K-12 Alliance of Michigan Applauds Bipartisan K-12 Budget

FY 2022–23 School-Aid Budget Makes Key Investment in the Future of Michigan’s Public Schools

The K-12 Alliance of Michigan today released the following statement in response to the legislature & Governor Whitmer reaching a budget deal for the 2022–23 school year.

“We are grateful that the legislature and Governor Whitmer have come together on a school-aid budget that puts the real needs of our students first. From making significant new investments in special education, at-risk funding, mental health supports and other traditionally underfunded programs, this budget is going to provide Michigan’s schools with far greater tools to help our students succeed,” said Ken Gutman, superintendent of Walled Lake Consolidated Schools and president of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan. “In a time in which politics far too often stands in the way of needed progress, it’s worth celebrating and appreciating the work that Speaker Wentworth, Senate Majority Leader Shirkey and Governor Whitmer put in to ensuring this budget not only got done but got done well.”

“In 2018, the School Finance Research Collaborative set the roadmap for how Michigan must change its broken one-size-fits-all approach to funding our public schools. The budget being passed today finally takes some significant steps in that right direction,” said Erik Edoff, superintendent of L’Anse Creuse Public Schools and vice president of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan. “We certainly appreciate the $450 increase in base per-pupil funding; however, the more significant impact of this budget will be its investments in some of our most critically needed areas that will allow us to better support our most vulnerable students. We still have a long way to go to truly meet the costs our schools face, but this budget moves us closer and our leaders in the Capitol deserve our thanks for that.”