The $16.1 billion school budget includes an increase of per-pupil funding to help close the gap with the districts at the minimum funding level receive the maximum increase of $120 per student.
The bill signed by Gov. Rick Snyder Monday, has now increased the state funding for K-12 school districts to $12.1 billion, which is $1.4 billion higher since fiscal year 2011.
“A quality education lays the foundation that supports a person’s success throughout their life,” Snyder said in a release. “This funding provides a solid framework for our schools, community colleges and public universities to provide all of Michigan’s children with a P-20 education that can prepare them for their future endeavors.”
Highlights of the 2017 School Omnibus bill include the $150 million per-pupil increase, which equates to the range of per-student funding as $60 to $120. An additional 2.9-percent, or $39.8 million, for operations of Michigan’s 15 public universities and an additional 1.4-percent increase, or $4.4 million, for community college operations.
The bill also includes an increase of $500,000 in funding for the FIRST Robotics program, an investment of $58 million for career and technical education programs and equipment, and the continued support of $379 million for at-risk funding for students across the state. According to the press release, more than 90-percent of districts, urban and rural, receive this funding.
“Thanks to cooperation from members of both the Michigan Senate and the House of Representatives we were able to reach an agreement on school funding in June for the sixth year in a row,” State Budget Director John Roberts said in the release. “Schools, community colleges and state universities knowing what their funding is prior to the start of the next school year is crucial and I’m glad we were able to accomplish that again this year.”
