Massive lobbying effort underway at the Capitol

‘We are in the fight of our lives,’ MEA president tells members

With the deadline to pass a budget looming, and harsh cuts to public education still on the table, more than 100 MEA members from across the state converged on the Capitol late Tuesday to urge lawmakers to invest in education.

“We are in the fight of our lives,” MEA President Iris K. Salters told members before they went to lobby their legislators. “We will not be silenced. We will not go away.”

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, lawmakers remained at the Capitol. MEA members, leaders and staff planned to lobby overnight, if necessary, to protect funding for public education students.

Lawmakers must pass the state budget by midnight Wednesday; Thursday is the first day of the 2009-10 budget year. If the budget is not adopted in time, the state will be forced to shut down most government services.

Earlier this week, a joint House-Senate committee announced an agreement that per pupil funding for 2009-10 would be cut by $218, nearly double what many school administrators had expected. If lawmakers approve the cuts, every school district will be forced to review spending for the current school year. Many districts have already projected devastating program cuts.

“We cannot survive the cuts,” said Brit Satchwell, president of the Ann Arbor Education Association, one of the local leaders who spent Tuesday night lobbying legislators. “It’s time to invest in our future and the future of our children.”

MEA members urged legislators to find additional funding for the K-12 school aid budget – and to resist attempts to tie the budget to other education reforms.

“We have a monumental task tonight,” said Don Noble, an MEA lobbyist, who told MEA members that lawmakers had increased budgets for some other areas of the budget.

Mary Ann Dupuis, president of the Saginaw Education Association, went to the Capitol with a clear message: “We are at a critical crossroads for education. It’s time the state steps up to the mantra that education is important to our children.”

Help your MEA colleagues at the Capitol

These volunteers need your support back home.  They need you to echo their calls for a budget that doesn’t cut the public education our students need to thrive.

Give our lobby corps in Lansing the strength they need – contact your legislator immediately.  Even if you’ve already called or emailed, it’s time to do it again. 

Your state representative and senator need to know that you don’t support a budget that relies only on cuts – especially further cuts to public education. 

Urge them to oppose efforts to slash education funding, instead supporting tax reforms and other means of raising revenue so we can invest in the schools that will prepare students for the jobs Michigan needs.

Time is running out before Wednesday night's budget deadline.  Support your MEA colleagues volunteering at the Capitol and contact your legislators immediately!

Updated: September 29, 2009