Hi all!
I hope you have been able to stay cool over the past week! In this update, I plan to cover my community conversations, Juneteenth events in the district, the recent state of the city and ribbon cutting in Oak Park, the House Democratic education budget and the counterproposal put forth by House Republicans. Please contact my office if you need any help from the state government, and I hope to see you around the district soon!
All the best-
Regina
Community Conversations
Community conversations are chances to connect directly with me in the district. If you have any issues or want an update on what has been happening in Lansing, these are fantastic opportunities to meet in person.
- Friday, July 11, from noon-1 p.m. at Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Road, Detroit, MI 48235.
- During this community conversation we will have a special guest representative from MDOT present to answer any questions about the construction that is currently taking place on James Couzens Freeway.
Juneteenth Events in the 5th House District
I hope that everyone was able to enjoy Juneteenth this year! I was happy to attend many Juneteenth events throughout the district. Below are a few pictures from some of these events.
Oak Park State of the City
It was great to attend the State of the City in Oak Park earlier this month. I was pleased to hear about the plans the city has to keep moving forward and will do whatever I can to support that progress. I was proud to help break ground on the city’s new community event hub. Through the state appropriations process I was able to secure $3 million to support this project, and I can’t wait to attend events with you in this new and beautiful community space.
House Republican Budget
House Republicans passed a partial budget earlier this year that did not include essential supports for students and did not include $5 billion in education funding. They recently went back to the drawing board and released a new plan last week. While their new plan doesn’t remove as much funding as featured in their original plan, it still:
- Moved all funding out of the free school breakfast and lunch program that House Democrats fought for to ensure no child sits down to learn on an empty stomach.
- Reduced critical funding for the Great Start Readiness Program, which specifically helps children from low-income families succeed in pre-K and beyond.
- Changes eligibility for school safety and mental health funding, which could hurt schools’ ability to update infrastructure and keep kids healthy.
- Moved millions in funding away from literacy support.
- Does not include crucial funding for higher education, potentially closing doors on students from low-income families who rely on Michigan Reconnect and getting rid of operational funding that could raise tuition costs.
The budget also gives private schools $40.8 million. Based on my conversations and experience, the funding promised in their current proposal is not sustainable and could lead to extremely tough decisions in the budget next year, including drastic cuts to our schools. This budget bill passed the House on Wednesday, June 11, with no Democratic support, and I will continue to work against this bill and for an education system that every Michigander can be proud of. You can see a link to my floor speech in opposition to this bill here: Rep. Weiss on the House Republican Education Budget.
House Democrats’ Education Plan
After what I saw as two less-than-inspiring attempts from House Republicans to get together a budget proposal, my colleagues and I decided to put forth an alternate plan which would increase the per-pupil payment to $11,500 and continue funding crucial programs that provide school meals, at-risk supports, transportation, school safety and mental health and other vital services students and families across our state depend on. Our plan would also provide $500 million for reducing classroom sizes, $300 million for literacy interventions and $1 billion for school infrastructure grants. Our plan would be able to fund our schools in a sustainable manner, while making sure the students who need extra support still receive it. I’m hopeful that we can continue negotiations with House Republican leadership to advance this proposal and work toward passing a final sustainable budget that meets the needs of our students by the July 1 statutory deadline.