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House Bill 6160, introduced in June by Rep. Richard Brown, D-Bessemer, would appropriate an extra $4.9 million for small school districts that have lost 20 percent of their students to schools-of-choice programs or to charter or private schools since the 1994-1995 school year.
Supporters of the bill say it is needed to provide stable funding to small districts, whose budgets can be severely affected when a handful of students leave the district, taking their $6,700 per-student funding with them.
Opponents say the bill will unfairly pay districts for students they are no longer educating.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.
Increased school funding through cigarette tax hike
A cigarette tax increase will give 20 additional cents per-pack to the school aid fund, under House Bill 5881, passed by the House and Senate this summer. (See House Bill 5248 at www.michiganvotes.org for text of the bill increasing the tax by 50-cents per-pack.)
HB 5881, sponsored by Rep. Charles LaSata, R-St. Joseph, also would set per-pupil state funding at $6,700 for the 2003-2004 school year. The bill would guarantee that a $200 increase from $6,500 to $6,700 per-pupil, set to take effect this year, would remain in effect for the 2003-2004 school year.
The bill also will provide $3.5 million in funding to Upper Peninsula schools
that are losing students.
The bill was signed by Gov. Engler in August.
For more information on these and other bills, visit www.michiganvotes.org to view history and analysis by bill number, sponsor, or subject.
