LANSING – In response to decades of funding disparities that have left many Michigan students shortchanged, State Representatives Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City) today joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers for the first meeting of the House School Equity Caucus. The panel will work to find ways to provide schools with the resources they need to enable every Michigan student to succeed, regardless of where they live.
"Every school district should have the resources they need to provide our kids with a quality education," Mayes said. "This isn't a Democratic or Republican goal – it's a goal of every parent and everyone interested in the well-being of our kids and our state. We need to reach across the aisle and come together to find a solution to address these funding disparities while not pitting school districts against each other."
As schools around Michigan prepare for another school year, funding levels for school districts continue to vary wildly. Many school districts across the state receive the minimum state allowance of $7,316 per pupil, while other districts, primarily in Southeast Michigan, receive far more from a combination of state and local dollars – up to $12,443 per pupil. This funding gap persists through 1994's Proposal A, which allowed just 51 of Michigan's 551 traditional school districts to levy additional millages to maintain pre-1994 funding disparities.
"It's a cliché to say that our kids are the future, but they're Michigan's future doctors, lawyers and tradespeople," Mayes said. "That's why it's so important that we ensure all of our kids are getting the education they need to succeed. Building a strong workforce is absolutely essential to attracting the new businesses that our state needs to thrive. Without addressing these funding inequities, we're shortchanging our kids, as well as Michigan's economic success."