Parents and friends: Please send this letter (or make it your own) to Governor Snyder and your representative (for EGRPS parents, in most cases, that would be Rep. MacGregor) and then, if you can, follow up with a phone call to their offices. That info is posted on the right hand side of the homepage of this blog.
The Michigan House Appropriations Committee moved House Bill 4228 which includes the School Aid budget for 2013-14. It will be debated by the full House soon. I am requesting you to fight to make two immediate changes and be opposed to this bill if they are not fixed.
It is unacceptable that House Bill 4228 again cuts the classroom dollars available for next year compared to the current year and should be unacceptable to you, too. As you know, two years ago the Legislature cut per pupil funding by nearly $500 per pupil and schools have yet to recover from such a drastic blow. Programs and teachers have been cut across the state and they will continue to be slashed under House Bill 4228. There is enough money in the School Aid Fund to restore these cuts and actually invest in public education if you have the political will to stop raiding it for other purposes.
I am also very concerned that a voucher provision has been included in Section 21f. My public tax dollars meant for public schools should not flow to private, for-profit vendors who are academically unaccountable. This and other Oxford Foundation gimmicks should not be a part of the budget and you need to work to delete that language.
Michigan citizens deserve a school aid budget that treats public education as an investment, not a punching bag. I expect you to oppose House Bill 4228 until at least the above changes are made.
Thank you. I look forward to hearing your response.
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