March Madness

Detroit Schools out of Money?

• Fact #1: Every single district in the state has receives less money per pupil now than it did in 2010-11.
• Fact #2: Michigan now has the largest number of school districts in deficit in the history of our state.

According the the Detroit news, "Michigan's school districts have been denied adequate funding to sustain themselves". So where is all the money from the budget going? The $2 billion tax cut was said to be handed to corporations and CEOs, funded in part by the $1 billion from our schools. 

Schools in Michigan have been struggling for some time now. That's old news. Now we are seeing another side to this. Schools have little to no money for anything. Teachers are paying for supplies out of pocket. Programs are being cut. While these things may seem small, take a look at it from this point of view. 
Teachers have classrooms with 35 students; including students with special needs. They are responsible for taking on this challenge with no help. The responsibilities have grown for teachers making education less than a priority. Teachers are worried about how they can provide the necessities for students while educating an entire class. It sure looks like the schools can be using the $1 billion.

The article in the Detroit News talked about how the Michigan Education Association (MEA) created a website, kidsnotceo.com. This website is full of stories from parents, teachers, volunteers, administrators, etc. All these stories are associated with how schools are affected with the budget cuts. A simple website but it is full of personal stories of how people are being affected by the budget cuts. The communities are coming together to address an issue that will affect us now but will affect us in the future.

Our children, the future of America, aren't receiving the education they need to succeed in today's economy. They are loosing the options of classes that help students identify their skills and talents. So by choosing to cut fundings for our schools, we are choosing to destroy our hopes for a better future.

One statement from a teacher's post on kidsnotceo.com says, "I understand that Michigan has lost business and that many lawmakers feel that to improve our economy we must boost business in our state. I don't disagree with this. I just don't feel that it should happen on the backs of our students. Without educating our young people who will carry on the next generation of business in Michigan?"

What do you think?



For more information click below
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140326/OPINION01/303260003/Will-Michigan-schools-run-out-money-