On Friday, statewide advocacy organizations in Michigan released the following statement in\u00a0 response to the Michigan House Republican budget proposal for school funding that strips hundreds of millions of dollars from critical services like universal school meals, transportation, retirement support, mental health and safety, and literacy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear Michigan Republicans are hellbent on making the Betsy DeVos playbook to gut public education a reality for Michigan families and students. By ramming through a budget that defunds many critical education services through the legislative process in less than a day, Republicans made it clear they\u2019d rather serve the desires of their billionaire overlords than deliver needed funds and services to our public schools. Let\u2019s be clear: Michigan families, children, and their futures will suffer if this budget is put into place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRepublicans are attempting to deceive Michiganders by pointing to the per pupil allocation, but the devil is in the details. By taking away programs that benefit rural students, students in poverty, English language learners, and those with special education needs, students from Marquette to Monroe will be worse off as a result of this disastrous budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis attack isn\u2019t about fiscal responsibility, it is about cutting funding from our public schools, moving public money into private schools, and punishing school districts who don\u2019t abide by the dangerous MAGA Republican ideology. We call on the Michigan Senate and Governor Whitmer to reject this budget and its foundation during budget negotiations, and deliver a budget that fully funds our public schools while respecting the rich diversity of our state. \u201c\u00a0<\/p>\n
The following organizations signed on to this statement:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n482Forward<\/p>\n
AFT Michigan<\/p>\n
Detroit Action<\/p>\n
Equality Michigan Action Network<\/p>\n
Michigan Education Justice Coalition<\/p>\n
Michigan United Action<\/p>\n
Michigan AFL-CIO
MI Poder<\/p>\n
Oakland Forward\u00a0<\/p>\n
Progress Michigan\u00a0<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n<\/div>\n