Senate panel votes to cut school aid for 2010-11
Call your senator!
The Senate Appropriations subcommittee on K-12 funding this week passed Senate Bill 1163, which would cut more than $250 million for schools next year.
The bill would cut per pupil foundation grants by $118 per student for the 2010-11 school year.
The budget, which cuts school aid less than projected, relies on a $225 million transfer from the state's general fund -- a problem, considering the general fund is already projected to be $1.2 billion in the hole next year. So, under this scenario, schools would again face mid-year budget cuts if the general fund can't afford the transfer.
What's more, Senate Bill 1163 also assumes that school employees will pay an additional 3 percent of their salary into the retirement system, a proposal that was just introduced as formal legislation yesterday.
The bill would also:
- Reduce by $20 million the grants given to districts with declining enrollment;
- Require districts that provided at least 170 days of instruction in 2009-10 to provide at least that many days in 2010-11;
- Fund random spot checks of school busses by the Michigan State Police; districts would be responsible for paying for regular inspections;
- Repeal the Basic Instructional Materials Hotline, a hotline number that isn't even up and running yet. The number is supposed to allow educators to report problems securing basic supplies, as required by Michigan Race To The Top reforms passed by lawmakers in December.
Please contact your senator immediately -- tell them to vote NO on Senate Bill 1163. Ask them to find a real budget solution, not one based on assumptions of future legislation and nonexistent general fund dollars. And, tell them not to balance another budget on the backs of public school employees.
March 16, 2010