LANSING — Michigan lawmakers have fewer than six weeks to hash out more than $80 billion in spending, as discussions on the state budget continued to stall.
Legislators remain divided on key spending priorities, including a $3 billion road plan, which Gov. Whitmer says must be included in any spending agreement.
Lawmakers also appeared no closer to an agreement on education spending this week, seven weeks after their self-imposed deadline to approve $20 billion in public school funding.
“Now you have every school in the state getting ready to start, or has started, and we don’t know what kind of funding we’re going to have,” said Tom McKee, superintendent of Rudyard Area Schools.
Northern Michigan superintendents continued to share concerns about the potential loss of categorical spending — support for specific initiatives that are awarded based on a district’s need.
“We’re going to be in a spot where school districts are going to have to choose, are we going to give everybody free lunch, or are we going to provide mental health support?” McKee said.
House Republicans have proposed rolling up hundreds of millions to increase per-pupil payments, which are given based only on a district’s enrollment.
“That’s making us a cookie cutter model,” McKee said. “That’s saying every school has the same needs and the same wants and the same goals for their children.”
McKee says that the budget disagreements have left his district unsure if they’ll be able to keep a school nurse and mental health professional employed.
“We have to figure out how to get the $250,000 to support that program,” he said. “And that’s going to be a balance between, do we pick that or do we pick free meals for everybody?”
Throwing another wrench into the works, lawmakers also hope to work out a $3 billion plan for infrastructure and road repairs.
The Republican proposal involves shifting close to $700 million in gas tax revenue away from schools, essentially requiring $700 million in cuts to other areas of state spending.
Whitmer has proposed a plan that involves new taxes on marijuana and digital advertising, while Senate Democrats have not introduced any road plan of their own — their general budget proposal currently includes a $3 billion placeholder without any details.
Educators say that it frustrates them to see their schools’ funding lumped in with other policy debates.
“Our education system is critically important to all infrastructure in the state, and without dedicated funding, we’re not going to make the progress that we need to make,” said Katie Xenakis-Makowski, superintendent of Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools. “We need to fund roads. We need to find good ways to fund roads, I 100% agree — don’t do it at the expense of education, however.”
Republican House Speaker Matt Hall says that the budget will likely remain stalled until after Labor Day, leaving just four weeks until a potential state government shutdown on Oct. 1.