Political Quotes

“We have to make sure we always come back to the point that this is a balanced approach, that this is available for public schools and it is also available for education investment funds. Mr. Speaker, I could talk about my home district where we have a lot of good schools, but what has happened with our superintendents, the money rather that being raised locally through the property tax is now raised statewide through a sales tax. It is a very positive thing. It has lowered our property taxes and it has created a consistent funding stream across the State. Again, we have kind of taken out the differences between schools. But what the situation reduced many of our superintendents to do is to kind of become almost beggars to Lansing, to go to Lansing and make their case with their State reps and their State senators that they deserve more or they need money for this or they need money for that; or in this district they have a very specific need, and over here they have another specific need. They kind of feel like they have lost control and their life now gets to be managing the rules and regulations that come from Washington and the rules and regulations that come from Lansing. With a State tax credit, or if we did a Federal tax credit, it now allows them to supplement the income that they are getting from the State and get that money to go to some perhaps very targeted and specific needs that they may have identified.”