Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan bills alleviating school district debt, investing in infrastructure, supporting community colleges and public universities, and lowering costs for families across Michigan on taxes and higher education.

“Across Michigan, we are lowering costs for families, fixing the damn roads, and ensuring every student can get a quality education,” said Governor Whitmer. “These supplemental bills will alleviate school debt in districts that were hardest hit by financial issues, fund projects in universities throughout our state, and fix the damn roads and bridges in communities across Michigan. I look forward to working with my legislative partners to build on the work we’ve done and continue lowering costs, creating jobs, and helping more people build a bright future right here in Michigan.”

Lowering Costs for Families

The bills lower costs for families in Inkster, Benton Harbor, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, and Ypsilanti by providing much-needed debt relief to school districts struggling with financial distress. By alleviating school debt for these districts, residents in these communities will save money on their taxes and spend money in the classroom, helping students learn and improving outcomes with new textbooks, reduced class sizes, and better-paid teachers. The bills also make it easier for students to fill out their FAFSA and receive the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which went into effect this fall and saves 80% of students thousands of dollars on their college degrees.

Supporting Education

The bills fund on-campus projects at Michigan community colleges and public universities, further cementing Michigan’s higher education system as one of the best places to get a degree and the skills needed to land a good-paying job. The projects include the Blue Dot Lab, a technology and digital literacy center at GVSU, centers for entrepreneurship and innovation at Northern Michigan University and U of M Flint, tech and engineering buildings at Eastern Michigan University and Mott and Macomb Community Colleges, and science buildings at Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State University. The bills also fund the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, a new state agency tasked with improving outcomes for kids from preschool through postsecondary, and invest in primary health care service for kid and young adults in schools.

Investing in Michigan’s Roads, Bridges, and Infrastructure

The bills invest hundreds of millions of dollars from the Federal Highway Administration to fix the damn roads and bridges across the state of Michigan. The bill also helps Highland Park replace its nearly 120-year-old water system and allows the Great Lakes Water Authority to invest in water infrastructure projects in other communities, supporting good-paying jobs and affordable clean water for Highland Park residents.