By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-867078.mp3
LANSING, MI – Governor Granholm is using her weekly radio address to ramp up pressure on legislative Republicans to support more revenue for schools.
AUDIO:
The governor vetoed more than $50 million in the school aid budget that would have gone to the state's highest-spending school districts. She agreed to cuts adding up to $165 for every student. And her budget office just sent a letter to schools saying those cuts will grow to almost $300 per student if the Legislature does not come up with more money.
"Because in simple terms the school aid bill that landed on my desk was a bad check that bounced almost as soon as it was written," she says.
She says a shortfall in the School Aid Fund has grown to $212 million and she has a duty to let schools know as soon as possible that they could face a new round of cuts. But Republicans say the governor is playing politics with school funding to try and force them to accept new taxes and fees.