LANSING -- The following is a message from Gov. Granholm:
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has signed the state school aid budget bill (Senate Bill 1163) for the 2011 fiscal year and honored her pledge to protect K-12 funding.
“I promised not to sign any school aid bill for the 2011 fiscal year that cut funding for K-12 schools,” Granholm said. “The completion of the school aid budget, together with the earlier enactment of school employee retirement reform legislation, provides schools with the financial certainty they need to adjust their budgets while still early in the school fiscal year.”
The school aid budget as presented to the governor authorizes the expenditure of $12.8 billion to support Michigan’s K-12 education system in fiscal year 2011, including $10.9 billion from the state school aid fund, $1.68 billion in federal funds for education, $184.3 million in federal Recovery Act funds, and $30.2 million from the state’s general fund.
School districts will see a modest $11 per pupil increase for both the 2011 fiscal year and the remainder of the 2010 fiscal year. The 2010 fiscal year school aid budget included a $165 per pupil reduction.
The 2011 school aid budget also recognizes the importance of early childhood education by adding $2.6 million in funding for Great Start school readiness programs, opening slots for an additional 760 students.
