Whitmer’s new budget plan to include ‘record high’ school funding

BY SUSAN J. DEMAS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plans to propose “record high” per-pupil funding in her upcoming budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, her office told the Michigan Advance.

The current FY 2025 School Aid budget, which totals $23.4 billion, includes a foundation allowance of $9,608 per pupil — the minimum amount that school districts receive. That caused considerable controversy, as Republicans pounced on the fact that there was no increase from the FY 2024 budget.

“This ill-advised raid on Michigan’s teacher retirement fund is not worth the cost of our children’s education,” state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.), who is now running for governor in 2026, said during last year’s debate.

However, Democrats who controlled the Legislature last term made the case that was augmented by legislation also signed by Whitmer that reduced school district contributions toward teacher retirement and uses excess money from the fund to supplement classroom needs, saving districts $598 million in payroll costs.

Whitmer’s office did not release the amount of the per-pupil increase that the governor will propose for the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, but said that she has increased the foundation allowance “more than the last two governors [Democrat Jennifer Granholm and Republican Rick Snyder] combined.”

Whitmer’s school budget proposal will include the “SMART Plan” which focuses on Students, Metrics And Results with Transparency. In addition to boosting the per-pupil allowance, she is set to propose four other investments “supported and inspired by Republicans and Democrats” that will boost student outcomes. Republicans have been sharply critical of the governor as Michigan has seen falling test scores since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Test scores for the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were released Wednesday and continued to show that Michigan students are struggling — following a national trend. Reading scores for Michigan fourth- and eighth-graders declined, and eighth graders also posted declining scores in math. Fourth grade math scores did improve from 2023 results.

In her “Road Ahead Address” delivered at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, Whitmer stressed her commitment to bipartisanship in a nod to the fact that the Legislature is now divided, with the GOP running the House and Democrats in control of the Senate.

“Every Michigan student deserves the resources they need to get a good-paying job and set themselves up for a bright future. And every Michigan family deserves to raise their kids in communities with world-class K-12 schools. That’s why we must build on the progress we’ve made and get SMART on education,” Whitmer’s office said in a document provided to the Advance.

Whitmer is planning to propose additional funding for new education transparency measures such as awarding districts for implementing best practices and increasing transparency around student outcomes for parents through a combination of direct reporting to parents, improved dashboards and board meetings to improve parental engagement.

The governor’s FY 2026 proposal will double literacy grants to districts and provide additional funding to help them implement the new science of reading requirement; ensure each intermediate school district in Michigan has at least two literacy coaches for the first time in state history; and continue the Michigan Reading Corps and LETRS training for teachers.

Student mental health and school safety will receive what Whitmer’s office called the “largest amount of ongoing funding in Michigan’s history” in her next budget plan. And finally, Whitmer will propose the “largest career and technical education investment in Michigan history,” her office said.

Whitmer’s office has not released a date for when her administration will present its FY 2026 budget proposal to the House and Senate Appropriation committees, although that typically is in February. This year, Whitmer is scheduled to give her annual State of the State address later than usual on Feb. 26.

READ MORE: Michigan board of education seeks greater technical education funding

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.