Grand Rapids Reporter

Political strategist and former Kalamazoo resident Jason Roe said that Austin Marsman donated to Michigan politicians who have voted to cut funding for schools and school safety.

"I don’t know how a candidate for the legislature, which controls public school funding, can claim to be for our schools while giving money to the very people who have cut school funding," Jason Roe, political strategist and former Kalamazoo resident told Grand Rapids Reporter. "Kalamazoo has made incredible strides in the last decade and Austin Marsman would roll that progress back."

Between 2021 and 2023, Marsman made donations to Democratic State Representatives Julie Rogers, Jason Morgan, John Fitzgerald, and Matt Koleszar. All four voted in favor of the budget with the school funding cuts. 

In a July 11 press release, incumbent State Rep. Matt Hall (R-42) shared that the previous month, the Democratic-controlled legislature had passed the state budget, which would spend "$83 billion overall while cutting school safety funding and refusing to increase core school funding for the first time since 2011. School officials and educators have said the decision will lead to educational program cuts and staff layoffs." According to Hall, the budget would result in a 92-percent, or $302 million, statewide cut to school safety and mental health funding.

According to the release, school districts in Kalamazoo County and southeastern Allegan County would see an estimated $8.2 million in cuts to school safety and mental health funding, including an estimated $2.6 million cut for Kalamazoo Public Schools. 

Marsman's campaign website lists improving public education as a top priority. Marsman calls himself a "proud product of public schools" and notes his service on his local school board. 

Austin Marsman is the Democratic candidate for the Michigan State House’s 42nd District seat. According to his campaign website, he is currently the Youth Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party as well as First Vice Chair of the Allegan County Democratic Party. Marsman is challenging incumbent Republican Matt Hall. The general election will be held on November 5, and the early voting period lasts from October 26 to November 3.