By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-864545.mp3
LANSING, MI – A school budget deal fell apart Wednesday at the state Capitol. The state will be without a school aid budget for a full week Thursday because lawmakers are at an impasse.
State Representative Terry Brown chairs the House schools budget subcommittee. He says it's tough for lawmakers to force big spending rollbacks on K-12 education.
"We are cutting significant money from school aid," he says. "That's going to cause lots of heartache. That's going to cause pain where we don't want pain. This is the future of our state that we're dealing with here."
There is a split between the House and the Senate on the size of the cuts to schools, and how much federal stimulus money will be used to plug the hole in the school aid budget. Stimulus money used this year will not be available to help address a school aid deficit next year.