Education funding rally takes over the capitol steps
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – People from all over Michigan headed to the State Capitol Tuesday to demand more funding for education.
35 organizations that make up the Michigan Education Justice Coalition are asking for $4.5 billion to be added to next year’s budget to fully fund schools. Lawmakers, superintendents, and students spoke about their experiences with the school, including high school senior, Jason Dyer.
“The Mental health in schools is terrible. The amount of classes that I go to and I just see students laying on the desk, I’m one of those students, just laying on my desk, not interacting not engaging because they understand the environment isn’t set up for them,” Dyer said.
Dyer said he was homeless up until eighth grade and didn’t get any type of assistance from school.
“Every school I went to didn’t have the resources, or the funding or the support to help any student going through this situation,” Dyer said.
The coalition is suggesting that out of the $4.5 billion, $10 million go to transportation for students in foster care or experiencing homelessness. Autumn Butler, an organizer of the event, talked about another idea.
“We also want to spend $600,000 on a school-to-prison pipeline intervention,” Butler said.
The high school senior, Dyer, mentioned that his school is like a pipeline to prison school. The coalition hopes lawmakers would allot money to this issue. Tuesday was also a chance to meet with lawmakers. State Representative Regina Weiss said she used to be a public school teacher and agrees the funding gap should be filled.
“We need to make sure we’re investing in a way that’s equitable so that students who need more get more,” Weiss said.
Other suggestions for funding are $100 million for school facility grants for districts with the greatest need. $80 million for English learner students. $300 million for mental health and $15 million for 17 Michigan cities where black residents are the majority.
State Rep. Bryan Posthumus commented on the group’s demands. He says these protests show that the state has failed to adequately support schools. he said money alone can’t solve the issues and the education system needs to be looked at from the ground up.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
