by an alarming 92%. The impact of these drastic cuts is staggering. According to the House Fiscal Agency, school districts will suffer significant losses in funding for safety and mental health resources. For example, Detroit Public Schools will lose an estimated $10.2 million and Oxford Community Schools will lose $1.6 million.
School leaders are rightly outraged by these drastic cuts. Schools have used these funds to hire resource officers and counselors, improve safety measures, and expand mental health programs. The massive funding cuts will lead to layoffs and program cuts, leaving our children even more vulnerable.
In addition, the Democrats’ budget plan raids the teachers’ pension fund. Money that should be used for teachers’ pensions is being diverted and the reduction of the $30 billion in unfunded pension liabilities is being delayed. This move threatens the future stability of the pension fund and risks deficits in the coming years. It puts teachers’ hard-earned pensions at risk and could force further cuts to children’s education to fund retiring teachers’ pensions.
As a mother, I want my children and all children in Michigan to receive a quality education in a safe environment. This budget cannot provide that. It cuts critical funding for school safety, jeopardizes the future of our teachers’ pensions, and prioritizes funding for hand-picked winners over equitable funding that benefits children across Michigan.
Every single Democrat in Lansing voted for this scandalous budget. Now they have to answer to their constituents, and it won’t be an easy conversation. How do they justify cutting $302 million in funding for school safety and mental health? How can they look parents and teachers in the eye and explain why per-pupil funding isn’t being increased? Our children and teachers deserve far more than this budget provides.
Representative Jaime Greene represents the 65th Congressional District, which includes parts of northern Macomb, western St. Clair, and eastern Lapeer counties. She is the Vice Minority Chair of the House Education Committee.
