LANSING, Mich. — The following is a statement from School Finance Research Collaborative member and Wayne RESA Superintendent Dr. Randy Liepa on proposed school-aid funding in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2022 budget plan.
“We first want to recognize the governor and Legislature for providing a budget this year that avoided funding cuts to education that were originally estimated. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on the huge inequities and lack of fairness in Michigan’s school funding approach as students face new academic, emotional and physical challenges. It has never been more important for Gov. Whitmer and lawmakers from both parties to heed the SFRC’s research, which provides the roadmap for serving the unique, individual needs of all students, regardless of their circumstances. We would like to see these investments in next year’s budget.”
In the coming weeks, the School Finance Research Collaborative will present an updated version of its groundbreaking school adequacy study to reflect new costs and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit fundmischools.org for updates.
The School Finance Research Collaborative is a bipartisan, diverse and broad-based group of business leaders and education experts, from Metro Detroit to the U.P., who agree it’s time to fix Michigan’s broken school funding approach.
In 2018, the School Finance Research Collaborative produced Michigan’s first comprehensive school adequacy study that determined the true cost of educating all students to make the way we fund schools fairer. The research includes a weighted funding formula that serves all students, including those enrolled in special education, English Language Learners and students living in poverty.
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