Michigan Republicans look to leverage school budget cuts against Democrats

LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Michigan Republicans see an opening to retake control of the state House from Democrats after the governor proposed cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from school district budgets. 

The political disagreement over how much money the state can afford to allocate for mental health and safety escalated into the public eye this summer after Gretchen Whitmer's department proposed removing $300 million. 

The request shocked lobbyists that represent school districts and House Republicans said they would try to replace the full amount. Instead Democrats told educators last week it would be fiscally irresponsible to spend money that is not available, later approving $126 million for districts to use.

"As we all know actions speak louder than words and House Democrats are bringing transformational change to local schools and continuing to put people first," said Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit).

The origin of the budget hole stretches back to the pandemic when billions of dollars in relief flowed to Michigan schools. After the Oxford High School mass shooting shoved Michigan into the debate over gun violence and mental health, it moved to fund services at school with the federal money.

But those funds have all but dried up, meaning the governor had to work both sides of the aisle to address critical student needs and a tighter budget.

Republicans want to exploit the opportunity - hoping to leverage it enough to beat two Democrats in state House races this election. That's all that would be needed to retake control of the chamber.

"To play these political games with our kid's safety is not okay," said Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford).

Posthumus thinks Democrats made a big mistake, predicting it would come back to bite them.

"When I heard that they were doing this, I laughed to myself because I know it's going to blow back on them," he said. "I know that in politics and governance, half measures don't work."

While the Democrats strongly defend what they did, the school board association and other K-12 lobby groups including the Michigan Education Association were pleased to get the $126 million from the Democrats while calling on lawmakers in the future to do more.