By Rick Pluta
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-870231.mp3
MASON, MI – Governor Granholm is continuing to push Senate Republicans to support new revenue to restore money for schools facing big cuts.
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The governor's been meeting with parents and educators to try and get them to prod Republican lawmakers to support reducing business tax breaks, or new taxes on tobacco and beer to help reverse school cuts. School officials say they're already cutting programs and laying-off teachers.
The governor says the situation is dire enough that she'd support tapping into more of the state's federal stimulus dollars, even though that creates a bigger problem for schools next year.
"Please, pass these narrow forms of revenue to get through this school year, and then we can address the long-term issues that need to be addressed," she says.
The governor says fixing the state's school funding system may be too big a job for the Legislature to tackle. She says it may be up to parents and educators to go to the ballot if they want to create a new, stable source of money for schools.