By State Representatives Pete Lund and Kim Meltzer
Since signing the last of the budget bills into law last month, Gov. Granholm has been traveling the state on a “don’t blame me” publicity tour and taking every opportunity to point her finger at Republicans along the way.
Let’s set the record straight. Lawmakers approved a bipartisan budget that cut education spending by less than 3 percent. Considering state revenues are down by more than 20 percent and much deeper cuts had to be made to every other part of the budget, it is amazing we were able to protect schools as well as we did. Lawmakers did not “gut” education as the governor frequently likes to say. Let’s keep this in perspective.
Of course, immediately after signing the budget, Granholm used her executive authority to cut another $100 million from education, in a blatantly political attempt to scare the public into supporting another tax hike.
Nobody wants to see schools cut, and we should work to restore funding. But we need to do it by finding money for education from elsewhere in the budget, not by raising taxes.
For example, a recent report from the state auditor general said there is approximately $800 million of likely waste and abuse in the Department of Human Services, yet the state isn’t taking the steps necessary to recover this loss. That is money we could be spending on education.
This summer, House Republicans proposed a series of long-term government reforms which the governor flatly refused to consider. These cost-saving reforms would free up more money to spend on education. Instead of asking lawmakers to simply raise taxes, the angry busloads of union-organized protestors at the Capitol should tell the governor to stop blocking reforms.
Michigan’s unemployment rate has doubled since taxes were raised two years ago. Families and job providers cannot afford another tax hike.
Race to the Top
On the topic of reforms and education…
President Obama has made $4 billion of competitive grants available through his “Race to the Top” initiative as an incentive for states to make education reforms and improve failing school districts. Michigan could receive up to $600 million from the federal government to invest in education through this program.
Considering our state is strapped for cash, this should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, our state may not receive any of the federal funds at all because many of the education reforms our state must make to get the money, though traditionally supported by Republicans, are opposed by teacher unions.
For example, one of the reforms requires states to set up an alternative teacher certification process so that people with certain valuable skills may get certified without having to go through a four-year degree program. This reform would allow a retired auto engineer to teach math in a failing school district. Or a doctor could teach biology.
Other reforms would bring more accountability to our educational system by requiring the state to track student performance, fix failing schools and allow more charter schools.
These are positive reforms that will raise student performance and are a top priority for Republican lawmakers in Lansing.
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