Well, the other shoe has dropped. While Michigan remains without a budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1st — for either government or schools — the House GOP leadership have put their cards on the table, sort of. Everyone wants better roads, but the House idea is to do it without actually spending any new money. Magical thinking, you say? No, just straight politics. How is education involved? Just wait.
While the overall spending level of the House and Senate budgets appears to be the same, the documents represent radically different priorities for funding public schools. The Senate bill reflects the work done by members of both parties over the last few legislative sessions, but with certain tweaks which reflect the priorities of the Senate Democratic majority. The House bill, in contrast, is a radical departure from the shape education budget bills have had for over a decade and reflects - sometimes openly, sometimes obscurely - the priorities of the House GOP majority. 
We had hoped that the redrawn legislative districts would encourage moderation and compromise on education spending and policy issues. Evidently, we will need to keep waiting. So far, this year’s budget process consists of more posturing than governing, and there is no question that the costs of division and gamesmanship will continue to mount. In one of their first acts upon retaking control of the state House of Representatives, Republican leaders revealed their intended governing style: confrontation.