Dearborn Legislators, School Leaders Displeased As House OKs Cuts

The Michigan House of Representatives approved statewide cuts to education funding Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

The cuts, approved 57-53 in the Republican-led house, will slash funding for public schools, community colleges and universities. It now heads to the state Senate, where differences must be reconciled between the chambers' differing versions of the bill.

The Associated Press reported Thursday evening:

"The House proposal would cut school funding by an additional $256 to $297 per student. That's on top of a $170 per student cut that's already in place and would be carried over into next fiscal year."

Dearborn Democratic House Rep. George Darany has been a staunch opponent of the cuts–a position he held to during and after the vote.

"Strong schools are the building blocks of a thriving economy, and today Republicans attacked that foundation," Darany said in a statement. "It has never been more important to prepare a world-class workforce, and yet here we are, taking away the resources our schools need to prepare our children to compete for good-paying jobs."

House Democrats saw the cuts as being the direct result of Republicans' wish to pass corporate tax cuts. Darany added that he believes the education cuts will cause unnecessary pain to public schools.

"I'm extremely disappointed that my colleagues across the aisle chose to take a surplus from the School Aid Fund, and more, away from our children in order to give corporations an 82 percent tax break without even the guarantee of a single new job," he said. "Attacking education from kindergarten through college like this will only move our state backward, not forward."

Darany has stood with parents and teachers during several rallies both in Dearborn and Lansing. The last effort brought two buses full of parents and educators to the state Capitol , where they met with legislators and a representative of Gov. Rick Snyder to discuss their concerns–including the belief of many that Dearborn schools can't handle any more cuts.

“We are not losing children; we’re gaining children,” PTSA President Collete Dunsmore said to Snyder constituent relations representative Hartmann Aue. “We’ve already cut the fat. The only place we can cut now ... is classrooms, teachers, educators, people that run our schools. We are full capacity in most of our schools.”

The Dearborn PTSA plans to send another two busses full of teachers and parents for the Michigan PTSA Advocacy Day on May 12.

"We need representation from Dearborn at this statewide PTA event," wrote Dunsmore in an emailed plea for sign-ups. "Please come and show Lansing how strong of a voice Dearborn has and that we want our funds returned to us to make sure our children are given the best possible education."