LANSING, Mich., July 19, 2022 — The School Aid budget was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week. This budget is the largest in history and includes allocations of $214 per student for mental health and school safety, $9,150 per pupil in every public school and $450 million for the School Consolidation and Infrastructure Fund. In her continued dedication to education, state Rep. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford) was glad to play a part in passing such a strong education spending budget.
“The legislature came together and delivered for Michiganders in this monumental School Aid budget,” Cavanagh said. “We raised per-pupil funding, increased funds for special education, expanded mental health access in schools and increased funding for the Great Start Readiness Program.”
“Last year, we equalized per-pupil funding for students across the state, and this year we raised that per-pupil funding up by $450 per student, further helping school districts to meet the various needs created by learning loss during the pandemic. We also secured a huge win for special education funding, adding $312 million dollars for a total of nearly $2 billion. This is major progress toward our goal of making sure every student’s unique needs are met and special educators are empowered to make the best decisions for their students,” Cavanagh continued. “We’re also expanding mental health access in schools by adding several new resources and larger investments in existing mental health programs — including $150 million for per-pupil grants to districts to address student mental health and $50 million to expand Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students (TRAILS), which has worked to increase delivery of evidence-based mental health services in schools by providing training, resources and implementation support to teachers and school staff. We were also able to add 1,300 more free preschool slots to the Great Start Readiness Program and include millions for school infrastructure improvements.”
Not only does the school budget thoroughly fund K-12 education, it also includes sizable expenditures to strengthen higher education and trade training in Michigan.
“Our students have shown incredible resilience over the past two years, and I’m proud to have helped deliver $250 million for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship Program to help this year’s high school graduates. I’m excited for the potential of this program to provide opportunities for our college-bound students,” Cavanagh continued. “For our students looking for more vocational training, we included a $10 million increase in vocational education and $7.5 million for career and technical education (CTE) equipment upgrades. These programs are essential for growing our workforce and continuing to increase the links between the skilled trades and our schools.”