Where Did All the Money for School Safety Go?
Democrats in Lansing decided to try fiscal restraint by cutting vital school workers
Five minutes after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley began opening fire on his classmates at Oxford High School, a school safety officer rushed to confront him. Crumbley had already shot 11 people, killing four and injuring seven others. But the officer’s quick action saved many more—Crumbley still had 18 rounds of ammunition when the officer disarmed him.
The jobs of safety officers like this hero might now be on the line because of Michigan’s new budget, passed by Democratic state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, which cuts more than $300 million from safety and mental health funding for schools.
For comparison, the 2024 budget included $328 million for these resources, which allow schools to invest in counselors and security officers (both of which are much more important than the DEI administrators that the state has encouraged public schools to hire), security technology, and mental health programming. One need only reflect on the 2021 Oxford High School shooting to realize how important to students’ safety these resources are.
The 2025 budget passed by Democrats in Lansing this summer allocates just $26.5 million for these efforts.
