Governor Rick Snyder met with the state’s largest teachers union today to talk about funding and standards for the state's public school system.
Laura Weber, of the Michigan Public Radio Network, reports the Michigan Education Association (MEA) teachers union presented Snyder with a plan that includes expanding the sales tax to services to raise more money for schools.
Weber reports that Governor Snyder has said he wants to reform Michigan’s tax structure, but says now is not the time to expand the sales tax.
Even so, Iris Salters, the director of the MEA teachers union, said she's glad the new Governor was willing to meet with them:
"We’re encouraged by the governor’s willingness to garner a lot of input from people who not only work within the education system, but those who are consumers of the education system. And that’s got to be good."
Another reform being considered by the Michigan legislature is to make Michigan a "Right-To-Work" state, something the MEA opposes.Doug Pratt, with the MEA, told MPRN's Laura Weber that he is concerned about the push to make Michigan a "Right-To-Work" state:
"It is a false premise that has proven not to work in other places, it is wrong for this state. And we are heartened by the governor’s comments as well as comments from others in the business community that now is not the time to take such an action."
