On Thursday night, word came in Lansing that a budget deal was reached for the state’s new fiscal year that starts this Wednesday, Oct. 1. Related to that deal, the House passed several revenue enhancing bills for road funding.

Details about what is in the education budget for preK-12 and higher education are unknown as of this writing. MEA is working hard to get those specifics and analyze them once available. In the meantime, it’s important for members to continue making their voices heard with lawmakers to urge passage of a quality education budget that invests every dollar possible in student success.

Members can continue to email their lawmakers using this link or they can use these links to be automatically connected by phone to the offices of their Representative and Senator.

MEA is dedicated to getting the budget that our students and educators need, including working with AFT Michigan on a well-attended lobby day and press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday and running a digital ad campaign encouraging families to advocate for full-funding for public education, including key programs like free school meals and student mental health supports.

Stay tuned to your email for more information and calls to action as we approach the state budget deadline next week.

A key theme we heard at Wednesday’s lobby day was that lawmakers were hearing the voices of educators from around the state and that those contacts were important to getting a quality education budget passed on time – so thank you and keep up the good work!