LANSING, MI – Michigan education advocates are asking state lawmakers to sign a pledge to affirm funding levels for K-12 schools amid the ongoing stalemate finalizing a budget for the coming year.
The state’s Republican-led House and Democratic-majority Senate passed separate school aid proposals for 2025-26 earlier this year before legislators ultimately failed to meet a July 1 deadline to get a full budget before Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Since then, local school districts, which were required to pass their own budgets by that date, have begun the academic year without a final idea of what financial support will look like before the state’s fiscal year kicks off Oct. 1.
In a release on Thursday, Sept. 11, the K-12 Alliance of Michigan cited the uncertainty as a source of difficulty for local schools leaving positions unfilled and preparing contingency plans for future layoffs, program cuts, obtaining high-interest loans and the elimination of free school meals.
“We’ve had enough of the finger pointing and want to see action,” Robert McCann, the alliance’s executive director, said in a statement. “We are calling on lawmakers to either sign this pledge that guarantees their support for specific funding levels or pass a budget that includes those same commitments.
“Anything less would only further harm Michigan’s kids and their opportunities for success in the classroom.”
The pledge itself, which was reportedly sent Thursday, asks lawmakers to pass the per-student founding allowance for districts at $10,000 or higher. It’s currently $9,608.
It also demands levels of funding for certain programs at the following:
At-risk student support, $1,120,374,000
Great Start Readiness pre-kindergarten, $655,370,000
Special education support, $2,796,908,100
Career and technical education added costs, $41,575,600
School meals, which also receives federal funding, $246,453,400
Bilingual education, $62,732,600
Transportation, $125,000,000
Rural and isolated district support, $12,824,000
Regional school district operational support, $82,760,500
School employee retirement system legacy debt, $2,244,764,400
The state’s budget gridlock has irked some voters in addition to becoming a growing concern among school leaders in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, it also inspired House Democrats to craft legislation aimed at protecting minimum future levels of school funding.
House Republicans passed a $21.9 billion school budget proposal in June that increased per-student funding to $10,025, while cutting free student meals and categorical earmarks for programs, including mental health and school safety, transportation, and teacher recruitment and retention.
GOP leaders have said the billions in categorical cuts would free up more per-student funding for schools to choose how to use.
In contrast, Senate Dems called for $21.8 billion for education this spring, also raising per-student funding to $10,008 with other measures to address higher teacher pay, school building upgrades, and mental health and safety resources.
In his own statement on Thursday, Don Wotruba, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, called Michigan’s school aid budget the foundation fo safe classrooms and quality instruction.
“The damage that’s been done by lawmakers failing to pass a budget on time cannot be undone, but every day that continues to go by without any certainty in our school funding only makes it worse,” he said. “We need lawmakers to provide that certainty, and we need them to do it now.”
A copy of the ledge sent to lawmakers Thursday can be found online at K12michigan.org/pledge.