LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder’s proposed use of $1 billion from the School Aid Fund to pay for state aid to community colleges and a big chunk of funding for public universities came under withering criticism Monday as Democrats called for a constitutional amendment to block such efforts in the future.

Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) said Snyder’s proposal essentially uses the School Aid Fund to subsidize his business tax cut.

“This proposal is asking kids to subsidize corporate tax breaks, and it shocks us,” she said at a news conference. “It’s irrational when the governor talks about the importance of education during the campaign and then turns around and announces cuts to the system that could send hundreds of our state’s school systems into bankruptcy immediately and leave countless others teetering on the brink.”

Article IX, Section 11 of the Constitution says, “There shall be a state school aid fund which shall be used exclusively for aid to school districts, higher education and school employees’ retirement systems, as provided by law.” In 1994, when Proposal A established this fund, virtually all discussion surrounding the proposal was to resolve K-12 funding issues. But the inclusion of “higher education” is clear.

Several other Democrats decried the move. Rep. Lisa Brown of West Bloomfield Township said, “School funding is for schools.” Sen. John Gleason of Flushing called Snyder’s proposal a “theft of money for the most vulnerable.”

Democrats said they would structure their proposal to allow continued funding of preschool and early childhood education programs that fall outside of K-12.

Elizabeth Lykins, a parent activist in the East Grand Rapids Schools, blasted Snyder’s proposal.

“I am really angry at what is going on right now. No one saw this coming!” she said, borderline yelling. “This is not what this pot was intended for and when someone tells me otherwise, I am insulted. I remember 1994.”

Whitmer refused to acknowledge that her proposal stood little chance of getting taken up, let alone passing the Republican-led Senate. She said two Republican senators, Sen. Judy Emmons of Sheridan and Sen. Rick Jones of Grand Ledge, stated at a meeting of Lansing area school superintendents and school board members that they would support making it clear in the Constitution that the School Aid Fund is for K-12 schools.

Jones said Monday that he does indeed oppose the use of the School Aid Fund for non-K-12 purposes.

“I am a firm no vote on taking money out of K-12 and putting it in community colleges and universities,” he said. “I believe that the money was intended to fund K-12.”

Of Whitmer’s proposal, Jones said, “I would agree to put it on the ballot and let the people of Michigan speak, certainly.”

As a constitutional amendment, both the House and Senate would have to muster two-thirds majorities and then voters would have to approve it in the November 2012 elections.

Emmons could not be reached.

Senate Republican spokesperson Amber McCann said of the proposal: “K through 12 funding has always been a priority for Senate Republicans. Right now, our priority is to actually pass a K-12 budget, and that will be a priority over doing a constitutional amendment.”

Whitmer declined to specify how Senate Democrats would propose filling the general fund hole that would exist without the transfer of money from the School Aid Fund other than to say the tax code should be examined.

Also appearing at the event was the superintendent of the Marshall Public Schools, Randy Davis. That’s the hometown of House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall). Davis said the governor’s proposed reduction would wipe out the district’s fund balance and still leave them having to cut $1.3 million.

“Our children deserve better,” he said.

But the Snyder administration stood by its proposal.

Kurt Weiss, spokesperson for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, said of Whitmer’s comment that Snyder is creating a crisis where none exists in the School Aid Fund, “If they said creating a crisis where one doesn’t exist, I would say we certainly are in a budget crisis.”

Weiss reiterated what Budget Director John Nixon has said about why the administration used the School Aid Fund to shore up the rest of the budget.

“It’s very difficult to balance the budget with that big of a deficit when education is getting more than half of the money without impacting education,” he said.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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