Michigan should stop taking money from the school aid fund to supplement the general budget and take other steps to ensure adequate long-term public school funding, a coalition of public education organizations said, according to House Speaker Joe Tate. He made the claim in a recent letter to.
Among other things, the groups want the state to stop requiring school districts to use a portion of state funds to pay for retirees' health care costs. This obligation has been in place since 2010 to cover what was then a huge debt. But earlier this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that the retired teacher's medical expenses are now covered entirely by surplus funds. She proposes returning the surplus, currently set at $670 million, or about $500 per year per Michigan student, to K-12 schools.
Matt Schuler, director of government relations for the Michigan Superintendent and Administrators Association, said that's exactly what should happen. “The reason we have these savings is because of the contributions of public schools and their staff, and we believe it is right that they go directly back to public schools,” he said. .
Robert McCann, president of the Michigan K-12 Alliance, said making this change is a “huge opportunity for our state, and it's critical we get it right this year.”
“Because it's not a one-time funding increase,” McCann said. “This is a permanent increase in purchasing power for schools that will never be taken away.
“We're going to do everything we can to make sure that's included in this year's budget, because this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to finally start getting school funding back on track in Michigan. ” ”
Another major item in the letter called on the state to begin phasing out the transition from school aid funds to general fund appropriations. For more than a decade, the state has taken well over $1 billion from that fund to fill other budget holes.
McCann said this needs to end, but public education advocates understand it won't happen soon. “So what we're asking for is a written commitment from Congress to reduce that number by 25% this year and phase it out to zero over time,” he said. . “Because our children need all the support we can get.”
The letter also asks state lawmakers to commit to finalizing the annual education budget by June 1. The school budget year typically begins in July, and education leaders say it's important to understand how much state revenue is expected before completing the budget. budget. The letter also notes that inflation is eroding students' purchasing power and calls on states to “increase funding for core student services above the rate of inflation.”
The letter acknowledges and expresses gratitude for the past two years of education budgets, which included historic levels of funding and significant increases in the per-pupil allocation that districts receive each year. But Schuler, of the Michigan Association of School Superintendents and Administrators, said public school leaders are worried about the billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief that districts have received as statewide revenue begins to plateau. He said he is focusing on the near future when gold starts to run out and is preparing for that.
“We are very grateful for the increase in funding that we have seen so far,” Schuler said. “We absolutely maintain that it is not enough.”
