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LANSING, Mich. — About $316 million in federal education money is on hold in Lansing until legislators discuss whether the distribution plan meets federal guidelines, according to the Detroit Free Press. The $154-per-student payment that public schools expected to receive will be delayed and, in some cases, reduced, according to the report.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed the original funding formula, saying it may violate federal rules. That plan awarded a one-time payment of $154 per pupil and an additional $23 to $46 per pupil, with lower-spending districts receiving more, according to the Free Press. The new distribution plan likely will give twice as much to lower-spending districts, Rep. Terry Brown, D-Pigeon, told the Free Press.
"We are shocked and dismayed that this has occurred," Wayne-Westland Community Schools Superintendent Greg Baracy told the Free Press. "This is going to create a cash-flow problem for us."
Grosse Pointe Public Schools didn't plan on the extra cash when budgeting, Chris Fenton, assistant superintendent for business, told the Free Press. He said it would be fairer to give more of the federal money to districts with large numbers of low-income students, according to the Free Press.
SOURCE:
Detroit Free Press, "State to redo school aid plan," Oct.
13, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Underfunded Myth,"
June 2, 2010
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