Michigan school funding tops inflation since before the pandemic
Reported byMichigan Capitol Confidential
AI-assisted summary
Michigan Capitol Confidential reports that public school funding in Michigan has grown faster than inflation since before the pandemic. The outlet notes it is produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and reports from a free-market perspective. The article sets this against claims from some teachers that public schools are being defunded. A local union leader in Bay City, speaking to a Michigan Education Association publication, said she believes there is a deliberate effort to weaken public education, including by sending money to private schools.
The article uses Bay City Schools as an example. Enrollment there fell 16% between 2018-19 and 2025-26, according to MiSchoolData.org. State funding to the district, adjusted for inflation, dropped from $71.84 million to $62.7 million over that period. The district cut its full-time staff by 6.4%. Even so, general fund revenue per student rose from $10,323 in 2018-19 to $14,909 in 2024-25, according to state bulletins.
Statewide, total funding from local, state and federal sources rose from $19.31 billion to $21.28 billion in inflation-adjusted terms, per the Senate Fiscal Agency. The article says early pandemic federal aid helped push funding to record levels. A representative of Americans for Prosperity-Michigan disputed the defunding claim, saying state money cannot legally go to private schools. He pointed to Michigan's ranking of 44th for fourth-grade reading, based on an Education Trust-Midwest report.
Why it matters
The article shows how the same school funding figures can lead to different conclusions, depending on whether totals, per-student amounts or enrollment changes are emphasized. Families, staff and board members may want to look at both district-level and statewide numbers when judging budget debates.
- Enrollment decline
- State funding formula
- School vouchers
- Literacy
- Teacher pay
Written with AI from the publisher's article and may contain errors. The original reporting is the authoritative source.
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- Which funding measures best show whether a district has enough resources: total dollars, per-student revenue, or inflation-adjusted state aid?
- How should a district plan staffing and budgets when enrollment falls but per-student funding rises?
- What information would help families judge whether funding levels are connected to student reading results?
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