States

Spending Increases Restore Earlier Cuts

By Bess Keller — October 19, 2004 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The following offers highlights of the recent legislative sessions. Precollegiate enrollment figures are based on fall 2003 data reported by state officials for public elementary and secondary schools. The figures for precollegiate education spending do not include federal flow-through funds, unless noted.

Michigan

Michigan’s new $12.5 billion education budget aims to restore the state-aid allotments that were cut in each of the last two years.

Senate House
D 16 47
R 22 63

Enrollment:
1.7 million

Under the spending plan for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, the minimum aid to districts is $6,700 for each student, up by $74 from the amount most districts received last year. Overall, the budget saw a 1 percent increase over fiscal 2004.

The midyear cuts to school aid came in the face of revenue shortfalls, which could plague the state again this year. Many districts have already used their rainy-day funds or cut programs, and say they can’t absorb further losses in state aid without laying off staff members.

The budget was sealed in a last-minute deal that preserved the $74-per-pupil increase for the state’s 22 highest-spending districts. Because of historical spending patterns, those districts receive per-pupil allotments that top $9,000. Gov. Jennifer M. Gran holm had originally proposed that those districts remain at fiscal 2004 spending levels, though the districts successfully lobbied to defeat that provision. (“Mich. Lawmakers Reach Deal on K-12 School Budget,” Sept. 15, 2004.)

While the Democratic governor originally sought $10 million for a program to bolster preschoolers’ reading readiness and parent involvement, the final plan contains the same $3.3 million for the program as last year.

In other business, the legislature approved a package of bills aimed at making regional school districts more accountable by allowing voters to recall the members of those school boards, requiring competitive bids for building projects, and eliminating secret elections of board members. The bills respond ed, in part, to a financial scandal in the Oakland Intermediate School District near Detroit.

The legislature also voted to allow Detroit residents to decide Nov. 2 whether their school district should return to an elected board with full powers, or the mayor should have the final say over the chief executive.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States Opinion The Age of 'Adulthood' Varies by State. This Matters for Your Students
States set different limits on when kids can do different things. What does this mean for education?
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
States Which States Require the Most—and Least—Instructional Time? Find Out
There's no national policy dictating how much time students must attend classes each year. That leads to wide variation by state.
2 min read
Image of someone working on a calendar.
Chainarong Prasertthai/iStock/Getty
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
4 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States A State Changed Anti-Bias Guidelines for Teachers After a Lawsuit. Will Others?
The lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm took issue with state guidelines on examining biases and diversifying curriculum.
5 min read
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024.
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024. As part of a recent court settlement, Pennsylvania will no longer require school districts to follow its set of guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education.
Gene J. Puskar/AP