Michigan Senate subcommittee reduces cut to K-12 education funding
This story is being updated
A Michigan senate subcommittee approved a reduced cut to K-12 education from the original budget proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder in a meeting Tuesday.
State Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor) said the Senate Appropriations K-12, School Aid and Education Subcommittee called for a $170 per pupil cut to public school districts, $130 per pupil less than the original $300 per pupil cut Snyder proposed in February. The proposed $170 cut comes on top to the $170 per pupil cut implemented for the current fiscal year that would not be restored.
Hopgood, the minority vice chairman of the subcommittee, said he was still concerned about the overall $340 per pupil cut.
“It’s still a small portion of the overall cut a local community can receive,” Hopgood said. “If you look at the wider picture, it’s a step forward, but there are definitely more steps that could and should be taken before it’s something I can really be supportive of.”
The subcommittee also called for transferring $396 million out of the School Aid Fund to help pay for public universities and community colleges instead of the $895 million recommended by Snyder.
The subcommittee still makes available the $195.9 million for community colleges Snyder sought in his original budget, but gives just $200 million to universities. Snyder originally called for $700 million in his proposed budget.
Hopgood said the funding for higher education still had to come from somewhere.
“The higher education burden on the School Aid Fund is an improvement, but I don’t know how that comes out on the other end,” he said. “It’s part of the big question that needs to be raised. That $500 million is going to come from some where.”
This is the first indication from the Michigan Legislature of cuts to education differing from Snyder's proposed budget. The House Appropriations School Aid subcommittee is set to meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the public school budget.
The subcommittee will now send the school aid budget to the Senate Appropriations Committee, before it goes for a full Senate vote.
Sara Wurfel, spokesperson for Snyder, said last week that the governor will make a speech on education next week, but did not have a date or time set.
Public school districts are also facing an increase in retirement costs of about $230 per pupil for the coming fiscal year.
Saline Area Schools superintendent Scot Graden said the budget passed in the subcommittee would have no real effect on the district.
Saline schools have a half-day kindergarten program, but under the current budget kindergarten students are funded at the full level whether they are in full-day programs or half-day programs. The Senate budget would see half-day programs be funded at half the level of full-day programs.
“I do think for districts that have full-day programs, my sense is that this is a better plan for them, they’ll see less of a reduction,” Graden said. “We’re not in a position to implement additional programs. I do think it tends to pick winners and losers.”
David Houle, chief financial officer of Ypsilanti Public Schools, said he needed more information about the budget passed by the subcommittee before commenting on how it would affect Ypsilanti.
However, he said the news that cuts were still going into the coming fiscal year’s budget were still disheartening.
“I still find cold comfort in the sense that the School Aid Fund could actually provide a $240 per pupil increase to K-12 education, and yet for some reason — to fund tax reduction initiatives — the choice is to disinvest in our children and our future,” he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Carole
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 1:45 p.m.
1-Where is all of the lottery funds that were supposed to go to the schools -- I continually see ads at 7:30 p.m. on channel four encouraging folks to purchase tickets in support of the schools -- all of the funds are supposed to go toward education. 2-Regarding retirement pensions etc. -- this seems to be very well-debated and one problem of concern with balancing the budget. Has anyone gone back to review what is available and what is affordable making the appropriate changes (grandfathering those changes in) to help offset continuing to go into the red. UM was way ahead on this topic in the 80s when they realized that changes would be needed -- made those changes with folks hired in after 1986 having somewhat less in retirement benefits then those hired before that date -- I think they again have revisited the situation and have made further changes. They are also very awesome in keeping employees and retirees informed as to any changes that are needed. 3-Basically, have a small problem with state senators and representatives receiving pensions for short terms in office. Do they pay into any type of retirement fund? Do they pay for health insurance? Etc. Thank you.
Moonmaiden
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 6:03 p.m.
The lottery money IS going to the schools, but for every dollar of lottery money, there has been an equal reduction from Lansing. Most of us thought the lottery would provide extra money, but that's not what is happening. Sad . . .
tntsm
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 10:27 a.m.
