Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed budget includes significant cuts across the board.

The elimination of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. As many as 1,500 state employee layoffs. The transfer of wetland protection to the federal government.

Especially detrimental, however, is the blow to the state’s education system. Granholm proposed $100 million, or 3 percent, in cuts to Michigan’s 15 public universities, and a decrease of about $59 per K-12 student.

Though the cuts sting, it’s hard to fault the budget. Cuts occur across the board.

There is some good news. Granholm’s plan makes two notable strides: It prevents further cuts to Medicaid through an expected $500 million in stimulus funds, and it keeps funding steady for community colleges, which are especially essential in retraining an unemployed workforce. She should sacrifice neither to increase other education funding.

The budget is not final, however. Further federal stimulus funding could reduce cuts to education. It should.

What should happen

The cuts annihilate the chance that public universities will meet Granholm’s proposed tuition freeze.

Operating costs rise each year through contracts alone. Michigan cannot expect universities to keep tuition constant when it cannot keep allocations constant.

When President Barack Obama approves the final stimulus package, Michigan likely will receive a substantial injection of funds – around $2 billion during the next two years, according to the Detroit Free Press. Currently only $500 million, the Medicaid funds, is included within Granholm’s budget.

Additional stimulus funds should be committed immediately to education. Michigan cannot afford another blow to its education system, either at the university or the K-12 level.

Steady funding for community colleges is better than nothing, but a commitment to creating an educated workforce requires more. It requires providing for children a quality, accessible education from the start; it requires making a university degree within anyone’s reach.

K-12 funding should be expressly committed to high-need schools, with the two-year goal of decreasing achievement gaps. Acceptance of the funding should come with school leaders’ commitments to significant reform and a potential replacement of leadership.

Funding for public universities should offset Granholm’s proposed $100 million in cuts -

E-mail the author: defaultuser