LANSING – In a move to prevent deep cuts to local schools late in the school year, State Representative Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) today passed a bipartisan plan that will use a portion of the state's tobacco lawsuit to shore up the state's School Aid Fund.
"The idea of mortgaging our children's future to solve Michigan's budget crisis is absurd," Johnson said. "Our schools must have the resources they need to prepare our kids to compete in the global marketplace. This plan will protect funding for K-12 education."
Michigan's schools face a cut of $125 in per-pupil state funding if Michigan's immediate $803.2 million budget deficit is not resolved. House Democrats today voted to securitize a portion of the $8.5 billion the state received from the 1998 tobacco settlement to protect schools from deep cuts.
"We can't allow our community schools to be cut to the bone so late in the year," Johnson said. "The action taken by Democrats in the House today will help make sure that doesn't happen."