LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the education budget on Thursday, which is the highest state per-pupil investment ever.
The budget aims to provide funds to build up school facilities, hire and train educators and improve mental health resources and school safety.
What is in the education budget?
There is $9,150 per-pupil funding for every kid, in every public school district. That’s the highest state amount ever.
In every public school district there will be $214 per-pupil mental health and school safety funding for every kid
There will be additional funding to meet students’ needs for each of the nearly 200,000 special education and 710,000 at-risk students.
The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) gets 1,300 more free preschool slots. There is $250 million for school infrastructure and $10,000 in tuition for 2,500 future Michigan educators every year.
Breaking down the budget
In a press release, the state broke down the education budget into six key sections: students, mental health, learning supports, student safety, school infrastructure, and teacher recruitment.
Those breakdowns provided in the press release are available below:
Students:For our students, the highest state per-pupil funding in Michigan history—$9,150 for students in every district. Additional support for the nearly 200,000 special education students and 710,000 at-risk students in Michigan. An expansion of free preschool under the Great Start Readiness Program to 1,300 more kids. Expanding funding for career and technical education programs by 27%.
Mental Health: Dedicated mental health dollars for every student in every school. Increasing funding for teen centers, district mental health grants, and TRAILS, which offers training to school mental health professionals so they can better serve students with evidence-based services.
Learning Supports: An expansion of before and after-school programs to keep kids engaged. Funding for the MI Kids Back on Track, Governor Whitmer’s proposal to offer every kid in Michigan tutoring to help catch up and get on track for long-term success, and resources for districts to develop learning pods for academically at-risk and economically disadvantaged students.
Student Safety: Dedicated school safety dollars for every student in every school. Funds to hire more on-campus school resources officers, create an intervention system for at-risk students that brings together law enforcement, schools, and mental health professionals, and establish a school safety commission.
School Infrastructure: $250 million for school infrastructure. Resources to help schools build or refurbish classrooms, labs, and libraries. Funds to assess current state of school infrastructure, determine further funding.
Teacher Recruitment: Funding MI Future Educator Fellowships, which pay up to $10,000 in tuition for 2,500 future Michigan educators every year, $9,600 stipends a semester for student teachers, and Grow-Your-Own programs that help districts put support staff on no-cost paths to become educators. Additional funding for career and technical education educators and the Troops-to-Teachers program that connects veterans with mentor teachers as they work to become certified educators. Finally, a robust investment to guarantee retired teachers have a stable, secure retirement.
