LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, on Tuesday issued the following statement after legislators and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were unable to reach an agreement on a state budget before the July 1 statutory deadline:
“I’m disappointed we were unable to reach an agreement on a budget before the July 1 deadline, especially for our schools.
“We are facing an education crisis in this state. Three in four fourth graders can’t read at grade level. Seventy-five percent of eighth graders aren’t proficient in math. States like Mississippi and Arkansas are lapping us. Yet Democrats continue to defend the status quo. The status quo is failing Michigan children. Our education budget must take the money and power away from the politicians and bureaucrats in Lansing who got us into this mess and put it in the hands of our local schools.”
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