LANSING – A new television ad from the Democratic Governors Association attacks Governor Rick Snyder on cuts to education and ties in the controversy about a furniture contract that his cousin’s company has with the state. Republicans said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer should repudiate the ad because the education claims are untrue.

The issue of whether Snyder cut funding to schools has been a key debating point all year, with Democrats insisting that he has cut $1 billion, but Snyder charging back that he has upped school spending by $1 billion.

Several organizations who have looked at the issue have said both sides could make the claim since cuts were made to operational funding, but funds were added to the educational pension system, which Snyder has argued would open up more funding by each district for school operations.

However, the backup material the DGA has cited for the $1 billion reduction comes from a dated Senate Fiscal Agency document that when updated shows a $234.9 million decline from the 2010-11 fiscal year to the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Schauer has made the issue of school funding cuts a central theme of his campaign, so it would seem unlikely that he would refute the ad, though Emily Benavides, spokesperson for the Snyder campaign, said, “Perpetuating inaccurate information regarding our children does nothing to further political discourse. Michiganders of all ages deserve to hear the truth from political candidates.”

The ad focuses on Royal Oak teacher Kim Stanley, who says she has been a teacher for 25 years and that education is one of the most important investments the state can make.

But she charges Snyder cut $1 billion from education. The ad then goes on to say that the administration gave hefty pay increases to some officials.

And she says in the ad that Snyder’s cousin got a contract worth millions of dollars.

Pay raises were approved for some high level officials in the state’s Bureau of Investments who oversee some $71 billion in pensions and other assets. The pay raises were granted in part to keep the officials from going to the private sector.

The accusations surrounding Snyder’s cousin, George, are more complicated. George Snyder is head of DBI Office Interiors and has had a contract with the state for several years predating the governor’s administration. DBI supplies refurbished furniture to the state and is also a dealer for Haworth, the Grand Rapids furniture manufacturer that has a contract to provide new furniture to the state.

In 2011, legislation was being considered that would have cut total state furniture purchases to $1 million, and George Snyder expressed worries about the bill in emails to top administration officials. Then-Budget Director John Nixon emailed him back that the administration was on the issue, and the limitation was removed. Earlier this year, Michigan Democrats revealed the email exchange and asked the U.S. attorney for Western Michigan to look into possible criminal charges, though there has been no indication from the U.S. attorney of any charges.

In her response to the ad, Benavides made no reference to the charges about George Snyder or the officials who got pay raises. Instead she focused on the accusations that school funding was cut.

She included several citations from news organizations that showed he had upped funding for schools.

“Education is a priority to Governor Snyder and that is why we have invested a billion dollars more into education since he took office,” she said. Education funding is now at its highest level in history, she added.

And Michigan Republican Chair Bobby Schostak issued a statement saying that Schauer and his “shady allies” were spreading false attacks on Snyder.

“It’s another example of career politician Mark Schauer showing how low he’s willing to go to get elected,” Schostak said, adding that Schauer is “more concerned with gaining power than anything else and it’s shameful.”

The Great Lakes Education Project also charged that the ad was false, and Gary Naeyaert, executive director for the organization, said Democrats should get “new batteries for their calculators.”

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