The Michigan House of Representatives passed the largest School Aid budget in state history last week. which will provide free breakfast and lunch for every student in the state.
"With this historic budget, we are reinvesting in the people of Michigan by directly addressing the needs of our students," said State Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), chair of the House Education Committee. "We put students first in this budget by increasing per-pupil funding by 4 percent, increasing support for student tutoring after the pandemic, and funding special education programs at 100 percent."
The budget would increase the intermediate school district operations budget by roughly 5 percent for a total of more than $3.8 billion in greater operational funding. which will provide free breakfast and lunch for every student in the state.
The budget will also make a substantial investment in the Great Start Readiness Program to make preschool affordable for every family. The new budget includes record funding for special education and programs for economically disadvantaged students. It includes substantial funding to improve K-12 education by finding and addressing educational needs, Koleszar said. The budget also funds the MI Kids Back on Track program to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss, and it provides mental health funding to address the youth mental health crisis. More than half a billion dollars would go toward improvements to school infrastructure and enhanced school safety.The budget also allocates substantial support for educational programs to maintain economic competitiveness and attract and retain a workforce. It would devote funding to support technical and vocational education to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow and support student teachers to address Michigan's teacher shortage, Koleszar concluded.
