MEA says public education funding needs stability
HOUGHTON -- "Enough is enough." Those three words echoed at 40 separate public education support rallies statewide Monday night. The Michigan Education Association, or MEA, is rallying to tell state lawmakers that education funding cuts are unacceptable and school budgets need stability.
"Funding education switched over from property taxes to the state sales tax being the majority of the funding. Any time the state gets into a recessive-type economy, then the schools suffer," says Terry LaJeunesse of the Michigan Education Association.
The MEA says that when funding is down, cost-cutting is up. Teachers and staffers are asked to retire, schools start looking for the cheap way out. They acknowledge that financially it helps, but it's a short-term fix that hurts students in the long-run.
"They're all band aid effect. They haven't fixed anything. They're just trying to put a band aid on a bleeding jugular, and it isn't working. They need to fix it properly and find the tax base in which to fund it properly," LaJeunesse says.
State Representative Mike Lahti, who spoke at the Houghton rally, agrees. "Nobody likes to pay taxes, but people will pay taxes that are low enough and they're perceived as being fair. And people have always provided for education," says Lahti.
Sixty community members, mostly teachers and other school staffers, came out on the scorching spring day to support public education. There was one short disruption when a man walked through the group and yelled, "Home schooling rocks." People paid little attention, and the rally continued.
"Kids are our most valuable resource, and we should make sure that their education is top notch, and you got to have good teachers and good school systems to provide that," Lahti adds.
Monday's support rallies are just a small preview of what legislators will see next month in Lansing. On June 24, the Michigan Education Association is estimating that tens of thousands of people will take to the State Capitol in support of public education.
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