School Finance Blog

Governor Granholm has started the clock on the process to issue a mid-year proration to schools.  The legislature has 30 days in which to act to fill the gap in the School Aid Fund and prevent the proration.  If they fail to do so, schools will see a $127 per pupil proration. ($380,000 for TK)  This is in addition to the $165 foundation allowance reduction and other categorical cuts in the budget. ($490,000 for TK) 

The legislature has the ability to restore ALL cuts beyond those taken in the conference report.  By fulfilling their promise to students and raising the $100 million in new revenue on which they balanced their budget in combination with using available stimulus, schools can be spared from these draconian cuts. 

In addition, lawmakers need to use this time to fix the structural funding problems that continue to plague schools and provide students with the level of education that can only come with a stable and predictable school funding source.