State Rep. Brian BeGole today highlighted the drastic local impacts of over $300 million in cuts to school safety and mental health funding within a signed K-12 budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year.

BeGole, who voted against the plan as it was approved by Democrat majority in the House, said less funding will mean school resource officers and mental health professionals will likely face layoffs – especially in rural areas.

“This budget strips critical resources for students and families in our region by getting rid of hundreds of millions of dollars that had been devoted to school safety and mental health,” said BeGole, of Antrim Township. “It will also mean less funding for support staff positions in schools. Elected officials should be giving taxpayers a good return on their investment, not shortchanging their kids to cover out-of-control government spending elsewhere.”

The new total of dedicated school safety and mental health funding within the budget plan for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 would amount to a 92% cut compared to the current fiscal year. New data compiled by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency illustrates how much funding a host of local school districts throughout BeGole’s House District in portions of Shiawassee, Genesee and Saginaw counties are set to lose, based on the latest school count numbers:

The budget also provides no increase to core per-pupil school funding for the first time since 2011. The Michigan Education Association, a union for teachers and school employees, had called for the Legislature to pass a supplemental spending bill to reverse the safety and mental health reductions as they moved through the House and Senate and reached the governor’s desk.

“Total budget spending for this upcoming fiscal year is over $80 billion. There are tons of pet projects and efforts to grow government bureaucracy in this budget, but we are cutting resources for the safety and well-being of students and putting no additional money into increasing per-pupil funding,” BeGole said. “That’s outrageous. This takes advantage of taxpayers, impacts the ability of students to learn and grow in a safe environment, and makes our state less attractive. The governor regularly proclaims she is a champion of public schools, but many public school districts are going to feel the effects of these reductions in the coming year.”