Great Lakes Wire

A $21.3 billion School Aid Fund budget was approved by the Michigan Senate and House, increasing the per-pupil allowance by 4.6 percent to $10,050 for each student. The budget also maintains free breakfast and lunch programs and raises funding for “at-risk” school districts and English language learners by 25 percent. The final votes were 31-5 in the Senate and 104-5 in the House, coming more than three months after the July 1 budget deadline.

The Fiscal Year 2026 spending plan, detailed in SB 166, expands Michigan’s pre-school program for four-year-olds and allocates $65 million to reduce K-3 class sizes. However, it reduces local schools’ teacher retirement payments (Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System) by $100 million.

An additional nearly $400 million from the School Aid Fund will go to universities, bringing their total to $850 million. This continues a trend that many lawmakers say they do not support but feel is necessary under current circumstances.

“This budget shifts hundreds of millions of dollars to Higher Ed, dollars that can be allocated to do even more for our K-12 students. I am hopeful that tomorrow, as we turn our attention to Fiscal Year 2027, we will prioritize efforts to close that gap and give Michigan’s kids the same support so many of their peers nationwide benefit from,” said Rep. Carol Glanville (D-Grand Rapids).

Universities are set to receive an average increase of 2.8 percent in funding; Western Michigan University will see a rise of 4.8 percent while Grand Valley State receives a smaller increase at 1.9 percent. These increases depend on institutions keeping tuition hikes below 4.5 percent. Community colleges are projected to get an average boost of 2.1 percent in state funding.

Senate K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) commented on maintaining essential educational programs: “We protected a lot of the programs that people stood up, and said they wanted us to keep when they saw the version of the House Republican budget earlier this year,” he said. “We were successful. Did we have to give up some stuff? Yeah, but that’s the nature of compromise.”

Other elements include no cuts for cyber schools—keeping their per-pupil funding at $10,050—and a $205 million increase for special education services statewide. There is also $100 million designated for school consolidation and infrastructure improvements as well as $130 million directed toward school transportation needs.

Jennifer Mrozowski from EdTrust-Midwest supported these measures: “Amid an extremely tough budget cycle and tremendous federal uncertainty for our nation’s public schools, Michigan policymakers took an important step today by investing more in students who have long been underserved,” she said. “The FY ’26 School Aid budget proposal recognizes that all students deserve access to an excellent public education, but that some students need more support to reach their full potential.”

Despite this praise, several major educational organizations—the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators; Michigan Association of School Boards; Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals; and Michigan Association of Intermediate School Districts—issued a joint statement criticizing both process delays and transparency issues:

“Educators were left watching the news alongside the general public for details of the budget’s contents, which were released only hours before the vote on a bill more than 400 pages long. This lack of transparency erodes and undermines the partnership that schools should be able to rely on with their state leaders.

“We are relieved that schools will receive their October 20 state aid payments on time, providing districts with more certainty. We also appreciate that this budget includes meaningful investments in public education that will benefit students across Michigan.”