With 30 teachers laid off and the closing of Spartan Village Elementary School in East Lansing alone, it is obvious that Michigan is not headed in the right direction by cutting budgets for K-12 education.

Michigan faces a $1.7-billion deficit and schools are not exempt for sharing in its plight. The governor's spokeswoman, Elizabeth Boyd, said everyone will feel the impact of the cutbacks when the budget is released, K-12 funding being no exception.

These were no doubt tough decisions for the Legislature and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. But the state now needs to act diligently to ensure its schools don't continue to suffer.

Michigan leaders can chalk this year up to experience but ought to work hard to prevent a similar or worse situation a year from now.

Proposed cuts in East Lansing alone have come to involve ideas such as restructuring of the district's schools, removing full-day kindergarten and alternative high school programs and privatizing transportation and custodial staffs.

But regardless of the avenue in which they wish to initially embark to mend Michigan's K-12 funding woes, the state should not jump on the harmful bandwagon and privatize public education.

Public schools are not meant to be businesses. The government has an obligation to provide education.

Education is one of the most important places in which the government needs to invest.

Let's not leave the education of our children up to chance by leaving it to rely on the fluctuating nature of the state budget.