House panel adopts MDE budget that trims staff, changes grant rules and limits some programs

The House Appropriations Committee on a 17‑12 vote adopted the H‑1 substitute to House Bill 45 76, the Michigan Department of Education appropriation, after a morning of testimony and questioning about staff reductions, grant conditions and programmatic restrictions.

The H‑1 proposal sets the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) gross budget at $133,200,000, a gross decrease of $31,700,000 (19.2%), and reduces department full‑time equivalent positions by 118 to 456.5 FTEs, a 20.5% cut, officials from the House Fiscal Agency said. Jacqueline Mullen, Senior Fiscal Analyst for House Fiscal, and Noel Benson of the House Fiscal Agency summarized the changes for the committee.

The budget eliminates $8 million tied to teacher certification fees based on a separate House bill (House Bill 45 4,150) that would remove those fees, and removes authorization for about 65 vacant FTEs and other vacant positions, Benson said. The bill also eliminates several programs and administrative offices on the department side, including federal library services funding and the Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation, and reduces information technology…