Today I voted NO on the school omnibus budget, which includes funding for K-12 schools, community colleges, and higher education, and, which I believe, falls short in fully funding our schools. Under this budget, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS) would only see a net increase of $36 per pupil, or roughly $615,000. While there are many positive components of this budget, including an increase in funding for “at-risk” students, adult education, and support for third grade reading improvements, I could not support a budget that does not fully fund PCCS. Moreover, most charter schools and cyber schools are getting substantially more funding per pupil than PCCS, even though their overhead and legacy costs are much less. As a proud graduate of PCCS, I cannot support a budget that gives less funding to local students. Please know that I am working on legislation that would allow more local control over school funding and fix what is still broken in our school funding system after the reforms of Proposal A. A strong investment in education is the very best way we can turn around our state and keep young talent in Michigan and I will continue to advocate for a strong education plan.
