Analyst warns Title I distribution and Medicaid enrollment changes could create at‑risk funding cliff for Michigan schools

Craig Theel, research director at the Citizens Research Council, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Department of Education that recent federal and state enrollment shifts have created an "at‑risk funding cliff" for Michigan school districts.

Theel said Michigan’s state at‑risk program (Section 31A) and the Opportunity Index set targets—up to about 47% of the foundation allowance for highest‑poverty districts—but federal Title I allocations are distributed under a separate formula that produces wide differences among districts with similar poverty concentrations. "Congress has failed to address the inequities of Title I, so Michigan lawmakers should step in," Theel said, citing his organization's report on the distribution of Title I dollars.

Why it matters: the end of pandemic‑era Medicaid continuous enrollment contributed to a 7.5% statewide decline in students counted as economically…