Michigan School Aid Budget - state of play as of May 9
[Update: versions of the budget passed by each chamber.]
State budget timeline:
- January: top state economists meet to make tax revenue projections (Consensus Revenue Estimation Conference)
- February: Governor proposes a budget, based on the revenue estimates
- March-April: Legislative appropriations subcommittees develop their own alternatives; horsetrading begins
- May: top state economists reconvene to update revenue projections, which must be used to comply with balanced budget amendment
- May-June: Using the May projections, Governor and legislative leaders hammer out agreement on basic budget numbers; appropriations committees adjust individual bills with new numbers. "Supplemental" spending bills adjust current year budget to revised revenue projections.
- May-June: Individual spending bills are rolled into omnibus budget bills; final horsetrading before passage and Gov's signature
After an unusually long wait, both the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on school aid issued their alternatives to the budget proposed by Gov. Snyder in February. As expected, the two legislative chambers made moves to be more generous during this election year, though the details are not always so generous. When things like that happen, it's time to check your wallet.
The table below outlines some of the most important provisions of the budget, contrasting the Governor's, House, and Senate versions. As both subcommittee chairs usually say, their alternative bills are meant to "start discussions." For parents and other concerned citizens to have a voice in that discussion, we need to know what is going on and what is at stake. Use this table to familiarize yourself with the alternatives and then join the discussion with gusto. There's lots to choose from.
Things to note:
- Diversions from the School Aid Fund to the community college and higher education budgets, which used to be covered by the general state budget before Gov. Snyder took office, represent almost $800 million or roughly $535 per pupil in lost K-12 funding;
- House and Senate both commit to giving for-profit cyber charters the same funding as regular schools;
- House continues the controversial payments to private schools for "state mandates" like background checks and fire drills;
- House and Senate also continue to fund several "pet projects" of dubious merit; House confers a blessing on a particular preschool curriculum published by a for-profit company.
This is your government at work! But ask yourself: who, precisely, are they working for?
