Votes reject budget proposal that fails to invest in Michigan classrooms 

LANSING — Sens. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills), Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) and Reps. Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham), Kyra Bolden (D-Southfield) and Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods) today issued statements on their decision to vote no on the Republicans’ proposed K-12 budget — a proposal that failed to make the type of investment in education that students and classrooms need in their districts and across the state.

Sen. McMorrow on the need for better budget investments in K-12 education:

“I was elected by the people in my district to support education solutions which will live on well beyond my term. I won’t support a budget that falls so short. This budget does not adequately address the needs laid out by the School Finance Research Collaborative, nor does it position Michigan’s schools to compete with the rest of the country. Currently, Michigan ranks dead-last nationwide for education funding growth. You’ll see messaging that celebrates ‘record funding’ in this budget, but that’s smoke and mirrors, at best. When considering inflation, this budget is flat and these School Aid Fund dollars are still at risk to be pulled to fill other holes in the budget. It’s unacceptable. Our schools, communities, teachers, students — all of our residents— deserve better.”

Sen. Bayer on budget shortfalls and making sure students have equitable resources:

“While I appreciate the changes made to improve K-12 funding levels, it’s still not good enough. I was sent to Lansing to fight for a better, more equitable, education system for our students. Sadly, this budget in its current form doesn’t provide the resources our educators and students desperately need. Valuable research has shown the need for more money for our schools, yet this budget still falls short of even the minimum recommended funding levels. Our teachers and our children deserve so much better than this.” 

Sen. Moss on passing a budget that makes our kids and investing in education a priority:

“Michigan’s schools are in dire need of a robust and predictable funding stream that provides an education to every child in our state regardless of circumstance. Our funding has not kept up with inflation and, as such, the proposal being sent to the governor doesn’t reflect our priorities as a state — forcing dedicated administrators and teachers to consistently do more with less. If we say we need to invest in our schools, we shouldn’t be shortchanging them and continuing to leave our kids at a competitive disadvantage.”  

Rep. Manoogian on standing up for Michigan’s kids and future:

“The research clearly shows that Michigan is not giving our students what they need to succeed, and this ‘increase’ is a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed to correct that. The residents of our district elected me to stand up for our kids and our future. I cannot in good conscience vote for a budget that continues to tell our schools, teachers and students they aren’t worth the funding investment they need.”

Rep. Bolden on rejecting the status quo to set up every student for success:

“The budget passed by the House today fails to fully fund Michigan schools across the board, which is why I voted against it. Maintaining the status quo is not acceptable for our students or educators, especially if our funding doesn’t keep up with inflation or provide adequate funding to support our at-risk youth.”

Rep. Wittenberg on the need to provide equitable funding and fix the state’s broken school funding model:

“Families across our community deserve world-class schools that will teach our kids the skills essential to building a successful career. This budget, based on an outdated and broken funding model, fails to provide the equitable funding necessary to make this ideal a reality.”

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