LANSING – House Democrats today passed a plan that will restore $184 million in funding to schools and help ease deep cuts to education that could seriously impact Michigan's ability to prepare children for future jobs. House Dems also voted to move the state's School Aid Budget deadline to June 1 in order to prevent the type of budget chaos that ensued when legislators failed to reach a budget accord by Oct. 1 this year.
"While this plan will help ease the pain felt by schools across the state, districts are still going to see significant cuts," said State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon), a longtime educator and Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Education and School Aid. "Investing in our children is the best decision we can make right now. With tough economic times ahead, we must do all we can to protect their future and find ways to avoid even deeper cuts to funding next year."
The plan passed by the House today will leverage $184 million in federal funding, helping to ease the
per-pupil cuts that were imposed on Michigan schools last month.
In addition, the House voted to move the date that the Legislature must complete the School Aid Budget from Oct. 1 to June 1. This change will better allow Michigan schools to plan for their academic school year before it begins, rather then waiting until it has already begun.
The plan also makes it a priority to provide an additional $25.7 million for Michigan's 20j schools and $25.7 million for Michigan's under-funded schools. This $51.4 million would be funded through the Michigan Future Fund once revenue is identified.
"Right now, too many of our schools are asking whether they have enough funding to keep teachers in the classroom and provide the supplies and resources necessary to educate our children," said State Representative Jennifer Haase (D-Richmond), a former teacher and member of the House Education Committee. "Lansing's budget failures have put schools across the state in a difficult position – one that could seriously harm our children's future and our state's future – and we must never let this happen again. Requiring that the Legislature complete the School Aid Budget by June 1 will help make sure that our children are never again the victims of budget breakdowns."