State Rep. Ann Bollin today said the state’s new K-12 budget spends too much money on special projects that instead should be invested directly into all Michigan students.

Instead of prioritizing student excellence in education, the governor signed the K-12 budget with $2 billion of spending on pork and pointless programs. The funds for these projects could have provided nearly $1,400 more for every Michigan student. This stronger support for all Michigan students would have gone a long way to helping them catch up from years of learning loss.

“Instead of wasting $2 billion on pointless programs and pork that only benefits a few select schools, we should be investing directly in our students,” said Bollin, R-Brighton Township. “Rather than helping students catch up on learning lost during the pandemic or helping young children learn to read, the budget sets aside $10 million to teach high school students how to fill out forms and funds pools, auditoriums, and TV programming.”

Bollin, who voted against the plan when it was before the House, highlighted egregious examples of wasteful spending in the budget – including $1 million to create a “zen zone” for staff in one community to de-stress, $225 million to wipe out school loan debt for teachers, and millions of dollars to expand free meals in schools so that every kid – including the children of the wealthiest parents – qualify for taxpayer food assistance instead of focusing money on the children most in need to stretch tax dollars farther.

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