Alert! School funding crisis needs solution now!

Take action now!

Make your voices heard! The school funding situation is at a critical juncture. State officials have just finished their review of expected tax collections. They found that revenues earmarked for schools will come in even lower than expected in January -- $153 million lower than the earlier estimates that were already revised downward. That means a total shortfall of as much as $560 million for this year and cuts to districts of $116 per pupil right at the end of the year unless new money is found.

Tell your lawmakers that we need to fix school funding and invest in our schools. Let them know that you are willing to use your tax dollars to help support vibrant and efficient public schools, especially in these difficult times.

The Legislature passed and Governor Granholm signed a package of modest cuts and some large one-time accounting fixes that covered $347 million of the original $407 million deficit. There's now $213 million left to go. The law requires that the cuts be made unless we agree to find new funding for schools. And the prospect for school funding next year is looking bleak.

What can I do?

1) Write your lawmakers

Tell your lawmakers how you feel about what's happening to school funding. Some ideas: * Now that Michigan's economy is in trouble, this is the worst time to be pulling the props out from under our public schools. * We need to be making investments in our schools, to attract jobs now and to build the future we want for our state. * Huge cuts right at the end of the school year will hurt all schools and be devastating to many districts around the state. * As citizens and parents, we're willing to do our part and make financial sacrifices to support our schools, if we know that the money will be used effectively. * We know that it will cost us something to fix the problem, but it pales compared to the cost of doing nothing and letting our schools decline. Visit our legislative action center to contact your state Representative and Senator, and even send an email to both of them and the Governor with one click!

2) Join our website and sign up for our email list

If you haven't already, create an account on the MIPFS web site here: http://www.miparentsforschools.org/?q=user/register You can sign up for updates of new content on our site, and you can join our email list. We're trying to get parents across Michigan informed, involved and organized so that we can be a constructive force for supporting our public schools.

3) Get involved locally

Get involved in your local schools, talk with teachers and administrators, and help find ways to work together to deal with this crisis. Talk to your neighbors about what's happening and what is at stake. Tell everyone about this web site and what we are trying to achieve here! Encourage other parents to make their voices heard as well - in Lansing as well as in your home town.

Together, we can make a difference!