Let's Hear It For Ishpeming!

Ishpeming, you may or may not know, is a town outside of Marquette.
I've always loved the town's name, and I have met a few interesting people who come from there.

The state's budget negotiations are heating up. October 1 is the deadline. Considering that schools needed to have balanced budgets this summer, and the school year has already started, that's not all that helpful.
MLive reports that the Democrats are going to roll over and agree to the Republican Senate's proposed cuts--which include drastic cuts to early childhood education, health care, and yes--school funding.
There is a coalition opposing these cuts, and I don't think it's an accident that the coalition includes the Small and Rural Schools organization, the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation, the School Community Health Alliance, and the Michigan Education Association.

In any case: Senator Prusi, from Ishpeming, is standing up and saying NO. Thank you Ishpeming.

In a related vein: Jack Lessenberry's last few columns--related to the state budget--are also worth reading, if you don't catch them on NPR.

Last, but not least: here is the list from MLive of the proposed education cuts--but don't make the mistake of thinking that cuts to low-income families, cuts to health care, and to other areas won't affect education too, because they will.

EDUCATION:

• Cut K-12 school funding by $110 per pupil, dropping the lowest foundation grant to $7,206 per student: $174 million. The state would need to get a federal waiver to make the cuts; without the OK, it would risk losing millions of dollars in federal recovery money.

• Eliminate the Michigan Promise Grant college scholarship: $140 million.

• Eliminate grants to K-12 schools with declining enrollments: $20 million.

• Eliminate adolescent health centers in schools: $5 million.

• Essentially eliminate the school readiness program: $104 million.

• Reduce adult education funding: $2.4 million.

• Essentially eliminate the Great Parents Great Start ISD programs: $5 million.

• Eliminate money to set up small high schools: $8 million.

• Reduce vocational education funding by 10 percent: $2 million.

• Eliminate math remediation grants: $1 million.

• Eliminate Math/Science Centers and Health/Science Middle Colleges: $6 million.

• Eliminate state funding for the Michigan Youth ChalleNGe Academy, a voluntary quasi-military residential program run by the Michigan National Guard for high school dropouts or near-dropouts: $1 million.

• Reduce funding for some college financial aid programs and eliminate others: $48 million.

• Stop reimbursing community colleges for property tax revenue lost because of renaissance zones: $4 million.