Top business and education experts yesterday revealed the results from a comprehensive statewide study examining school funding in Michigan – an analysis that clearly demonstrates the need to reform Michigan’s school funding system.

Launched in 2016, the School Finance Research Collaborative has brought together business leaders, former legislators, and education experts throughout Michigan.  The nation’s two leading school funding research firms developed the report, which provides the most complete data available on school funding and gives policymakers the building blocks to reform the school funding system in Michigan.

The report includes the following key findings:

• The base per-pupil cost to educate a regular education K-12 student in Michigan is $9,590, which does not include transportation, food service or capital costs, and only includes pension costs at 4.6% of wages.
• It costs $14,155 to educate a preschool student age 3 or 4.
• In addition to the base per-pupil cost, a percentage of the base cost should be provided for special education, English Language Learners, students living in poverty and programs to provide Career and Technical Education.
• Transportation costs should be funded at $973 per rider until further study can be carried out.
• Because Michigan’s school district sizes vary widely and small districts lack economies of scale, district size must be taken into account, with funding increases provided for all districts under 7,500 students.

Collaborative leaders emphasized additional research will also be needed in several areas, including a full capital study to examine the costs of charter and traditional public schools; a review of literate and illiterate poverty, and concentration of poverty by district; and a full transportation costs study. 

For more information:

Adequacy Study Results: The Cost of Funding Educational Achievement for ALL Michigan Students PK-12

MSBO Financial Strategies 2018: Adequacy Study Results Presentation

For more information about the School Finance Research Collaborative, go to fundMIschools.org.