Whitmer Prepares 1st Budget: ‘There Are No Easy Answers’

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to spend billions more to fix the roads and boost a lagging education system.

FILE – In this Feb. 12, 2019 file photo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Whitmer is abolishing Michigan’s medical marijuana licensing board and folding its functions into a newly created regulatory agency. The Democrat issued an executive order Friday, March 1, 2019, to create the Marijuana Regulatory Agency. The board has been criticized as too slow to issue licenses following a law that instituted a tiered regulatory system. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 2, 2019

BY DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to spend billions more to fix the roads and boost a lagging education system.

But as the Democrat prepares to deliver her first budget proposal to the Republican-led Legislature, she faces fiscal pressures that complicate her task.

She notes that the general fund — Michigan‘s second-biggest account — has not grown much from 20 years ago. Inflation-adjusted revenue, in fact, is down during that period after a series of tax cuts, and the fund is being increasingly tapped to bolster the budget for road and bridge repairs.

Whitmer, who will present her plan Tuesday, recently told a conference of township officials that …

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https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/michigan/articles/2019-03-02/whitmer-prepares-1st-budget-there-are-no-easy-answers

High school graduation rate edges up in Michigan

By Erin Dietzer / Sentinel Staff

LANSING — The Michigan high school graduation rate saw a slight increase with the class of 2018.

Data released by the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information on Thursday, Feb. 28, showed the 2018 graduation rate at 80.64 percent, up 0.46 percent from 80.18 percent in 2016-17. It’s the second time in a row statewide four-year graduation rate has surpassed 80 percent since the CEPI started calculating rates 11 years ago.

The dropout rate increased slightly from 8.65 percent last year to 8.73 percent. However, plenty of students are still staying in school. The five-year graduation rate slightly increased from 2017′s 82.76 percent to 83.22 percent. The six-year rate slightly dropped from 83.56 percent to 83.45 percent.

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https://www.sentinel-standard.com/news/20190302/high-school-graduation-rate-edges-up-in-michigan/1

Teacher Age Discrimination Hurts Students!

by Nancy Bailey

Rejecting veteran teachers to keep them from moving up the ladder for pay increases means students miss out on getting to know and learn from elderly people. Teach for America is popular because they remain at the bottom rung of the funding ladder and leave after a few years. This creates a revolving door of […]

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On Point: New Michigan law looks to protect more students from cyberbullying

Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller explains the new cyberbullying laws in Michigan, and says if an issue is brought to his department’s attention, it will be investigated and violators will be held responsible. (WWMT)

by Erica Mokay l Newschannel 3

Thursday, February 28th 2019

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The start of March marks the start of a new Michigan law against cyberbullying.

Signed by former Gov. Rick Snyder in December, the new law states that a person can be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by jail time, a $1,000 fine or both if what they write online causes the victim to suffer an assault or an assault and battery.

If the violation leads to the death of the victim – regardless of whether the violator physically caused the death or if the victim commits suicide – the violator could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, on a felony charge.

LEARN MORE HERE – https://wwmt.com/news/on-point/new-law-looks-to-protect-more-students-from-cyberbullying