This year, the school aid budget process has been extremely successful in continuing to close the equity gap that exists in the state of Michigan. MAPSA has been hard at work advocating for equal funding for all students no matter their zip code, wealth, or race. With the support of thousands of parents and educators across the state, legislators heard the voice of charter school supporters to raise per-pupil funding.
The House of Representatives and the Senate subcommittee versions of the school aid budget make another stride at funding all kids equally. MAPSA generated thousands of emails from parents and educators asking legislators to continue to use the “2x formula” (schools that get less per student funding get two times the increase as those that get the highest funding). And both the House and the Senate did just that!
Both bodies also valued all charter school students equally and did not vote to cut funding for cyber charter school students. They also both restored most of the funding for the shared services program that allows public schools to share instructors with private schools so both schools benefit.
While the process isn’t over, these two versions give us a good idea of where the legislature will go when it comes to funding kids and schools for the 2018-2019 school year. Under the House version, all charter school students would get a $240 increase and under the Senate version, they would get a $230 increase, bringing the per student amount that each charter school would receive to $7,871 or $7,861 respectively. This is the largest increase in per student funding in over 15 years.
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