• The bill was proposed to help close the funding gap between Michigan school districts.

LANSING, MI - The School Aid Bill was passed by the Michigan Legislature on Wednesday, June 30. The main goal of the bill was to create equal funding for school districts throughout Michigan.

The bill provides school districts with a per-pupil grant of $8,700, along with a per-child fund of $8,700 for the Great Start Readiness Program. This is a preschool program for four-year-old children to help prepare them for kindergarten.

If the governor decides to sign the proposed bill, it will become a law. However, Gov. Whitmer said she was looking forward to signing this legislation.

“The bipartisan school aid bill makes historic investments in our children without raising taxes and will help each and every student thrive academically, mentally and physically,” said Gov. Whitmer.

Not every school district will be able to receive this funding if the bill is passed. In order to receive the funds, school districts must have less funding than the per-pupil grant issued.

The Michigan Education Association President Paula Herbart said that this bill was a step in the right direction, but there is still more work in order to achieve equal funding for school districts in Michigan.

“This is by no means an end to the fight for adequate and equitable funding for our schools,” said Herbart. “After decades of inequity and underinvestment in education, we must remain committed to fixing our school funding system so it provides the resources for every student to succeed, no matter where they live or what their learning needs are.”

The governor is now waiting for the Michigan Legislature to approve the remaining budget bills that were supposed to be completed by the July 1 deadline. These bills include disaster aid for flooding, infrastructure, small business aid and more.