Dr. Sue Carnell - Chief Deputy Superintendent | Michigan Department of Education
Now that the state legislature has missed the statutory deadline to pass the school aid budget, lawmakers should work swiftly but deliberately to finalize a spending plan for the good of schoolchildren, State Superintendent Michael F. Rice said.
The budget must allocate dollars for specific priorities such as improving literacy achievement, providing nutritious food to children, and protecting the safety and mental well-being of students, Dr. Rice said.
“It’s disappointing that the legislature failed to approve a budget in a timely manner by the statutory deadline approved by the state legislature itself,” Dr. Rice stated. “But the legislature did more than just miss an important deadline. It failed to give local school districts a reasonable range of what to expect in the budget due to the large gap that remains between the House’s outlier budget and the much stronger versions from the Senate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.”
By state law, July 1 was set as the deadline for approving a fiscal year 2026 budget. Local school boards are required to pass their budgets before July 1, marking their fiscal year's start.
“With so little clear information coming from the legislature about the state budget, many boards of education likely felt it necessary to pass overly cautious budgets that could result in lower staffing levels than would otherwise have been necessary, to the detriment of children,” Dr. Rice commented. “I urge the legislature to work to pass the school aid budget within the next few weeks so that school districts have time to make necessary adjustments to hiring and other spending before beginning of new school year. Michigan students will be harmed further if legislative budget negotiations are ongoing as we enter a new school year.”
The House proposal suggests removing much categorical funding from previous fiscal years dedicated for specific purposes. Instead, it proposes placing those funds into a block grant so priorities would compete against each other as local boards make spending decisions.
While MDE has advocated for reducing categorical grants over three years, certain statewide priorities—such as funding economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities—are best funded with dedicated allocations:
- Addressing teacher shortages.
- Lowering class sizes in high-poverty grade K-3 classrooms.
- Early literacy efforts including LETRS science training.
- School safety and mental health support.
- Universal free meals.
- Supporting English learners.
- Expanding Career and Technical Education.
- Expanding Great Start Readiness Program for preschoolers.
- School infrastructure improvements and consolidation.
- General education transportation including rural district needs.
- Assessments measuring student achievement.
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