Administrators question lack of per-pupil funding increase, cut in safety and mental health funding

Some local school district leaders are disappointed over the lack of an increase in per-pupil funding for K-12 education in the state budget passed by the Michigan legislature last week.

"To be honest, I’m pretty disappointed in what has come out of this budget cycle," said Midland Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Brian Brutyn, who presented the 2024-25 district budget that the MPS school board approved in June. 

"The biggest disappointment is the zero increase in the foundation (per-pupil) allowance," he continued. "We haven’t seen that in quite some time. It was a big surprise to ourselves and our (education) colleagues across the state."

According to an article by Bridge Michigan, traditional school districts will have the health care portion of their pension contribution rates reduced by about 5.75% for next school year, saving them a combined $598 million. But the budget eliminates $316 million in new spending that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had proposed in order to increase traditional public school funding by $241 per student. Instead, most schools will receive the same $9,608 per-puil allowance as this year.

Brutyn said Midland Public Schools, whose fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, had expected to see a revenue increase of about 2.5% over the previous year but instead will see an increase of between 1.8% and 1.9% - a difference of about $500,000, he said.

Similarly, Meridian Public Schools Superintendent Sarah Glann is also concerned about the lack of increase in per-pupil funding.

"I would say I was surprised or felt blindsided or disappointed, due mainly to the foundation allowance not increasing. I just felt like ... the state really rushed through the budget without thinking of the implications," Glann said. 

Bullock Creek School District Superintendent Shawn Hale said he's displeased that the reduction in pension contribution rates comes at the expense of a lack of increase in per-pupil funding.

"Our hope was to not tamper with that retirement fund because that long-term liability needed to be paid down, and now they’re messing with those dollars," Hale said. "The initial proposals (from the state House and Senate and Whitmer's office) were just to increase the foundation allowance.   

"It was frustrating that we landed on a zero (increase) after the nice proposals that they had, which did not call for a reduction in the amount spent on the retirement fund," he added.

Mental health and school safety funding

Brutyn and Glann also expressed concern about deep cuts in state funding dedicated to mental health and school safety. Based on the state budget, Brutyn anticipates a 95% decrease in state funding for Midland Public Schools in those areas.

"A cut of that magnitude was not proposed in any of the three budgets (from the House, the Senate and the governor's office). This is going to cause us to see if we can find alternate revenue for those programs, which we feel are very important," Brutyn said, adding that the district is fortunate it can use its general fund balance in the short term to offset those cuts.

Glann said Meridian also has the resources to keep its mental health and school safety programs in place for now.

"I don’t see anything significant that we’ll have to cut this year. The following year, that’s where my concern lies," Glann said.

As for state funding in future years, Midland Public Schools Superintendent Penny Miller-Nelson said she plans to have conversations with local state legislators to share her feedback.

"We’re open to conversations, so we’ll be reaching out to them to have conversations, for sure," Miller-Nelson said. 

Hale said he's appreciated what the legislature has done for schools in the recent past, and he remains hopeful about the future.

"I’m really appreciative of the legislature for the increases we’ve received the last two to three years. I would like to to see our legislature continue to look at how we can get that foundation level to be competitive with what (schools in) other states receive. I think we made some good strides. (But) I don’t think this year was one of those," Hale said.

Expansion of free preschool

On the positive side, local officials say, the new budget expands free preschool for 4-year-olds to the point where a family of four with an income of no more $124,800 is eligible for it.

Brutyn said Midland Public has already made more space available in its Pre-Primary Center in anticipation of the free preschool expansion.

"We’re excited about the move closer to universal preschool for all 4-year-olds," Brutyn said. "We have been preparing our building to be able to receive additional classrooms. We are excited to see if we are going be beneficiaries of additional slots."

Glann is also glad to see this development, although she said space is tight at Meridian's Early Childhood Center.

Meridian has three Great Start Readiness Program classes for 4-year-olds and would like to add a fourth class and also expand from four days a week to five days a week.

"Early intervention is the best. It’s proven. We've just got to figure out how we’re going to have space for it. We have 300 students already at our Early Childhood Center," Glann said.