Public Media from Michigan State University

State Senate Approves $54 Billion Budget With Dems Opposed

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A $54 billion plan to fund schools and state agencies has cleared the state Senate.

The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports.

The Senate’s budget plan includes increases for early childhood reading and school programs in high poverty areas.

But it passed with not a single Democrat in favor. Senator Bert Johnson of Detroit says he can’t support a plan that uses school aid money for things other than K-12 education.

“The deplorable practice of robbing the School Aid Fund to pay for everything but educating our kids,” he says.

The state House and Senate hope to resolve differences in their budget proposals by early June.

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Jake Neher is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He covers the State Legislature and other political events in Lansing.