State Rep. Cam Cavitt on Tuesday spoke out against the Democrat school aid budget signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this afternoon. The budget guts school safety funding by $300 million, a 90% cut, steals $670 million away from teacher retirement accounts, and does not include a per pupil funding increase for the first time in years.

“With one signature, the governor left kids across Northeast Michigan less safe and without critical mental health resources,” said Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. “Democrats will stop at nothing to bankroll their radical agenda. Our teachers will suffer. Our kids are going to suffer. But Democrats don’t care who loses as long as they view themselves as winners.”

The last budget under Republican leadership was passed in 2022. That budget included $150 million for school mental health grants, $168 million in school safety grants, $25 million in dedicated funding for school resource officers, and $2 million for the School Safety and Mental Health Commission – a total of $345 million. Two years later, Democrats are forcing Michigan schools to fight over just $26.5 million in school safety and mental health funding.

Cavitt noted that in his community alone, next year’s budget cuts school safety funding by nearly $2.4 million. The districts that lost the most include Alpena Public Schools, which lost $770,910; Cheboygan Area Schools, which lost $311,262; and Oscoda Area Schools, which lost $252,871.

Instead of funding student mental health services, Democrats gifted the Michigan Public Service Commission with $5.8 million and 31 new full-time positions to implement their new green energy mandates. The budget also includes $156.2 million for a low-income solar program and $68 million for a solar factory.

###