All districts — Local education leaders are weighing in on impacts of the fiscal year 2026 state education budget signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week, more than three months past the statutory deadline.
The $24.1 billion education budget, part of the state’s complete $81 billion budget, includes $19.5 billion from the School Aid Fund, the primary source of state funding for K-12 education.
The budget includes a 4.6% increase in per-pupil funding, boosting it to $10,050 and equating to an additional $442 per student. It also maintains funding for universal free meals, and increases funding for free preschool and student mental health and school safety. In addition, it includes increases for special education, at-risk populations and for career and technical education.
Wyoming Superintendent Craig Hoekstra said while he appreciates the increases, the fact that the budget was finalized nearly 100 days late means districts couldn’t use it for adequate planning ahead of the school year.
“I see this budget as ‘what could have been’ for kids,” he said. “‘What could have been’ is extremely disappointing, because it’s a lost opportunity for our kids. That is just extraordinarily unfair, because we can’t get that time back.”
School leaders also have concerns about cuts to adult education and early childhood, increased retirement costs, and the fact that $400 million in additional higher education dollars was funded via the School Aid Fund, further eroding the fund’s long-term sustainability.
“This is a budget that has a lot of asterisks next to it,” said Dan Behm, executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan.
Those asterisks include that the per-pupil funding increase brings in additional revenue but comes with added expenses, he said. Those include annual retirement cost increases.
At-risk population is another variable, because a 25% increase in at-risk dollars depends on the demographics of a district, he said.
Overall, Behm estimates that the net gain in funding for districts on average will be around $250 per student, which would be about a 2.5% increase and in line with inflation, which was about 2.9%.
‘I see this budget as ‘what could have been’ for kids. … extremely disappointing, because it’s a lost opportunity, extraordinarily unfair.’
— Craig Hoekstra, Wyoming Public Schools superintendent
A Deeper Look at the Budget
While the budget — despite its tardiness — is ultimately a “decent” outcome for schools, Behm said, many state-funded programs are seeing changes.
Money diverted from the School Aid Fund to higher education resulted in adjustments across 32 programs that were made without consulting educators or school professionals who could have provided more informed and practical alternatives based on their day-to-day experience in schools, Behm said.
He and Kent ISD Assistant Superintendent Kevin Philipps have questions about the logic behind some of the cuts.
For instance, the budget eliminates $20 million in funding for early childhood block grants that support Great Start Collaborative and programs including Kent ISD’s Bright Beginnings. That seems like an odd cut, Philipps said, because the state-funded preschool Great Start Readiness Program received a 4.6 % increase in its funding and early childhood education has been one of the governor’s priorities.
Another incongruity: funding for MiSTEM, which focuses on preparing students for future careers in STEM, was eliminated, yet career technical education received an increase, Behm said.
Many other programs saw no increase at all, which, in an inflationary environment, reduces capacity over time, Behm said. Bus driver training, for example, hasn’t had funding increased in more than a decade despite widespread driver shortages.
Funds for safety and mental health come from “one-time” allocations that end up being renewed annually, Behm said, creating uncertainty for school districts and making it difficult to plan staffing or build lasting, evidence-based programs.
‘The reality is, there is money there. It just comes down to how the politicians of both parties chose to allocate those resources.’
— Joel Stoner, Sparta Public Schools superintendent
Local Impacts of State Delay, Finalized Budget
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Arnetta Thompson said she’s “relieved and encouraged” to see the state’s investments and said the increase in per-pupil funding “demonstrates a continued commitment to providing equitable funding.”
The district recently made cuts to its administration staff due to declining enrollment and the funding uncertainty. Godfrey-Lee is a majority Hispanic and low-income district, and Thompson said she’s also glad to see increases in at-risk and English-language learner support.
“Both are seeing a 25% increase, which will allow us to better support our most vulnerable students and enhance learning outcomes,” she said.
But in Wyoming, Hoekstra said putting new plans into motion now that funding is in place is difficult. And, in many cases, too late.
“The delay has forced districts to pause, scale back or forgo supports that would have been in place for students this fall,” the superintendent said. “These are not abstract inconveniences. They affect tutoring and interventions, programs that meet diverse learner needs, hiring and staffing decisions, and commitments with partners and vendors.”
He added: “Because it’s incredibly delayed, what realistically can we put into place now that staffing has been determined? Some negative impacts cannot be undone. This was avoidable with timely leadership and decision-making that puts students first.”
He said the district remains laser-focused on showing up for students and has planned for the school year with the best information available at the time. It’s a situation he does not want to revisit in budgeting for next school year.
“My hope is … that this major delay is not going to become a regular thing, because every day matters.”
Sparta Area Schools Superintendent Joel Stoner also said his district is happy to have a budget in place, though it’s unfortunate that it didn’t come together until well after the start of the fiscal year.
Key investments in the state budget
• $657 million to expand free pre-K to every 4-year-old in Michigan, regardless of family income.
• $593.5 million to support school operations through a 4.6% increase in base per-pupil funding — equating to an additional $442 per student, for a total of $10,050 per pupil.
• $321 million in total funding to support student mental health and school safety needs.
• $274 million to provide a 25% increase in funding to support academically at-risk students, English language learners, career and technical education students, and students in rural school districts.
• $248.1 million to continue providing free breakfast and lunch to Michigan’s 1.4 million public school students.
• $203 million for an educator stipend program to recruit and retain teachers.
• Up to $200 million in school infrastructure funding.
• $190.9 million to continue expanded support for special education services.
Source: Michigan.gov
While the increase in per-pupil funding is appreciated, “There’s a number of things that continue to be frustrating” from a policy perspective, Stoner said.
One such frustration, he said, is that online charter schools are receiving per-pupil funding at the same $10,050 rate as traditional public schools, despite not having the same overhead costs.
Stoner also took issue with an additional $400 million allocation to colleges and universities. He said those funds could have been used to meet immediate needs in K-12 career and technical ed programs.
“There’s an over-investment in college, unfortunately, but an under-investment in workforce development programs,” said Stoner.
‘Plenty more that can be done’
During the budget gridlock, doubt was cast on the future of the Michigan School Meals program, which ensures free breakfast and lunch for the state’s K-12 students. Sparta had vowed to use roughly $300,000 in reserves from its own food service budget to keep that service afloat for the remainder of the year if the state didn’t provide for it. That didn’t come to pass, since funding for that program is included in the new budget.
While Stoner is grateful for that funding, he expects the program will face more uncertainty in the future.
“The reality is, it staves off, for one year, this conversation,” Stoner said. “Ten months from now, as we’re discussing the opening of school in August, I fully expect that it won’t be funded, unfortunately.”
If that is the case, he said, Sparta would again plan to use its reserves to fund the meals for at least a year. But by the time the 2027-28 school year rolls around, Stoner predicts the program will be done with.
“We’ve put off what we feel is inevitable for another year, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” Stoner said.
Though Stoner reiterated the district’s gratitude, he said there’s “still plenty more that can be done, and should be done” for students in Michigan’s public schools.
“What we’re seeing funding-wise is comparable to what we were seeing in 2000, when you adjust for the cost of living,” he said. “We’re not improving, we’re maintaining. And if we just want to maintain, that’s what we’ll be forced to do.
“The reality is, there is money there. It just comes down to how the politicians of both parties chose to allocate those resources.”
Reporters Joanne Bailey-Boorsma, Riley Kelley and Alexis Stark contributed to this story.
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