LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate has passed a budget proposal including a 5% increase in funding for K-12 schools around the state.
The budget includes record funding for schools but is a pared-down version of what Governor Whitmer had proposed. That proposal included more money to recruit and retain teachers.
The base per-student funding would go up by $450, up from Whitmer’s suggested $435 increase.
Schools can get $50 per student to address pandemic-related learning loss.
$500 million in grant money would help districts bring down some debt to alleviate the need to raise property taxes.
Some items missing from the passed proposal include $1 billion to help give schools and districts money to make building improvements.
Governor Whitmer had pushed for more money to recruit and retain teachers, including yearly bonuses for teachers, college scholarships for students going into teaching and stipends for student teachers. Over two years, she had wanted $2.3 billion, while the Senate allocated $30 million.
House members will present their own budget proposal Thursday.
