Key Senate Committee Proposes School Spending 27% Above 2016

The Michigan Senate's K-12 appropriations subcommittee recommended a school budget on Thursday that would authorize spending a total $17.84 billion for public schools in the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

This is $3.79 billion higher than the $14.10 billion spent under the 2016-17 school budget. The recommendation represents a 27% rise in spending over that six-year period, despite a 6% decline in statewide student enrollment from 2016-17 to 2021-22.

That did not not stop the Michigan Department of Education from criticizing the recommendation for not spending more.`

“This is not a budget that appropriately serves children,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a press release, “and it’s not acceptable to justify this budget by saying that it is the beginning of a longer budget process. The beginning of a process should not underfund special education, children’s mental health, or early childhood funding. The beginning of a budget process should not underfund teacher recruitment and retention in the midst of a teacher shortage. That’s not the way the beginning of negotiations should be, especially coming out of a pandemic and with the financial wherewithal we have in this state at this time.”