The Senate Subcommitee on K-12 Aid put forth several different proposals today for school funding, much as reported below!
The following was passed in the Senate subcommittee.
The subcommittee ok'd a smaller per pupil cut. K-12 schools would see an additional cut of $170 per pupil, not the $300 recommended by the Governor. The $170 comes on top of the $170 already cut, for a grand total of $340.
They called for transferring $396 million out of the School Aid Fund to help pay for aid to public universities and community colleges; this instead of $895 million recommended by the governor.
The committee still allows for $195.9 million for colleges; but the governor wanted $700.
The committee also budgeted $200 million to provide grants to school districts and intermediate school districts to implement "best practices, retirement reform, tenure appeas, testing reforms and other items". Details are not yet hammered out.
What decisions did the committee make REGARDING YOUR BENEFITS????
---By proposing a cap for district and ISD payments toward employee medical, dental, and vision benefits to no more than $13,000 or 80 percent of the cost per employee, whichever results in LOWER COSTS TO THE EMPLOYER. The Department of Ed would withhold school aid payments equal to any amount spent on benefits above the cap. District could lose 5 percents of their school aid payments for failing to submit that data to the DofEd.
While everyone supports more money for education, $340 per student is still a substantial cut to school funding when added to the increased costs that have been passed on to the districts in other areas.
No matter how they do it, they are STILL transfering money out of the K-12 State Aid Fund to pay for community colleges and higher ed.
THEY ARE STILL taking money from the State Aid Fund to give to the General Fund but decreasing the amount by MANDATING CUTS TO YOUR BENEFITS. Now, they have shifted even more of the cost of the $1.6 billion TAX BREAK TO BUSINESSES directly to your pocketbooks.
If you haven't already done so, please write the Senate K-12 Subcommittee members.
USE THE information in the posting below from earlier today.
MEA
About Me
- Tfitzjake
- I wrote this introduction 6 years ago, and it is even more important today than ever. The voices of educational employees need to be heard above the roar of public school attacks in this country. We are on the front line; we are highly educated and trained professionals. Why are we being ignored? I am an educator. I was the president of the Walled Lake Education Association for over 6 years, and before that, the treasurer for 8 years. I have been on the bargaining team for 15 years. I am now the MEA UniServ Director for 7K and parts of IJ. I want our voice to be heard! Today's educational climate requires that we all stay informed regarding the issues affecting our chosen profession!