LANSING – Detroit lawmakers today passed a plan that will restore $184 million in funding to schools and help ease deep cuts to education that could seriously impact Michigan's ability to prepare children for future jobs. The legislators also voted to move the state's School Aid Budget deadline to June 1, in order to prevent the type of budget chaos that ensued when legislators failed to reach a budget accord by Oct. 1 this year.
"Our children deserve a quality education, but to do that, our schools need adequate funding," said State Representative Fred Durhal, Jr. (D-Detroit). "While it's not a perfect fix, restoring this funding will help alleviate some of the cuts our schools recently faced. However, we must continue to fight for our children and invest in our schools in order to move our state forward."
The plan passed by the House today will leverage $184 million in federal funding, helping to ease the per-pupil cuts that were imposed on Michigan schools last month.
In addition, the House voted to move the date that the Legislature must complete the School Aid Budget from Oct. 1 to June 1. This change will better allow Michigan schools to plan for their academic school year before it begins, rather then waiting until it has already begun.
"Detroit kids need this funding for their future and our city's future," said State Representative Coleman A. Young II (D-Detroit). "As Detroit Public Schools undergo a major overhaul, it's imperative that the education of our children doesn't suffer because of the actions of some lawmakers in Lansing. This investment in our kids will help them compete for jobs and opportunities in this changing economy."
The plan also makes it a priority to provide an additional $25.7 million for Michigan's 20j schools and $25.7 million for Michigan's under-funded schools. This $51.4 million would be funded through the Michigan Future Fund once revenue is identified.
"With the challenges Detroit schools and our students are now facing, this plan will help support education opportunities that would have been lost based on earlier cuts made during the difficult budget negations last month," said State Representative Bettie C. Scott (D-Detroit). "The education of our children is a key to our city's revival. This is a step in the right direction of returning some much-needed funding to our schools so they can better prepare our students to be leaders and workers of the future."