Budget proposal shortchanges charter school students, and we can’t accept that

It was an unwelcome sight on Feb. 7 when the charter school community got a look at the 2025-26 state budget proposed by the governor. Charter school students got a double-whammy when the numbers were unveiled:

• Charter school students in brick-and-mortar schools would only receive an $18 increase in funding, while all students in traditional public schools would get nearly an $800 increase.
• Students in cyber charter schools – a group that includes some of the most vulnerable students in the state – fared much worse. They would see their funding cut by more than $1,500 per pupil; in effect, the state wants to treat them like they’re fourth-fifths of a person.

That’s unacceptable.

When you take a closer look at the budget, here’s what you’ll find. In FY 25 (last year’s budget), charter school students received $9,608 in per-pupil funding and an additional $374 in what’s called “22e funding” – in effect, additional funding that offsets money that traditional public schools received to pay for MPSERS costs. That put charter school students at $9,982 per pupil – the same amount that traditional public schools received.

In this year’s budget, the governor is proposing just an $18 increase for charter school students. The budget calls for an additional $392 in base per-pupil funding, but nothing for 22e, so the net gain is just $18 per student.

Students in cyber charter schools would see their total funding cut from $9,524 to just $8,000.

Traditional public school students, meanwhile – whether they’re in a brick-and-mortar school or a cyber school – would see their base funding increase by $392, PLUS another $360 in MPSERS offset funding, for a grand total of $752 more per student.

You can see the numbers laid out in this chart.

Again, that’s unacceptable. Students should be treated equally whether they’re in a charter school or a traditional public school; whether they’re in a brick-and-mortar school or a cyber school.

As you’d expect, the charter school community isn’t taking this lying down. Charter school co-founder Jalen Rose, president of the school board at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, put it very well in this excellent op-ed in the Detroit News:

“I hope we can all agree that every student in Michigan deserves equal and equitable funding. We shouldn’t punish children simply because of the type of school they attend. Yet that’s exactly what we’re doing. More than half of public-school students in Detroit attend a charter school. The state of Michigan values these students far less, and that’s just plain wrong. … We aren’t asking for more. We’re just asking for equity.”

That’s exactly it. We aren’t asking for more. We’re just asking for equity.

Now, it’s important to know that the budget process is a long one, so we still have plenty of time to make our voices heard. The governor’s proposal is just that – a proposal. The State House and Senate now need to weigh in, and that’s where we all come in.

It’s important for all of us to contact our lawmakers and let them know how we feel. We’ve made it easy for you. Just click on this activation and you can send your email today.

As Jalen said, we shouldn’t punish any child simply because of the type of school they attend. We won’t let that happen.