A new proposal, HB
5310, would replace four out of the eight best practices from the current
year’s school aid budget. Districts would still have to meet seven of the eight
criteria to receive the $52 per student grant under the school aid budget. The
bill includes the $180 million General Fund increased contribution recommended
by the Governor, but comes in at $42 million less overall, at $13.76 billion
because the $27.8 million for teacher evaluations has been converted to a $100
placeholder.
The budget would require districts improve
third grade reading proficiency levels, implement the Michigan Comprehensive
Guidance and Counseling Program, have all contracts comply with employee
compensation requirements or have no prohibited subjects of bargaining
contracts. The bill would drop the requirements that districts provide for dual
enrollment, measure student growth twice a year, provide online learning and
post a public dashboard of finance and economic measures.
State Representative Brandon Dillon (D-Grand
Rapids) urged that some of the proposals be included as pilot programs rather
than be added to the best practices list. He said the counseling program, in
particular, could cost a district more to implement than it would receive in
additional grants. Representative Bill Rogers (R-Brighton), Chair of the
Subcommittee, said the plan, particularly for the counseling program, is
intended to persuade districts not to drop it.
The Subcommittee also provided $4.7 from the
School Aid Fund for performance grants, giving a total of $51.1 million. The
Subcommittee also moved all of the foundation grant increase into the “2x
formula,” for increases ranging from $56-$112 per student, compared to $83-$111
under the governor’s formula that included $55 per student across all
districts. The budget would also move equity payments into the foundation
allowance increase. The foundation increase, which costs $141 million, is
offset by $115.4 million in savings because of expected property value
increases and a reduction in pupils.
The budget, as currently written, would
increase funding for the Great Start Readiness program by $65 million to a
total of $239.6 million. $25 million would be put into a reserve fund and $10
million would be set aside to reimburse transportation costs. The proposal
would not, as the governor had suggested, increase the per diem program rates
nor increase eligibility past 250 percent of the poverty line.
Student assessment funding under the proposal
would lose $2 million in federal funds. The subcommittee rejected all of the
changes the governor had proposed to accommodate new tests. The bill includes
the $2 million Governor Snyder had proposed for year-round school pilots,
but caps each grant at $750,000 and prohibits the funds from being used
for contract modifications. The Subcommittee rejected a $250,000 career
readiness and reduced funding for Michigan Virtual University by $2 million. It
increased career and technical education funding by $1million, Science,
Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) grants by $500,000, and added
$1.7 million in General Fund dollars for health and nutritional education
software.
Low income students under the proposal could
receive subsidized advanced placement (AP) and international baccalaureate (IB)
exams, but they would have to pay at least $5 of the total cost.