State Rep. Sue Allor, of Wolverine, today voted in support of the Legislature’s school aid budget, which includes the largest ever investment for Michigan students in the state’s history.

The budget provides a total of $15.2 billion for K-12 schools. Under the plan, per-pupil funding would increase for every student in Michigan by $120 to $240 – a total increase of more than $300 million in the foundation allowance. The governor’s recommendation capped the increase at just $180 per student.

“The Legislature has delivered on a plan that cuts past the political rhetoric and provides public schools with the resources they need to prepare students for success in the coming school year,” said Allor, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “This budget plan provides top funding for schools throughout northeast Michigan and backs programs that are key to the success of students of all skill-levels, career aspirations and abilities.”

The Legislature-approved plan also:

• Increases Career Technical Education funding to $50 per student and includes $16 million in equipment grants for a total of nearly $74 million in CTE investment.
• Triples the investment in literacy coaches.
• Includes a total investment of $510 million in at-risk students.
• Nearly triples funding for English language learners.
• Includes $60 million more than last year to reimburse school districts for special education costs.
• Provides $7 million for isolated school district funding and includes a tiered formula to allow for a wider distribution of funds to students in rural districts.
• Includes additional investments in school safety grants and school-based health and mental health programs.

“Through hard work and commitment to our friends and neighbors at home, we were able to place on the governor’s desk a plan to fund our public schools at record levels—without raising taxes, as the governor would have preferred,” Allor said. “I am proud of the display of principled, bipartisan leadership demonstrated by this plan.”

The plan now heads to the governor’s desk for consideration.

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