Senate Spends About $600M More On Education Than Governor

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/29/2025) A K-12 School Aid Fund budget that wipes away $1.3 billion in one-time spending items in favor of more support services and infrastructure money for poorer school districts moved out a Senate subcommittee Tuesday afternoon on a party-line vote.

The free school lunch/breakfast program continues under SB 166 without majority Democrats needing to crack open its rainy day fund, but Subcommittee Chair Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) stressed that if the federal government pares back the $916 million it puts into the program, all bets are off.

Earlier in the day, Camilleri, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) and other senators held a press conference that stressed its commitment to education, while Republicans’ priorities are somewhere else.

“Overall, we’re investing more into our public schools instead of gutting them,” said Senate Education Committee Chair Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia). “While Republicans in Washington and right here in Lansing are focused on slashing our public education system in the name of so-called government efficiency, we stand here today to say, ‘Not On Our Watch,’” Polehanki said.

Sen. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell), the panel’s lone Republican, voted no on the budget, claiming it was “more of the same.” The budget doesn’t hold teachers and school officials accountable and isn’t particularly transparent about it, he said.

Overall, the $21.8 billion School Aid Fund Budget is around $600 million more than what the Governor recommended for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.

Both the Senate and the Governor support giving school districts around $10,000 per pupil, but the Senate is requiring districts to use 50 percent of their $400-per-pupil increase on improving teacher salaries.

Senate D's also want a 25 percent ($258 million) increase in the special pool for “at-risk” school districts. The Governor proposed $42.3 million more.

With that “at-risk” money, school districts could use up to 30 percent of their money to reduce class sizes in grades K-3. To that, the Senate put together a new $65 million grant program designed to reduce class sizes in grades K to 3.

Other changes include:

- $350 million in grants for more roofing, heating and cooling improvements for school buildings.

- $85 million for a competitive grant program for new or expanded career and technical education (CTE) programs.

- $15 million more for school libraries

- Lowering the number of days a district could hold classes online from 15 to 7.

- Funding cyber schools at 80% of what traditional schools are receiving, which is what the Governor proposed.

The budget was applauded in separate press releases by the Wayne RESA, the K-12 Alliance and the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity.

“Michigan’s students are our future, and this budget reflects the responsibility we have to provide them with the safe, supportive and high-quality education they deserve,” Camilleri said. “By investing in mental health resources, modernizing our school facilities and helping students focus on school through free school meals, we are setting up every child for success.”