LANSING — The House of Representatives voted on the Fiscal Year 2018-19 school and general budgets today. State Rep. LaTanya Garrett (D-Detroit) voted against both the General Omnibus Budget and School Omnibus Budget. In response, Rep. Garrett issued the following statement:
“I absolutely could not vote for a budget like the School Omnibus one that was suddenly thrown at us. The poison pill to potentially close or fire the staff of struggling schools added without debate and without proper procedure, is proof that the majority is out of touch. We are currently experiencing a teacher shortage. Yet, the provision added to the budget will force our partnership schools to agree to terminate 25 percent of their faculty, specifically their principal, if they have not been able to meet their eighteen-month goal, regardless of the reasons why a school may be struggling. It is punitive, myopic, and does not consider all of the issues in and out of the classroom that influence the quality of an education.
“Our tax dollars should not be used to rob teachers of their due process, nor to rob an elected body like a local school board of the freedom to exercise their sound judgment without a mandate or other interference from Lansing. I voted no because I could not abide this attack on our teachers, students and education staff.”