GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan’s fiscal year 2026 school aid budget increases funding for students but eliminates key teacher recruitment programs, State Superintendent Michael Rice said Friday.
The nearly $21 billion spending plan, which was passed by lawmakers last week, raises per-pupil funding by 4.6%. Support for at-risk students and bilingual students jumps 25%. Special education funding increases 5.7% — a category that has grown more than fourfold in recent years.
Lawmakers pass state budget
The budget provides free school meals and expands career and technical education programs. It allocates $64.4 million for early literacy materials to implement a new dyslexia law and $65 million to reduce class sizes in high-poverty kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in four districts as a pilot.
“At the same time, it’s concerning that the budget would reduce or eliminate funding for some of the initiatives to address the teacher shortage,” Rice stated.
The plan ends a student loan repayment program for teachers and provides inadequate funding for Grow Your Own teaching programs, he said.
Rice praised continued funding for reading instruction training but criticized lawmakers for not requiring it. He noted 5,200 educators have completed the training and 6,800 are enrolled, but said mandatory requirements are needed.
The budget eliminates virtual instruction days counting toward the 180-day school year requirement but maintains a provision allowing seven professional development days without students to count toward that total.
Rice said the budget’s 95-day delay forced districts to cut staff or leave positions unfilled.
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“The uncertainty of a budget months late caused many school districts to make cuts in staffing, or simply not to fill particular positions, as they began the school year without knowing how much they would have to spend,” he said. “A budget 95 days late is not a victory-lap budget.”