If we continue to take money away from K-12, there will be no point in continuing to give money to higher education. Who's going to go to college? Certainly not the student that attends K-12 schools with sub-standard educational experiences, overloaded classrooms, limited supplies, no extra curricular classes, and a school full of inexperienced teaching staff (because, of course, the experienced ones will get the heck outta Dodge). Shouldn't we make sure that our K-12 students can at least read, do math, and at least have a small clue about history and science--oh, and Government, definately Government--before we worry about paying for the colleges? What students are going to get accepted by the universities when K-12 education has gone to the dogs?! Come on, Gov. Snyder--don't you think a person should be able to read before they get to college?!
tntsm
Thu, Apr 21, 2011 : 10:52 p.m.
I work in a public school as a paraeducator. I make less than 16,000 a year, get no benefits beyond paid holidays, and am unable to collect unemployment in the summer months. We have one superintendant, who, by the way, has given up 75% of his pay to save the school district money. We don't have AP classes to keep,we have laid off teachers, secretaries, custodians, food service people, and our supplies are extremely limited. I do not receive insurance benefits but am forced to pay 1.5% of my pay for it anyway because the state says I have to. Next year, it will be 3%. Doesn't sound like much but it is when you make what I do. None of this has anything to do with the fact that money earmarked for K12 education should be going to K12 education, not colleges and universities. It's kind of like voting to have a 911 surcharge added to your taxes and then finding out that the county desided to give that money to the animal shelter instead.
DonBee
Thu, Apr 21, 2011 : 3:03 a.m.
tntsm - Obviously you don't work in a company that has to stay competitive. Secretaries, managers, supervisors and other "middle management is gone or going", cuts in office space is underway - some companies have reduced office space by 60 percent or more. Schools and Governments are the only two industries in Michigan that seem to keep adding overhead. We still have (According to the US Census Bureau) 20,000 more state and local government workers than we had in 1997. Keep the teachers, keep the supplies, keep the AP classes, but lets not pay for 11 superintendents in 1 county. If they all get paid like AAPS (and they don't) the cost would be over $3 million a year just for superintendents.
tntsm
Thu, Apr 21, 2011 : 1:07 a.m.
Money earmarked for K12 education should NOT be used to fund higher education. It should be used for K12 education, as it is supposed to be. Schools have cut and cut and cut some more. Staff sizes have shrunk as class sizes have grown. Programs are cut, supplies are limited, and the list goes on. Why do school continue to take the hits while corporations get all the breaks? I have a child in school who has a 4.0 gpa in the 7th grade. There isn't anything to challenge him in future classes because all advanced programs have had to be cut. All businesses have overhead so why is it that only schools have to take continuous cuts. My son deserves a GOOD education but if Snyder gets his way, we'll be lucky to even have a local school for him to go to. It's sickening and leaves people wondering what the children of the state of Michigan have done to deserve this kind of abuse.
DonBee
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 11:54 a.m.
If we continue to support hundreds of school districts with their overhead we may not need higher education either.
Floyd
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 8:55 a.m.
DonBee, This is just the kind of victimized thinking the Republicans hope will set in - are we supposed to be "thankful" now that they're going to raid the education fund by taking $170 per student, as opposed to the outrageous $340, in order to bankroll the tax cut to their corporate buddies? As if they've just done us a big favor. This is like the bully at school who rolls you everyday of the week for your lunch money and when he doesn't on Friday, he's suddenly your friend. The question of "Where that other money is going to come from" is a set up - a semantic scam. That "other money" belongs to the public trust, where it is right now, not in the pockets of corporate fat cats. The fact that there is even "other money" does not indicate compromise - it shows the Republicans cynically calculating how much they can make off with before tipping off too much outrage over their thievery. A better question is, "Are we going to let Snyder and his cronies rob us while we watch, doing nothing?"
DonBee
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 11:52 a.m.
