Education advocates in Michigan said the state’s new $21.3 billion school budget does not go far enough to meet students’ needs.
Critics of the plan contended it once again shifts money away from K–12 classrooms, using school aid dollars to fund roads and higher education, while backfilling school budgets with one-time emergency reserves. The Michigan Education Justice Coalition said the plan falls short of creating a long-term, equitable funding structure to truly support all public schools.
Rachelle Crow-Hercher, director of the coalition, argued shifting more costs into the school aid fund will hit the hardest.
"It's disappointing that the Legislature, rather than getting serious about supporting the general ed fund and funding things to the appropriate level through either revenue generation or reprioritization, just continue to say, well, we'll have the school aid fund pay for it," Crow-Hercher stressed.
She noted this year’s budget marks the largest raid on the School Aid Fund since 2012. The coalition said Michigan schools are still more than $4 billion short of adequate funding. Supporters called the plan a strong step forward, citing record per-pupil funding, free school meals and new investments in student mental health and safety.
Crow-Hercher pointed out Michigan’s latest budget also opens the door for private schools to receive taxpayer-funded support meant for public education. She underscored while public districts are still facing shortages and underfunded programs, lawmakers are carving out dollars for nonpublic schools.
"The idea this year that private schools should be able to benefit from some of the school aid fund with either mental health dollars or school meals or even pork projects like robotics in private schools," Crow-Hercher observed. "That's not only unconstitutional, it's unacceptable."
Despite the concerns, the coalition commended lawmakers who upheld protections for inclusive and community-centered schools to prioritize the well-being of all students.
