Current:Home > NewsMichigan lawmakers pass budget overnight after disagreements in funding for schools-LoTradeCoin
Michigan lawmakers pass budget overnight after disagreements in funding for schools
View Date:2024-12-23 15:23:47
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Lawmakers passed Michigan’s next state budget Thursday after a 19-hour session marked by disagreements among Democrats and school groups, who warned that the original proposal for education spending would lead to layoffs.
The votes to pass the $83 billion budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 came around 5 a.m., mostly along party lines in both legislative chambers, where Democrats hold a slim majority. It now awaits final approval from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign.
Budget debates overnight centered on education funding that legislative leaders, the governor and school groups all had different priorities for.
In the end, the approved $23.4 billion school aid budget will provide free community college for all and free preschool for most.
But school groups said it marks the first time in over a decade that the state will not increase per pupil funding for districts. Democratic lawmakers highlighted that there will be savings in other areas, particularly with a reduced pension contribution rate for retirement benefits. These savings are estimated to be $598 million.
“When our teachers succeed, our students succeed. Teachers for too long have seen a reduction in their paychecks and fewer resources in their classrooms,” Democratic state Rep. Matt Koleszar, chair of the House Education Committee, said in a statement.
In February, Whitmer had proposed her own $80.7 billion budget concentrated on initiatives such as free community college for recent high school graduates and free preschool for all 4-year-olds. The passed budget achieves the first priority while falling short of the second, with free preschool being guaranteed only for 4-year-olds with families with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. For a family of four, the cutoff would be close to $125,000 in combined income.
The $59 billion general government spending budget — which combines with the school aid fund to make the total budget — saw similar divisions between Democrats and Republicans with only one GOP state senator, Ed McBroom, crossing the aisle.
Leaders touted nearly $100 million for affordable housing projects and nearly $60 million to create a new Michigan Innovation Fund that will support startup companies. The budget includes nearly $335 million in “enhancement grants,” sometimes referred to as special projects.
Lawmakers were working ahead of a self-imposed July 1 deadline and released the budget to the public just hours before voting on it.
The total $83 billion budget is just $1 billion more than this year’s, a significant slowdown following recent years of large overall spending growth fueled by pandemic-related funds.
Still, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt called the budget a “spending spree” by Democrats that would cause debt and stick “future generations with the bill.”
The Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators, which lobbies for K-12 superintendents and administrators, criticized an earlier draft of the budget in a statement Tuesday, saying that it would “lead to layoffs this fall and in the future” and that “funding for our schools will not be enough to keep up with inflation, rising health care costs, and the ending of federal relief dollars.”
As of Thursday morning, the group had made no statement on the final budget.
veryGood! (726)
Related
- Wind-whipped wildfire near Reno prompts evacuations but rain begins falling as crews arrive
- Jack Teixeira, alleged Pentagon leaker, to plead guilty
- RHOBH's Erika Jayne Claps Back at Denise Richards' Lip-Synching Dig
- Hacking at UnitedHealth unit cripples a swath of the U.S. health system: What to know
- Hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field can be fixed for about $55M in time for 2026 season, per report
- Retailers including Amazon and Walmart are selling unsafe knockoff video doorbells, report finds
- Some left helpless to watch as largest wildfire in Texas history devastates their town
- Retailers including Amazon and Walmart are selling unsafe knockoff video doorbells, report finds
- Minnesota man is free after 16 years in prison for murder that prosecutors say he didn’t commit
- A Firm Planning a Drilling Spree in New York’s Southern Tier Goes Silent as Lawmakers Seek to Ban Use of CO2 in Quest for Gas
Ranking
- 'Red One' review: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans embark on a joyless search for Santa
- NFL competition committee working on proposal to ban controversial hip-drop tackle
- Arizona’s Senate has passed a plan to manage rural groundwater, but final success is uncertain
- NFL competition committee working on proposal to ban controversial hip-drop tackle
- Repair Hair Damage In Just 90 Seconds With This Hack from WNBA Star Kamilla Cardoso
- Delaware judge cites ‘evil’ and ‘extreme cruelty’ in sentencing couple for torturing their sons
- Crew aboard International Space Station safe despite confirmed air leak
- A growing number of gamers are LGBTQ+, so why is representation still lacking?
Recommendation
-
Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
-
South Carolina lawmakers finally debate electing judges, but big changes not expected
-
NFL competition committee working on proposal to ban controversial hip-drop tackle
-
Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei Shares Gilbert Syndrome Diagnosis Causing His “Yellow Eyes”
-
Who will save Florida athletics? Gators need fixing, and it doesn't stop at Billy Napier
-
Retailers including Amazon and Walmart are selling unsafe knockoff video doorbells, report finds
-
Short-lived tornado hit NW Indiana during this week’s Midwest tornado outbreak, weather service says
-
Free housing for educators being offered to help curb high rent prices