With no firm numbers, many schools are on the clock to figure out what to do with what they have. School safety, one expert signaled, is bearing the consequences.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It’s been a stalemate in the state capitol, following months of back and forth as to how the state will spend taxpayer dollars in the year ahead.
Lawmakers in a Republican-led state House and a Democratic-led state Senate have remained unable to come to a deal on the annual state budget, which is due by the start of the next fiscal year on October 1st in order to avoid a government shutdown.
But already, some fear the wait is having an impact.
“The bottom line, truthfully, is Michigan kids are going to go back to schools that were less safe than they were in previous years,” said Jason Russell, the founder and president of Secure Environment Consultants.
Heading the local security firm that works with Michigan school districts and provides services like professional development trainings, Russell fears one area in particular that could suffer: school safety.
“Last year, we did around 60 sessions prior to school,” Russell said. “Starting this year, we have less than five. And the main reason for that is schools don’t know what their budget is going to be.”
With the legal, yet toothless, July 1st budget deadline now passed, schools are on the clock to figure out what to do with what they have.
“We’ve seen six of our districts cut a significant number of security personnel throughout the state just because they don’t know what money they’re going to have,” Russell said.
Both legislative chambers have passed their own versions of an education budget, but there’s no agreement to send to Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer for a signature.
While both ideas have good proposals, Russell felt, both sides of the aisle need to work harder to come to a compromise to get the schools their money.
“I think until school starts, quite frankly, right?” Russell said when asked how long districts may be able to hold out on the current course. “They’re making staffing decisions, they’re making decisions on security, they’re making decisions on professional development. A lot of those decisions are already, have already been made, and really can’t be changed. So, I think by the time school starts, if we had a budget, that would help, because at least, you know, they could make some adjustments.”
But regardless, when it comes to getting to a single deal to fund the schools, the clock, Russell fears, is ticking.
“We have to get something done; we have to move forward,” Russell said. “And right now, schools are being held hostage, and parents need to know that, and they need to be reaching out to their lawmakers and saying, ‘This is unacceptable.’ We need a budget. Schools need, you know, to know what their budget is, and they need to get this done in Lansing.”
