State Rep. Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) proudly cast her vote on Wednesday for a K-12 education budget plan spearheaded by House Republicans that cuts wasteful red tape and includes historic amounts of per pupil funding. The legislative package removes expensive, for-profit grant programs and increases the foundation allowance to $12,000 per student, the highest in the state’s history.

“For years, state government has wastefully thrown taxpayer dollars at special grant programs and dysfunctional systems instead of funding our students directly,” Greene said. “House Republicans’ budget plan moves us in a completely different direction, with historic investments into kids across the state that local schools can use in the ways that most benefit their students.”

Since taking office, Greene has championed House Republicans’ effort to correct Michigan’s declining educational performance. She spearheaded a legislative plan passed earlier this term that would transform the state’s standardized testing and educational requirements, enabling local schools to better accommodate students’ needs and allowing for more workplace development courses.

Greene’s legislative plan and the new Republican budget both overhaul the state’s approach to education by placing Michigan students first. The legislation accounts for the difference in students’ abilities and ensures funding goes to schools directly based on the number of students enrolled there. Greene expressed her emphatic support for these new proposals for prioritizing Michigan students.

“Under past leadership, our state’s educational performance plummeted,” Greene said. “Their response to this issue last term was to lower and repeal education standards, defund school safety and mental health services, and throw more money at the same broken systems. Our new approach marks a sharp turn away from these failed policies and makes an inspiring new investment in our future. We’re putting parents, local school districts, and teachers back in the driver’s seat with this new plan.”