Fruitport board allows Section 31aa opt-in to be rescinded, requiring superintendent to notify MDE

The Fruitport Community Schools Board of Education took no further action at a Dec. 29 special meeting on its prior provisional opt-in to State School Aid Act Section 31aa funds, triggering an automatic rescission and directing the superintendent to notify the Michigan Department of Education by the Dec. 30 rescission deadline.

The item before the board, recorded as “State School Aid Act Section 31aa Funding Resolution - Rescission,” stems from a Dec. 1 provisional opt-in the board adopted to preserve eligibility for school safety and mental-health aid. That earlier action used model language drafted by Thrun Law Firm that allowed districts to opt in provisionally while preserving a path to rescind if courts left the statute’s privilege-waiver requirement in effect.

The minutes state the district’s Section 31aa allocation for the 2025–26 school year is approximately $395,781, an increase of about $94,813 over 2024–25. The Court of Claims issued an order on Dec. 17 rejecting the challenge to the statute’s waiver as unlawful; the plaintiffs have appealed that order to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and a separate federal lawsuit remains pending.

According to the minutes, the board was presented with two options: adopt an alternative (described as “Resolution A”) that would preserve the opt-in and the related waiver of privileges, or take no action so that the previously approved opt-in would be automatically rescinded. The minutes record that the board took no action; the prior resolution therefore removes authority for the superintendent to accept Section 31aa funds and requires notification of MDE by the stipulated deadline.

The board’s minutes record the agenda approval earlier in the meeting as “MOTION by Cole, SECOND by Meeuwenberg” and show that the motion carried 6–0 with one member absent. The roll call on the minutes lists Kris Cole among those absent; the minutes thus contain an internal inconsistency between the attendance list and the recorded maker of the motion.

Votes at a glance - Agenda approval (Item 25-149): Recorded motion by Cole; second by JB Meeuwenberg. Motion carried 6–0, 1 absent (Burgess). (Minutes: SEG 004–005.) - Adjournment (Item 25-150): Motion by JB Meeuwenberg; second by Steve Kelly. Motion carried 6–0, 1 absent (Burgess). Meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m. (Minutes: SEG 012.)

What happens next Under the terms of the previously adopted resolution, the superintendent or designee must notify the Michigan Department of Education in the form and manner required no later than Dec. 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m., that the district’s opt-in to Section 31aa funds is rescinded. The minutes do not record any additional board direction, a vote specifically rescinding the opt-in, or whether the board will revisit the question after appeals or federal litigation proceed.