LANSING — Today, the House passed the General Omnibus and School Omnibus budgets for FY 2018-2019. State Rep. Terry J. Sabo (D-Muskegon) voted no on both, and issued the following statement:

“Republicans like to talk about the ‘lost decade’, but Michiganders have been left even further behind after the last eight years of missed opportunities and mismanagement under their control in Lansing. I could not in good conscience vote for budgets that leave Michigan families so far behind. The School Omnibus included a last minute provision that received no hearing and could potentially cause teachers in schools with a partnership agreement, such as that between Muskegon Heights and the state, to lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The budget also maintained the same per-pupil funding for cyber schools and for-profit charter schools, which is a waste of taxpayer dollars and ultimately reflects yet another attempt to dismantle our public schools.”

“Meanwhile the General Omnibus budget lacked any kind of effort to make those wrongfully accused of UIA fraud whole again, not to mention failing to adequately fund our local municipalities, putting local services like police and fire protection at risk. Revenue Sharing for Muskegon County sits at about the same level as it was back in 2001, despite county expenses increasing. To be blunt, the state refuses to adequately fund our local units of government.  Until we start focusing on everyday Michiganders again, this will continue to be a decade of lost opportunities for our families, our students, our communities and our state with an agenda I will not support.”