While the efforts appear to be aimed at increasing “efficiency,” it is more than likely they will simply make it easier for Snyder’s administration to make further cuts to a crucial component of so many Michigan residents’ lives.

The move to combine funding for both primary and university education will simply make cuts to funding appear smaller than they actually are.

Hypothetically, a 3-percent cut to state education will appear statistically insignificant and appeal to taxpayers, yet will make a larger impact on every student in Michigan.

Snyder’s plan is simply disingenuous at best and cynical at worst.

Though it is clear he cares deeply about the future of this state, particularly the collapsed economy, it is hard to understand how his plan will move us toward a lasting recovery. An increased emphasis on charter schools, a reduction of funding to both primary and university students and refusing to allow school districts to limit the enrollment of students from outside their border will not help in any way.

His plan will do little to improve a public school system already bending toward a potentially catastrophic breaking point.

The only way Michigan will ever move toward an economic recovery is through education.

Snyder said, “To see our students succeed, we must expect the best, and we must provide the tools, support and environment students need to reach the high expectations we have set,” and he’s absolutely correct on all fronts.

However, the proper tools for increasing the likelihood of more positive educational outcomes are not cuts and regulations, but a serious push for greater funding.

The “Michigan Promise” scholarship promised to current college students for high MEAP scores was a promise broken —  many students never saw a penny of the money earned — and funding for college students has since been reduced in many other ways at both state and federal levels.

It is clear Snyder wants to see Michigan students succeed, but his policy only vaguely resembles his rhetoric. The charter schools and out-of-town schools combined with funding cuts will likely make the financial crisis facing school districts, particularly in urban areas, even worse.

College students are often seen as lazy leeches on the edge of the American economy, spending their days spray-tanning and drinking cheap vodka, but in reality, we make up the backbone of the future American tax base.

We are facing a future where there will be little to no unskilled labor employment, and it is crucial to the state and national economies that all levels of education be given financial support, rather than offered lip service and budget cuts.

The county Sheriff’s Department is required to keep its deputy on the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team at least two-thirds of the time. It was thought the position would be fully removed from BAYANET since the county’s 2011 fiscal year budget did not include funding for the third of the position the county was responsible for last year.

The decision was announced at Tuesday’s Isabella County Board of Commissioners meeting.

“I’m glad to see they’re going to keep the deputy in BAYANET,” said Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski. “It’s very important we have someone there full-time. I hope we’ll find the funding.”

County Administrator Tim Dolehanty said that deputy will have to fulfill the responsibilities to BAYANET. He said, “Grant funding exists for that purpose.”

The grant comes from Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 2 percent allocations, which pays for roughly $50,000 of the position.

Dolehanty said BAYANET has the money to pay for the $25,750 the board will not cover. BAYANET held $475,327 in undesignated reserves in 2009, which accounted for 44 percent of their expenses, according to a press release from Dolehanty.

“I’m suggesting that would be a great place for BAYANET to pull that money from,” he said. “That’s surplus money. We’re not here to bank public money.”

Dolehanty said the 44 percent surplus is much larger than most government agencies, which try to stay under a 15 percent surplus.

Isabella County provides 57 percent of all local officers to BAYANET. The county diverted another grant — the Byrne Grant — to Clare County so they could have their own officer on the team.

The deputy would have been assigned to road patrol and writing tickets to generate revenue if the position had been returned to the sheriff’s department. The deputy would need to write 15 tickets per day to pay for their salary and benefits, Mioduszewski said. The plan was scrapped, however.

The sheriff’s department will have to pay for the rest of the position if BAYANET does not and wishes it to remain a full-time position.

Mioduszewski said the situation is better than losing the deputy entirely, but hopes someone funds the rest of the position.

The 2011 budget will be approved after a public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at the Isabella County Building, 200 N. Main St.

Though K-12 public schools are funded on a per-student basis, institutions such as CMU are not. But with spiking enrollment statewide, university officials lawmakers have in recent years lobbied for higher education funding reform.

Kathy Wilbur, vice president of government relations and public affairs, said officials “very loudly” made the case for per-student funding under former university president Michael Rao.