The money is set aside for Education, I agree. No issue there. As to corporate fat cats, tell the farmer with 400 acres and an "S" corp or your local Ace hardware store owner or your plumber they are "Corporate Fat Cats" because this is where the tax changes are going to give relief to taxing gross income (not profits). Ford and GM will both pay more taxes.
DonBee
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 3:03 a.m.
This is probably cold comfort to some, but the cuts are less than originally proposed. There is some compromise in Lansing. Of course to balance the budget, something has to give someplace else. The first give on the budget was not taxing some pensions. The second was to delay reduction in the state income tax. Now more money for schools. I wonder where the money will come from to cover these changes. It is not coming from Washington DC. so tell me, who is going to raise their own hands and say "Tax ME?"
DonBee
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 11:47 a.m.
Local - I do not put the same intentions on him. I guess I see someone struggling with an almost impossible problem - too many people asking for too much money and not enough money to go around. I suspect EMU and UofM will get less money than they think they are going to get, as part of the way to deal with the budget. I would not be surprised if a 15 percent cut becomes a 20 percent cut in state money.
local
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 11:10 a.m.
DonBee, this was the plan all along for Snyder. He knew he couldn't get away with what he was proposing and now he looks like the good guy, "See I didn't take all your funding!" He played politics and by getting cuts, he still won. Next years budget, he will take the other part that he didn't get this time around. The school aid fund is what really is upsetting to me. That money was earmarked for K-12 funding, to give to community college and universities is a scam. Specially after reading that EMU and UofM are raising tuitions for next year. I am anxious to see how that plays out in this budget.
AMOC
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 2:06 a.m.
I am curious if AAPS will end their practice of charging tuition for all-day kindergarten with this (projected several years previous) change in how the State funds kindergarten students. I think it's reprehensible that AAPS has collected the full per-pupil allotment from the state and then charged parents well over half that amount in addition in order to have their students in the "extended day" academic program. Let's hope this kind of double-dipping is prohibited by the Legislature going forward.
Floyd
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 8:28 p.m.
Don't forget that the education fund for the state is in the black right now. These hundreds of millions of dollars that have yet to be accounted for are what the governor plans to pilfer in order to fund the rich man's payout. This is thievery of our public, civic assets.
Will
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
Stop diverting education funds over to other governmental State spending areas! Give the children and their schools all the money from the lottery, as originally promised, and the money earmarked for education. Snyder needs to stop robbing the educational funds, diverting billions to other spending areas, and then alledging that there's not enough money. Public school children deserve the a quality education just like children in private schools. The difference between private and public schools was never supposed to be the quality of education!
chapmaja
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 5:58 p.m.
That is a very good question. Until the retirement system issues are addressed, then the schools will still be headed down a road to financial ruin. What none of these articles mention is the estimated 300-350 per pupil cost increases from the retirement system which will be on top of the 170-300 per pupil cuts in funding. What people also need to remember is the only way the schools can contain the requirement costs is by cutting staff to lower the salaries by which retirement contributions are based. Even a 10% across the board pay cut to school employees does not significantly dent the retirement system contributions for a school district over several years. Until that system and that system alone are fixed the schools will continue to have serious financial issues. The schools can't fix the system. The problem is no matter what happens, the fixes to the retirement system right now will be very very costly for the schools and the state of Michigan. One possible solution is to change the system so all new hires are no longer in the pension system and have a privately run retirement account. The school would pay a match up to X percent to be determined by current funding needs.
ypsilanti
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 5:28 p.m.
Why isn't Snyder doing anything about the retirement costs of public employees? Even before he proposed cutting public education to make sure businesses got a tax break, the ever-rising state-mandated retirement increases were already straining the budgets of our schools. Now, Snyder allows the retirement costs to continue to increase while proposing additional budget cuts? That's not leadership. That's the road to bankruptcy and probably the worst schools in the nation. I can hear the slogan now: "Pure Michigan -- the winters may be harsh, and the schools may be lousy, but the taxes are low!"