Town Hall Attendees Express Frustration with Snyder

More than 70 residents joined Democratic State Rep. Lisa Brown, Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) and Jim Ananich (D-Flint) on Monday to discuss possible school budget cuts.

West Bloomfield residents who said that they were proud of their community, teachers and school district, but not new Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, spoke at the meeting Monday at Pine Lake Elementary School, 3333 Long Lake Rd., which closed in 2009.

“We’ve had a leadership crisis in Lansing for a very long time. Many of us have been fighting for adequate funding for a very long time,” said West Bloomfield resident and West Bloomfield Board of Education Trustee Melanie Torbert. “It’s always been, ‘Let’s cut taxes!’ We all want to see business grow, but in reality, our hole is too deep for us to cut our way out of.”

Snyder’s proposed budget would eliminate $1.1 billion from the School Aid Fund to address a $1.4 billion budget deficit. Under his budget plan, schools would effectively face cuts of at least $715 per K-12 student, which will likely result in increased class sizes, outdated textbooks and obsolete technology in classrooms, according to speakers.

Several visitors also agreed to join a "We are the People" rally to protest Snyder’s budget plan at the Michigan State Capitol on Wednesday from 1-6:30 p.m.

“I find it interesting that Snyder is making cuts to bring jobs to Michigan, but at the same time, he’s cutting funding to education, which is going to eliminate the jobs that already exist here — teachers, custodians, secretaries — are they not important jobs?” said West Bloomfield resident and district parent Julie Beaty.

Rep. Brown said she would not vote for the budget in its current form and that she did not believe it would pass. "People spoke up today and let it be known that the governor's budget is wrong for our children and wrong for Michigan," she said. "Education is essential to rebuilding Michigan and creating jobs. I'll take this testimony back to Lansing and continue fighting these cuts. We need a budget that truly reflects 'shared sacrifice,' not one that jeopardizes our future by slashing school funding.”