State Rep. Cam Cavitt this month supported record $12,000 per-pupil funding for Northeast Michigan schools. The House Republican School Aid Budget also guarantees at least one school resource officer per district and continues vital funding for programs like universal breakfast and lunch and rural transportation.

“No one knows our teachers and students better than the school boards and administrators we trust to lead our schools,” said Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. “Our education budget gets government out of the way and puts a historic number of resources in the hands of the people best equipped to use them.”

The current per-pupil amount is $9,608, meaning the increase to $12,000 will bring an additional $2,392 per student – a 20% increase from last year. The additional funding was achieved by removing bureaucratic red tape, burdensome program requirements, and other restrictions and transferring those funds into the highest per-pupil allotment possible.

“The key here is flexibility,” Cavitt said. “We cut red tape and are leaving spending decisions up to local experts. No more requirements or one-size-fits-all mandates on state funding. If schools like their breakfast and lunch program, they can keep it. If they want to expand transportation or trades offering, they can spend their money that way. A few politicians in Lansing shouldn’t be deciding how every school across the state spends their money.”

Northeast Michigan school districts would see large funding increases in the House budget plan. For example, Alpena Public Schools would receive an increase of $5,870,065, Cheboygan Area Schools would receive an increase of $2,375,307, and Rogers City Area Schools would see an increase of $798,214.

The proposal also includes a $314.5 million grant program for schools looking to reduce class size, implement reading measures to improve outcomes, consolidate school buildings, and infrastructure projects.

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