“If you have a higher level of your population with a bachelor’s degree, you will have a stronger economy,” she said. “We made some success with that argument under past leadership in the state Senate … but, now, we’re fighting for our lives.”

State funding to CMU has decreased 26.8 percent since 2000. To equal the same per-student funding levels received a decade ago, the state would have to give CMU $121 million in the next fiscal year, or $41 million more than what was given for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Western Michigan University and Wayne State University — Michigan’s fifth and third largest universities — are getting about $5,000 and $8,700 per student, whereas CMU has allocated $3,916 per student in 2009-10.

‘Not the time’

When the state’s economy began its struggle, Toby Roth, CMU director of government relations, said higher education funding reform took a back seat to other financing priorities. He said, in addition to the $1.8 billion cut last year, the state budget needs to be cut by an added $1.6 billion this year.

Early estimates, Roth said, call for another $1 billion cut for next year.

“It’s just not the time right now to talk about changing the format for how we fund higher education,” he said.

State Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, reforming the system to a per-student based model could certainly be something further looked into in the future.

“You’d have to just lay some of those things out and then actually see how they affect each of the universities,” he said. “I just think that in this climate right now, with the resources the way they are, it would be a real challenge to get to a formula like that.”

Lobbying for more

Brittany Mouzourakis, Student Government Association vice president, lobbied with Wilbur in 2007 for the per-student-funding initiative.

The Garden City senior said the universities that receive higher amounts of state funding argue that they are research hubs and need additional grants and funding to finance their projects.

But she said their reasoning, and the willingness of legislators to accommodate their requests, perpetuates a “vicious cycle” of bias and sends the wrong message.

“There’s a huge economic disparity where the state is telling us that a student at Wayne State and a student at U-M and at MSU is worth more than a student at CMU because we’re getting paid less per capita student,” Mouzourakis said.

Though the shift in budget arguments, Wilbur said CMU still lobbies for per-student funding in some way.

University President George Ross, among some of his first presidential duties, will testify at a state senate sub-committee on higher education hearing March 8 at Ferris State University. Then, in mid-April, Wilbur said there has been talk of a hearing on CMU’s campus.

-University Editor Eric Dresden contributed to this report.

University officials are meeting and discussing possible departments and programs to go on the chopping block. Last month, the student body, faculty and staff were asked for feedback on possible ways to save money.

Academic programs are the first priority for funding at CMU. Every other program needs to cut back on their current budget, including the Student Government Association. It should rethink its position on asking for an increase in funding to the Campus Programming fund.

In Michigan, the crisis for funding education keeps getting worse. Governor Jennifer Granholm announced a 3 percent reduction in funding for state universities.

SGA should take the lead here by withdrawing its request. SGA could take it one step further by offering to give back some of the money it receives from the university.

I understand the SGA wants to improve the college experience at CMU.

However, coming from a community college background where I served on the Student Congress and on the Campus Activities Board, I know a bit about the college experience. With a budget of $68,000, one-third of the Campus Programming General Fund at Grand Rapids Community College, our board and many organizations were able to enhance and improve the college experience for students.

I know I will be accused of comparing apples to oranges on the differences between the two colleges.

However, there is almost as many students at GRCC as there are at CMU. This year, GRCC had 17,000 full-time students on its downtown campus. More than 30,000 people are expected to be part of the school when part-time and non-credit students are included, according to the GRCC website.

With this amount of students and with the small amount of funding available while I was a student there, the college experience was never deemphasized. Each department, from programming boards to student life and other organization on campus, increased their efforts for fundraising and put student needs first. No matter what amount the funding, goals were achieved.

Another tool used was the Grand Rapids community itself. It wasn’t uncommon for students to be knocking on business’ doors and making phone calls to help raise funds for many programs at GRCC.

I am not asking the SGA or any other organization to stop or cut back on the college experience at CMU. I am asking them to take the lead and cut back on their own funding.

It is time for SGA to give back. Academic departments at CMU need to continue their mission without cuts to programs that gives us the education sought by students.