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Michigan subcommittee hears case for weighted student funding to modernize school aid
Summary
Presenters and education groups told a House Appropriations subcommittee that converting major categoricals into a weighted student funding formula would make school funding more predictable and target dollars to students with higher needs, while members pressed for statutory targets, accountability measures and clarity on special education funding.
Representative Kelly's House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and the Department of Education heard three panels of education leaders on a proposal to shift Michigan's school funding system toward a weighted student funding formula, a change presenters said would make budgets more predictable and direct resources to students with higher needs.
Megan DeCracker, chief of external relations at National Heritage Academy, framed the proposal as a modernization of the School Aid Fund and said Michigan has not had a major overhaul of its funding system since Proposal A in 1994. "The backbone of all of this reform is a stable and predictable weighted student funding formula that funds students based on their specific needs," DeCracker said, adding that a formula should be transparent and year-to-year predictable.
Dan Beam, executive director of Education Advocates of West Michigan, described the mechanics: the approach would preserve a base foundation allowance and add weights for categories such as economically disadvantaged students, English learners and students with disabilities. Beam said the change would convert recurring categorical appropriations into a permanent weighting structure and recommended a phased, multi-year adoption with a three-year average…
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