Rep. Chris Ward took plenty of heat from his fellow Republicans for his courageous vote for a tax increase that helped Michigan find a way out of its budget crisis last year.
But now the Brighton Republican ought to be getting some well-deserved thanks from those same critics.
Turns out, Ward is working with Gov. Jennifer Granholm again, this time to bring hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional money for local schools into Livingston County,
According to the Livingston Press and Argus, Ward is trying to get the increase in state aid planned for Livingston County schools doubled -- from $108 per pupil to $216.
The increase is part of the state's commitment to close the gap between rich school districts and poor ones in Michigan that was part of the Proposal A school finance package approved by voters in the early 1990s.
The doubling of next year's increase is something that would have been impossible without that unpopular tax hike.
Sometimes, bipartisanship really does pay off. If Ward's fellow Republicans don't appreciate that, Democrats certainly do.
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