LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presented her budget recommendations this week for the 2019-20 fiscal year to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Among her recommendations were significant increases in revenue sharing to local communities, and increasing school funding by $507 million — the largest increase since 2002. In response to the recommendation, state Rep. Donna Lasinski (D-Scio Township) issued the following statement:

“In order to move forward, we need new solutions to our long standing problems. With the current education crisis threatening the future growth of Michigan communities, these new solutions require tough choices and bold investments. Governor Whitmer’s budget makes the necessary changes to provide every student with quality education, our towns with strong infrastructure, and each home with clean water to drink.

“Although our community has made their desire to see these issues addressed clear, budgets from previous years consistently failed to meet their needs. Governor Whitmer’s proposal faces these shortfalls head on and proposes a budget that makes our communities the state’s top priority.”

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