October 23, 2009
In radio address, governor urges citizens to speak out about need for new school revenues
LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today said if cuts in the state's school aid budget aren't restored over the next month, school districts across Michigan will begin making painful adjustments in their own spending that will impact children and learning. The governor's comments come one day after she announced that state law will require an approximate $127 per-pupil cut in school funding unless the Legislature acts within 30 days to find the revenue to restore this funding.
"Teachers and support personnel will be laid off," Granholm said. "Class sizes will increase, and the many programs that make our schools rich and rewarding experiences for our children will be lost. We cannot afford to let that happen, and we won't."
"Citizens across our state are speaking out loudly about the need for new revenues for our schools," Granholm continued. "And there are already signs that lawmakers in both parties are willing to do what's right to fund our schools. In fact, our state House has actually passed several measures to increase revenues to fund critical needs in our budget, and they are ready to do more. There's no reason our state Senate can't follow suit."
Earlier in the week, the governor signed the school aid budget so schools could keep operating, but she also made more than $54 million in line-item vetoes because the budget was not balanced as required by law.
"Why did I take these actions?" the governor asked. "Because in simple terms, the school aid budget that arrived on my desk was a bad check that bounced almost as soon as it was written."
"If you share my belief that we need to provide our schools the critical funds they need, I hope you will speak out," Granholm said. "When our schools are hurting, Michigan's future is in danger. So let us work together for stronger schools and a better Michigan."
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor's Web site at (
www.michigan.gov/gov
) for download, together with a clip of the quote above. The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Radio Address - School Aid
Throughout my tenure as Michigan's governor, I have stressed how critical education is to our state's economic health and its future. We've made it our goal to have the best educated workforce on the planet, and we've expanded opportunities for Michigan citizens of all ages to go to college or get the technical training that they need for good-paying jobs.
This week, I took two actions to defend all the progress we've made in education from a serious threat - the Legislature's failure to fully fund the school aid budget.
On Monday, I signed that school aid budget so that our schools could keep operating. Because it was not a balanced budget as required by law, I also made over $54 million in line-item vetoes. But even cuts of that magnitude, didn't solve the problem.
On Thursday, I announced that state law would require an approximately $127 per-pupil cut in school funding unless the Legislature acts within 30 days to find the revenue to restore this funding.
Why did I take these actions? Because in simple terms, the school aid budget that arrived on my desk was a bad check that bounced almost as soon as it was written. In fact, our state treasurer found that there was a gap between the amount the Legislature voted to spend on our schools and the amount they set aside to pay for it. Clearly, that is unacceptable, and it threatens our schools with deep cuts months into the new school year.
If these cuts aren't restored over the next month, school districts across Michigan will begin making painful adjustments in their own spending. Teachers and support personnel will be laid off. Class sizes will increase, and the many programs that make our schools rich and rewarding experiences for our children will be lost.
We cannot afford to let that happen, and we won't. Citizens across our state are speaking out loudly about the need for new revenues for our schools. And there are already signs that lawmakers in both parties are willing to do what's right to fund our schools.
In fact, our state House has actually passed several measures to increase revenues to fund critical needs in our budget, and they are ready to do more. There's no reason our state Senate can't follow suit.
The key is hearing from you. If you share my belief that we need to provide our schools the critical funds they need, I hope you will speak out.
When our schools are hurting, Michigan's future is in danger. So let us work together for stronger schools and a better Michigan.
Thank you for listening.
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