The state House voted today to dramatically boost funding for police officers in schools. It was in response to Tuesday’s shootings at Oxford High School that left four students dead and seven other people wounded.
Republican Representative Gary Howell sponsored the budget amendment. His son is a teacher at Oxford High School, and he credits the school resource officer with keeping that tragedy from becoming worse.
“We’ve had events in the last week that really dramatized the need for these officers in our schools.”
Howell’s amendment would boost the total amount of funding available to 50 million dollars. Schools would have to apply for grants to get a share of that money.
The Senate also adopted a budget bill to boost funding for water infrastructure, including dam and sewer improvements and lead line replacements. The bills would eventually need to be signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.