School Aid Fund Rallies: Monday, 5/24/10

The theme is: Enough is Enough.

On Monday, 5/24/2010, there will be school aid funding rallies around the state. Here is the list of locations statewide. That link is to the Michigan Education Association web site, but it is worth noting that all ten Washtenaw County districts are asking that all school employees, parents, students, administrators, and Board trustees attend.

In Washtenaw County, the rally will begin at 5 p.m. (going until 7 p.m.) at Skyline High School's football stadium (map).
Essential message: demand reliable and sustainable educational funding without further legislative gymnastics or punitive coping measures
Right now it looks like the state school aid fund is running a slight surplus (sales tax is coming in higher than what was expected), but the general fund is running a deficit. It's my understanding that the bright lights in state government would like to steal from the "rich" (it seems ironic to call the school aid fund rich) to give to the "poor."
To wit, from the Detroit Free Press:
Directors of the House and Senate fiscal agencies said lawmakers have several options to cover the $244 million shortfall in the general fund, including shifting the surplus from the school aid fund.
How about keeping that money in the school aid fund, and maybe restoring some of last year's cuts? Or planning to restore it next year? Even $10 in restored aid would be better than nothing...

And a month from now, on June 24th, there will be a march to the Capitol to send the message that "we will no longer allow them to under fund public school education."