With $212 million in state budget cuts slated to hit Michigan's schools next month, a gathering of roughly 1,500 parents, students, and concerned citizens coalesced in Lansing yesterday to demand that law-makers take action.

The rally yesterday, with video below, was organized by Save Our Schools Michigan.

The $212 million in cuts, which amount to a funding reduction of $127 per student, are scheduled to come as a result of an order signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm late last month in response to falling state tax receipts. At the time of her order, the Governor called on students and parents to pressure legislators to raise taxes in order to make up the shortfall, a power that she as the state's executive does not possess.

But those aren't the only cuts that Michigan schools will be dealing with this year--an additional $165 in per student spending was cut earlier in the year by the legislature itself, for a grand total of $292 lower per pupil spending. That amount means, absent a legislative solution to raise revenues, that the state will guarantee schools 4% less per student than it did in 2008-2009, when the state minimum was $7,316 per pupil.

How much does the money matter? This is often a subject of great debate among scholars in the area, as there is some evidence that indicates that more money alone is not a good predictor of improved student success.

But while it is certainly true that more school spending is not a sufficient condition for school improvement, it's hard to argue with the proposition that sufficient resources are a necessary condition. After all, Michigan's budget cuts mean that an elementary school of 400 students will have roughly $120,000 less to spend this school year; in a high school of 1,000 student the shortfall grows to $300,000.

Where will those savings come from in ways that don't hurt students, especially at a time when our schools are struggling to keep up with international competition and the rising demands of our global economy?

Here's hoping that Michigan lawmakers heed the call of yesterday's protesters and come up with a way to bridge the gap, even if it means raising taxes. After all, what could be more important to our nation's future than the quality of education we provide to our future doctors, teachers, and leaders?