LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Apr. 23, 2026) – As state lawmakers continue budget discussions in Lansing, a non-profit public education advocacy group has a virtual roundtable set for Thursday afternoon to address issues of concern for its members.
The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday merged the K-12 education budget, higher education, and community colleges budgets into an omnibus school aid budget. Chairwoman Ann Bollin claims taxes or fees won’t be raised, while the legislation reduces the overall state budget by 106 million dollars in general fund spending, and would help the state not dip into its rainy day fund.
The K-12 Alliance of Michigan, which normally focuses on education in the state’s southeast corner, is bringing together superintendents from various statewide intermediate districts and agencies to what its officials say will be a discussion on the current state of Michigan’s public school funding. This stems from what they call a “comprehensive” new statewide poll by Glengariff Group which claims legislators are “wildly” out of touch with the public on this matter.
Although he won’t be among those participating in this briefing, West Ottawa School Superintendent Tim Bearden has his concerns about how schools are funded by the state.
Currently, the state’s per pupil funding is just over $10,000, with House Republicans looking to boost that by 2.5 percent in Academic 2027 through overall K-12 spending of more than $21.5 billion.
-Michael Arney of WKZO-AM/FM contributed to this report
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