The Michigan Senate passed the rest of its proposals for the next state budget Thursday.
That includes a $25 billion spending plan to fund K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. The plan would raise per-student funding by around $250 per student. It would also continue free school meals, put $300 million toward mental health and school safety grants, and $235 million toward helping children read.
State Senator Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) chairs the budget subcommittee that helped write the K-12 schools part of the proposal.
“We are sending a clear message to every student, every parent, and every teacher in Michigan. We hear you and we are investing in you. This budget is not just a spreadsheet of numbers. It's a statement of values,” Camilleri said during a floor speech.
He said he’s proud of a change to how the state would distribute extra school funding for at-risk students and bilingual education. Schools would receive progressively more money depending on how many at-risk students they serve.
“It’s a 15-year plan that will significantly, over time, start increasing the weights that we’re spending for at-risk kids. This is something that we’ve done in the last three budgets anyway but this locks it into state law so that we have a plan and a pathway into getting these weights fully funded by the time we get to year 15,” Camilleri told reporters after senate session Thursday.
A few Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats in supporting the weighted funding plan. But it still faced some accusations of being rushed through the process and not covering special education as well.
The education budget bill itself passed along party lines.
Republican state Senator Lana Theis (R-Brighton) serves as Camilleri’s appropriations subcommittee minority vice-chair.
Theis was among the several Republicans who criticized the schools budget as not having enough accountability measures and not spending money wisely.
“This budget hurts cyber school students by cutting funding by over $1,800 per child and excludes non-public schools from school safety and mental health funding. Michigan has increased spending on public K-12 schools by almost 60% over the last decade, yet student performance continues to decline,” Theis said during a floor speech.
Democrats defend the spending as necessary to make up for years of relative disinvestment in education. Regarding cyber schools, Camilleri said they need less money to operate and shouldn’t receive the same amount of funding traditional schools get.
This is still an early step in the budget negotiations process. Next, the Democratic-controlled state Senate will have to work out differences between its plan and ones from the governor’s office and Republican-led House of Representatives.
The House’s education spending proposal comes in around $24.1 billion. The House similarly wants a $250 per-student increase in funding. But it doesn’t look for the same changes to at-risk funding that the Senate included.
Another major difference involves the funding for the state’s two biggest universities. The House version would cut state operational funding to Michigan State University and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus each by a little over 62 percent.
The Senate’s vision would give both schools around one percent funding increases.
In addition to the proposal for the next K-12 and higher education budget proposal, the Senate passed a billion-dollar supplemental budget for the current fiscal year.
That bill also passed along party lines.
One major point of concern for Republicans was funding for runway repairs at the Selfridge Air National Guard base in Macomb County. Many in state government see that money as key to the base’s future.
Republicans felt the state should prioritize getting that money out the door sooner instead of other spending. They also argued the state shouldn’t be spending rainy day fund money as the proposal would.
“Senate Democrats want to hold Selfridge hostage. But for what, you ask. In exchange for more pork-filled Democrat spending,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp) said during a floor speech.
Democrats claim their proposal would still allow money for the base to go out as soon as possible.
Senate Appropriations committee Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) said the spending Republicans criticize would pay for key needs.
“Key protections for Michigan’s families’ safety and health by investing in lead service line replacements as well as clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure grants,” Anthony said.
Again, for the supplemental bill to pass, it’ll need to get through the House of Representatives.
