By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI – The state's Senate majority leader says Governor Granholm's mandatory cut to K-12 schools is "reckless and irresponsible."
Republican Senator Mike Bishop sent Granholm a letter saying the governor had allowed school children to become collateral damage in an effort to force a tax increase.
Matt Marsden is spokesman for Bishop.
"I think that the governor would like to see higher taxes," he says. "I think that the governor is trying to do all that she can do to scare citizens into thinking that their children's education is going to be hurt by the state's economic situation."
Bishop says the Republican-controlled Senate cannot be forced into approving a tax hike. And he says they will stick by the balanced budget they sent to the governor.
But Granholm says the budget wasn't appropriately funded and her cuts were necessary without new revenue to fill the gaps.