Michigan School Funding At an All-Time High
Michigan reached a new high in per pupil funding for our K - !2 students. According to state figures from Michigan School Data site for 2016, public schools brought in $14,108 for each student enrolled, that amount is the highest ever Michigan has spent per student.
That may surprise you since we keep hearing from the Michigan Education Association, media and other sources that school funding is down. It is amazing that people who are in the education business do not appear to understand math.
Michigan Education Association president Steve Cook told Michigan Radio:
The adequacy study released today proves what many of us in public education have been saying for years: Michigan’s education funding is inadequate, and it’s harming student performance
One problem Mr. Cook, you are only looking at one stream of funding. You must look at all streams of school funding to determine the per pupil funding number. It appears that they are only looking at the state’s contribution and not the federal or some local funding.
According to an article in the Michigan Capitol Confidential news site:
Lansing’s fiscal analysts now estimate that the state’s School Aid Fund will take in $153 million more this year than they projected just four months ago. The forecast for next year’s fund revenues is nearly $13 billion, up $189 million from the January projection and more than $800 million greater than the 2016 total. For the average district, 96 percent or more of state tax dollars comes from the School Aid Fund.
The issue I think we must first answer really pertains to if the funds that Michigan school are receiving are being used adequately before we can entertain and debate whether more funds are needed.
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