As Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer basks in the national spotlight and gets floated for a potential spot on the Democrat...
As Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer basks in the national spotlight and gets floated for a potential spot on the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, she’s being slammed at home for signing an education budget that cuts deep into school safety and mental health spending.
The budget, which passed the Michigan legislature with support from Democrats and was signed by Whitmer on Tuesday, cuts school safety and mental health funding by a whopping $300 million, a 92% decrease, The Detroit News reported. The cuts also take from teachers’ pension funds and leave the per-student funding without an increase for the first time in 13 years.
The budget cuts have led to an outcry from Republicans in the state legislature, school district superintendents, and teachers. Education advocates — who often support Democratic Party politicians and policies — have also blasted Whitmer and Michigan Democrats over the education cuts.
“I have no words,” Republican state Rep. Gina Johnsen told The Daily Wire in a phone interview. Johnsen said that Republicans were given no time to read the budget before a vote was taken.
“The party that gets criticized for not caring cared, and the party that said they cared so much just gouged the education budget,” Johnsen said. The state representative added that multiple Democratic state legislators who voted for the budget are “now horrified by the last-minute changes that went through, and they’re saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I wouldn’t have voted for it had I known.’”
Johnsen predicted that Michigan would see “layoffs in the education field” because of the new budget cuts.
Michigan State Superintendent Dr. Michael F. Rice, who was appointed by the Democrat-majority State Board of Education, also expressed concern about the budget.
“This reduction will slow Michigan’s recent momentum in addressing student mental health challenges,” he said in a statement. “A $300 million reduction in funding for children’s mental health services and school safety fails to recognize the physical and mental health needs of our students.”
Robert McCann, the executive director of The K-12 Alliance of Michigan, blasted Whitmer’s education budget as “misguided.”
“There will, unfortunately, be consequences of this misguided budget felt in every school across Michigan,” he said. McCann worked as chief of staff for the Michigan Senate Democratic Caucus while Whitmer was the Michigan Senate Minority leader a decade ago.
Michigan Education Association President Chandra Madafferi praised some aspects of the budget, but acknowledged, “There were deep cuts to categorical funding for school safety and student mental health — cuts that will need to be navigated at the local level to keep our schools safe learning spaces for all students and employees. Our hope is that state lawmakers will return after the summer break to pass a supplemental budget that funds these critical student mental health and safety priorities.”
While education faced a 92% cut, Whitmer and Michigan Democrats passed over $400 million in earmarked pet projects, including $10 million for a youth sports complex in Frankenmuth and $2 million for Downtown Boxing Gym in Detroit, among multiple other projects, Bridge Michigan reported.
Republican state Rep. Cam Cavitt told The Daily Wire that both sides of the aisle were working to get schools the funding they need for safety and mental health, but “the governor gutted that.”
“And why did the governor do that? So she could give out political gifts to her base who go back to the splash pads and the cricket fields,” Cavitt said.
“I have six school districts in my House district and not one of the superintendents is in favor of the budget,” he added.
The cuts to school safety and mental health spending are especially concerning to some educators and advocates in the wake of the Oxford High School shooting in November 2021, where a lone gunman claimed the lives of four of his classmates.
“Republicans made school safety and mental health top priorities in our education budgets, but now that Democrats have full control, they’re reversing course and cutting support for these critical student needs,” House Republican Leader Matt Hall said earlier this month.
While the new budget has been signed, Democrats could still bring a supplemental package to the floor for a vote when the legislature returns from recess later this month.
The Daily Wire has reached out to Gov. Whitmer’s office, requesting comment on the budget.
The Michigan governor, who has been on tour to promote her new book “True Gretch,” is viewed as a powerful player in the future of the Democratic Party. Whitmer was floated as a potential replacement for Democrats as the party’s nominee for the 2024 election, and after Vice President Kamala Harris presumably locked up the nomination, some have speculated that Whitmer could be offered the VP slot.
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