Lawmakers Hear Warnings on Risk to Title I Funds; Ed Trust Urges $400M Annual Increase to Opportunity Index

Chairman Jim Camilleri urged urgency Wednesday as the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on PreK‑12 heard testimony on the potential disruption of federal Title I funds and the state’s section 31a at‑risk formula, the Opportunity Index.

“It’s crucial that we fully fund, fully understand the role that federal funds do play in supporting our schools and what’s at stake if those funds are delayed or cut,” Chairman Jim Camilleri said in opening remarks.

The committee heard from Michigan Department of Education officials who described Title I, Part A as the largest federal K‑12 formula grant and reviewed how both Title I and state section 31a funds are used by districts. Olivia Ponti, legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Education, introduced subject‑matter staff including Michael Powell, assistant director in the Office of Educational Supports; Michelle Williams, manager of the Special Populations Unit; and Shoa Vang, financial unit manager, who together explained program purposes, allocation methods and common uses of the money.

“The purpose of Title I, Part A is to provide additional services to students from low‑income families to address achievement gaps,” Michael Powell told the panel, noting that Michigan distributed about $509,000,000 in Title I funds to local education agencies for the 2024–25 school year and receives roughly $460,000,000 in federal IDEA funding for students with disabilities.

MDE staff warned the committee that the recent large personnel reductions at the U.S. Department of Education — which witnesses said amounted to roughly 1,400 layoffs plus about 600 forced resignations or retirements — could create administrative delays in processing and distributing federal funds after the current federal fiscal year ends June 30. The department said it had received assurances the state should have access to funds through the current fiscal year but that staffing and program oversight after July 1 remained uncertain.

Committee members pressed MDE on practical effects. MDE staff said local districts use Title I and section 31a for staff positions (Title I intervention teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors), tutoring, extended‑learning programs, supports for students experiencing homelessness or foster care, and equitable services to eligible private school students. MDE officials said they could not yet quantify how many individual positions statewide depend on the federal dollars and offered to provide further detail later.

The hearing then shifted to the state at‑risk funding formula, section 31a, and the Opportunity Index. Jeff Cobb, director of government affairs for Ed Trust Midwest, outlined the index created by the legislature in 2023 and urged the subcommittee to add $400,000,000 per year for five years to fully fund the statutory weights that prioritize districts with higher concentrations of poverty.

“The higher the amount of poverty in the local school district, the higher the weighted amount they receive,” Jeff Cobb said, describing how the index divides districts into bands and weights allocations toward higher‑need districts. Cobb said the legislature’s 2024 increase brought the Opportunity Index to about $1,000,000,000 but that fully funding the weights in law would require roughly $2,000,000,000 more and that a phased increase of $400,000,000 annually over five years would be a practical path forward.

Cobb and other witnesses also urged greater transparency and building‑level tracking for Opportunity Index dollars, recommending that at least 75% of the funding be spent at the school building where eligible students attend and that parental notification be improved.

Committee members from both parties expressed concern about uncertainties at the federal level and debated how aggressively the state should respond in its own budget. Senator Albert and others emphasized that the state has multiple funding sources — including an estimated $2.4 billion in federal funds identified in the governor’s executive recommendation and $2.0 billion in School Aid Fund dollars above baseline — and urged careful budgeting. Other members, including Chair Camilleri, said the House Republican budget proposal (introduced weeks earlier) omitted section 31a funding entirely and that leaving at‑risk funding on the table was unacceptable.

The subcommittee also received a district‑level snapshot: MDE staff confirmed that of 822 open and active local education agencies in Michigan, about 808 (98.3%) are eligible for and receive Title I funds, leaving 14 ineligible districts. MDE staff listed the largest Title I recipients as Detroit Public Schools (about $123,000,000), Flint City Schools (about $14,000,000), Dearborn (about $13.4M), Grand Rapids (about $10.1M), Saginaw (about $10M), Lansing (about $8.1M), Hamtramck (about $7.3M), Pontiac (about $6.9M), Wayne/Westland (about $5.1M), and Kalamazoo (about $5.1M). MDE said the 31a allocation for 2024–25 was approximately $1,035,000,000.

Throughout the hearing lawmakers repeatedly asked how proposed federal or state reductions would affect staffing in districts — from reading specialists and paraprofessionals to counselors and transportation — and MDE acknowledged districts would need to revise school improvement and Title I plans if funds were reduced.

Formal committee housekeeping actions recorded during the meeting included adoption of draft minutes from the March 6 meeting (motion by Senator Polhinke, supported by Senator Hertel; adopted without objection) and a motion to adjourn (moved by Chair Camilleri, supported by Senator Kleinfeld; adopted without objection).

The subcommittee did not take votes on any appropriation bills at the hearing. Witnesses and members agreed to continue budget discussions in upcoming committee meetings and with the state superintendent, who MDE said would address more detailed budget planning in a follow‑up appearance.