Capitol Report Archives
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July 2000
Click to go directly to information on the bills listed:
Summer Recess for the Legislature - Finally!
3-Year School Aid Budget Signed by Governor (Public Act 297, 2000)
Portions of Department of Education Budget Vetoed (P.A. 263, 2000)
Community College Budget (P.A. 272, 2000)
School Bond Loan Fund (P.A. 290, 2000)
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Summer Recess for the Legislature - Finally!
The Legislature is on break until mid-September. The Governor has signed the Department of Education (SB 966 - P.A. 263), Community College (SB 963 - P.A. 272), and School Aid (SB 1044 - P.A.297 ) budgets with only a few vetoes. Since it took the Higher Education Conference Committee so long to agree on its report, SB 967 will not be voted on until they return in September. This would be a good time to contact your legislators and thank them for their hard work on these bills.
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3-Year School Aid Budget Signed by Governor (Public Act 297, 2000)
Governor Engler signed Senate Bill 1044 (Public Act 297, 2000) on July 26 raising the minimum per pupil aid level to $6,000 in 2000-01; to $6,500 in 2001-02 (including a $200 per pupil equity payment); and to $6,700 in 2002-03. The cost of the budget rises to $11.5 billion in 2001-02 and $11.9 billion in 2002-03.
Highlights in the bill are:
- increased by 5.3%, 5.0%, and 3.1%. Click HERE to see spreadsheet for your district.
- ISD's General Operation Funds - increased by 5.3 %, 5.0%, and 3.1 %.
- Minimum Days and Hours of Instruction
- required as in current law (1098 for next year), but eliminates growth in the number of hours required after 2001. Beginning in 2000 - 2001, a district may count up to 51 hours of professional development for teachers toward the required 1098 hours of pupil instruction.
- appropriated $10 million for professional development not scheduled during pupil instruction and is intended as reimbursement for the full per diem compensation paid.
- created at $34 million.
- Foundation Allowance Funding
- allowed to follow students if they move to other districts after being counted in a different district on count day. Required a minimum number of 25 students or 1% before this adjustment occurs.
- GF/GP Contribution to the School Aid Fund
- reduced by $35 million in 2000-2001, by $215 million in 2001-2002, and reinstates the $420.6 million GF/GP for 2002-2003.
- appropriated an additional $25.2 million to reflect the increases in the foundation allowance and to remove the estimated proration.
- increased by $10 million, and maintains the program for 5 years.
- Districts Taken Over or Reconstituted by the State
- Added $15 million payment for 2000- 2001 for per pupil grants to any qualifying district. (Currently only Detroit Public Schools qualify.)
- allowed for within contiguous ISDs.
- All Students Achieve Program - created and included: 1) Parents as Teachers Program to assist with parenting skills; 2) Pilot Reading Improvement Grant Program; 3) $10 million for coordinating counseling services and tuition grants for degrees in counseling.
- increased to $72.6 million to serve 22,000 children at $3,300 per child and an additional $5 million annually for teacher training in reading instruction and assessment.
- increased appropriations by $1 million annually.
- Career Preparation Implementation Grants Funds
- to be distributed according to the proportion of the workforce development board’s geographic areas in relation to the K-12 enrollment. Also, quality of career preparation will be determined by newly created Evaluation Advisory Groups.
- appropriated $38 million for 2000 - 2001 and 2001 - 2002, and $50 million for 2002 - 2003 for students in grades 1 - 4 with low standardized test scores. Increases funding to support wrap-around full day programs - from $5 million in fiscal year 2000 to $20 million in fiscal year 2001, $25 million in 2002, and $30 million in 2003.
- provides $1,000 to every full-time employee and $10,000 to principals of schools with the highest or most improved MEAP scores to be used for school improvements decided on collectively.
- Teacher Technology Initiative
- provided computers and remote Internet access to teachers. Districts can use funding for technology improvements and/or professional development in technology if computers are not desired by the staff.
- Michigan Virtual High School - funded $15 million in fiscal year 2001 and $1.5 million for each of the following fiscal years for the Michigan Virtual High School to significantly expand curricular offerings for all high school students and teachers, administrators and school staff through access to professional development opportunities.
- funded $10 million in fiscal year 2000 and over $2 million in each of the following fiscal years for the start-up and ongoing costs of the Database for Educational Performance and Information (DEPI) to enhance the quality, accessibility, and usefulness of education data for parents, school officials, state policymakers and the general public.
- provided $1.2 million in fiscal year 2001 to fund a collaborative effort among the Oakland Intermediate School District, the Wayne RESA, and Eastern Michigan University to provide curricular support to teachers statewide by providing lesson plans on the internet that correlate to MEAP test expectations.
Governor Engler VETOED several provisions:
- Declining Enrollment Districts:
$18 million in 2000-01 to help small districts with declining enrollment (with memberships up to 1,550) by basing the districts' payments upon the higher of the current pupil membership blend or an average of the three most recent membership blends.
The governor said he would create a task force to study how to provide programs in small declining-enrollment districts.
$18 million for school construction interest waivers. Legislators would have to remove a tie-bar provision in the school infrastructure program passed earlier this year to free up $34 million elsewhere in the bill.
- Cash Flow Payment Program:
$50 million revolving fund to help districts reduce borrowing costs when state aid payments lag behind available resources at the beginning of a school year.
The governor said the program is administratively burdensome and unnecessary "given the generous funding increases" in the new budget.
$15 million a year to districts having a high proportion of special education pupils.
The governor said the money would go to districts having a very small percentage of the state's learning disabled students.
$2.5 million a year for competitive grants to colleges and universities for the development or enhancement of programs for autistic pupils.
Appropriations vetoed for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003 for these grants. Funds not expended in Fiscal Year 2001 can be carried forward for ongoing support.
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Portions of Department of Education Budget Vetoed (P.A. 263, 2000)
Governor Engler signed the Department of Education budget, but struck $70,000 from the $928 million allocated to the Department. The budget still includes funds for restructuring the department to create new school improvement offices; additional funds for the School Readiness Program, Reading Plan and curriculum development; as well as additional funds for technology to combine the various school improvement plans required under state and federal programs into a single plan.
However, the Governor vetoed $50,000 in restricted revenue for the Office of Safe Schools, stating that this was not an allowable use for those funds. He also deleted the $20,000 and one employee the bill had designated for a school nurse consultant, arguing it was the prerogative of the superintendent of public instruction to decide whether the position is necessary.
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Community College Budget (P.A. 272, 2000)
The state’s twenty-eight community colleges get $315.1 million, a 6 percent increase, under the budget signed by the Governor. Senate Bill 963 (Public Act 272, 2000) gives all schools a 3.5 percent increase, with the other 2.5 percent distributed based on the Gast-Mathieu formula.
Another $433,131 would reimburse the schools for losses from Renaissance Zone tax cuts. But Governor Engler vetoed a portion to reimburse the schools for a study of the impact of Renaissance zones on local governments, stating that such studies have already been done.
Low- and moderate-income students would share in $10 million for the Postsecondary Access Student Scholarship Program. The program covers tuition and fees not covered by other state or federal programs for qualifying students.
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School Bond Loan Fund (P.A. 290, 2000)
The state’s poorest school districts would recapture some of the money it borrows on bond issues for new buildings or building maintenance under legislation signed by Governor Engler. House Bill 5833 (Public Act 290 of 2000) would allow districts in the lowest third of taxable value per pupil to receive a grant from the state of up to 12.5 percent of the principal, but no more than $5 million. In addition, districts in the lowest one-third of taxable value per pupil qualify for up to $1 million in assistance with the interest on their bond.
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Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
