Important!

Dear Families,

I am writing because I am really concerned for education in this state, not just as an educator but as a mother of four young children. This is not about one party against the other but about legislators that are trying to cut money from our children.

Had not my daughter's class (in Walled Lake) had one more student enroll over the summer, she would have been in a class of 30 KINDERGARTNERS!

Funding cuts also are hurting important and proven early intervention programs that work like Reading Recovery (which 25% of our class has benefited from this year!) and is ONLY available to us in Walled Lake because we are Title 1, which we most likely will not be next year (this wonderful program used to be in all 14 WL Elementary Schools).

If you would like further details about this, please contact me. But what I am really asking is that you contact those that are making decisions about our children.

There is a committee in the state that is making these decisions right now.

Please consider cutting and pasting (it makes it easy for you) or writing your own letter to this group of representatives that are currently working on this. We need to let them know that their plan to shift dollars from k-12 Education in favor of a $1.6 Billion tax break for business is unacceptable.

If they got emails from all of us (and please share it with others) I would hope that they would pay attention to those in the state they were elected to serve.

Copy and past the letter below (yes it is long and you are more than welcome to modify or write your own), and send it to the committee members I have listed at the bottom of this post.

Their actions WILL directly impact your children's (and my children's) education.

If you pass this along to others in the state, you may want to suggest they find out directly how these cuts are hurting their district, or take out the specifics about Walled Lake. Please share this post with others.

Thank you so very much,

Laura Doran

Dear Michigan House Representative,

I have become aware of your position as a member of the Appropriations Committee sub-committee, School Aid. One of my biggest concerns at this time is the proposed raid on the State School Aid Fund. There is sufficient money in the fund to give K-12 education adequate funding, if not even an INCREASE in funding. To cut K-12 funding and to give it to community colleges and other schools of higher education is draconian.

First, the colleges have the ability to raise revenue in other ways, while K-12 schools do not. Secondly, schools in the K-12 arena, especially Walled Lake (my local school), are down to their last dollar- literally. The cuts they will have to make will undo all of the fine programs we have in place; like interventions for students who need extra help and the exemplary curriculum work that happens here and makes our schools some of the best in the state. This is just the beginning! Between proposed loss of revenues and increased costs, Walled Lake is looking at $24 million in cuts before next year. Even if the teachers took a 10% pay cut, it would only save a little over $7 million. This is less than a third of the money Walled Lake is looking to cut. You are literally creating a deficit district with your School Aid Fund policy if it is carried out.

Most disgusting to me is that the true reason for making these cuts to education is to free up General Fund dollars so our state government can give a $1.8 BILLION dollar tax break to businesses. This is unfathomable to me. How can a multi-billion dollar tax break for businesses be more important than a quality education for all children?

By making this cut in education by shifting funds out of the School Aid Fund, you are totally violating the wishes of those who voted for the initiation of Proposal A in the 1990's. It was a decision of the electorate and should be respected as such. The most important function of a state government is to insure that schools are funded to do the best job possible. I implore you to NOT shift funds for K-12 Education to the General Fund. Use the money in that fund the way the electorate intended... funding K-12 Education.

*At the end I added a person message about my own children, my parents wrote about their grandchildren, Aunts and Uncles can write about their nieces and nephews... etc. Here are the addresses to use. Depending on your computer, you might be able to just click on the email address, or copy and paste the address to your email!

On behalf of children in the state of Michigan,

Thank you!

1. Rep. Bill Rogers (R)- Chair- Brighton

billrogers@house.mi.gov

2. Rep. Phil Potvin (R) Cadilac

philpotvin@house.mi.gov

3. Rep. Earl Poleski (R) Jackson

earlpoleski@house.mi.gov

4. Rep. Jon Bumstead (R) Newago

jonbumstead@house.mi.gov

5. Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton- Vice Chair- Huntington Woods

ellenlipton@house.mi.gov

6. Rep. Jim Ananich (D) Flint

jimananich@house.mi.gov