“While our governor speaks of the need for a strong education, House Republicans continue to present and support funding strategies that effectively hamstring today’s education leaders. The school budget omnibus bill, HB 4228, does nothing to undo the damage done by two years of drastic funding cuts to public education. This bill sends the message to our children that education in Michigan is not a top priority.

“House Bill 4228 simply won’t do. Certainly there is the need to refine our learning opportunities. We need to be sure that our classrooms are giving our children every chance to succeed. And we must be sure we provide the needed support so that teachers in classrooms throughout all of our school districts know that their efforts are appreciated.

“I will continue fighting to see that the nearly $2 billion that was slashed from schools since 2011 is restored. We need to reinvest in our schools instead of continuing to fund them at reduced levels. Our students deserve better than what this budget gives them.”