State Rep. Donni Steele on Tuesday expressed serious concern regarding next year’s school budget recently signed by the governor. The budget cuts school safety funding by $300 million, a 90% cut, steals $670 million away from teacher retirement accounts, and does not include a per-pupil funding increase for the first time since 2011.

“I’m deeply concerned for our teachers and students as they enter the 2025/26 school year,” said Steele, R-Orion Township. “Many districts will be forced to go without the critical mental health and safety resources they’ve learned to rely on.”

The cut to the school safety funding will devastate a program local school districts rely on to hire school resource officers and counselors, heighten security measures, and expand mental health programming. School leaders say the massive reduction will lead to layoffs and program cuts.

Steele noted that in her community alone, next year’s budget cuts school safety funding by more than $9 million. The districts that lost the most include Rochester Community School District, which lost $3,140,309; Birmingham City School District, which lost $1,544,953; Lake Orion Community Schools, which lost $1,489,515; Bloomfield Hills School District, which lost $1,078,106; Avondale School District, which lost $1,031,157; and Pontiac City School District, which lost $771,055.

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