Our 2018-2019 state budget is now heading to our state Legislature for consideration, following Governor Rick Snyder unveiling his proposed $56.3 billion budget last week.

Nearly 75 percent of the budget is dedicated to education and health and human services. We’re highlighting a few key takeaways in the governor’s budget.

Education

• An increase of $128 million in per pupil spending, which would mean an extra $50 to $100 per pupil for schools, with an additional $50 per high schooler to support the higher costs of educating high school students. That would set per pupil spending at $8,240.

• An increase of $150 million that would give districts an additional $778 per pupil to assist at-risk students, which is a 40 percent increase. This would result in 131,000 more children being eligible for at-risk programs and services. At-risk students include children receiving free or reduced lunches, food assistance, TANF, migrant, homeless and foster children.

• An additional $5.6 million investment into the Pathways to Potential Program, which places success coaches in schools to work one-on-one with families to identify potential issues or barriers and connect them to necessary services.

• An increase in financial aid scholarships, bringing the total to $18 million, including $5.3 million to support low-income Medicaid eligible students.

• $2 million investment to reestablish the Independent Part-Time Student Grants program that focuses on adult students at community colleges. This program supported about 3,300 students when it was funded in 2009.

Child Care

• An additional $27.2 million or 20 percent increase to the reimbursement rate for providers offering child care services, which the governor says will bring Michigan’s rates closer to the federally recommended 75^th percentile of the market rate for the cost of child care in the state. Last fall more than $24 million was allotted to increase the reimbursement rate, which the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) credited the improvement to the reimbursement rates to Building a Better Child Care System, a report funded by the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation that provided research used by CMF to advocate for the increase at the request of the CMF P-20 Education Affinity Group.

• $1.4 million to go towards monitoring and supporting providers who offer child care through their home or the child’s home.

Economy

• $125.5 million for business attraction and community revitalization.

• A 32 percent increase in funding, or $40.9 million dollars, for the Going Pro Program which helps ensure that job seekers are being trained to be experts in their field of choice, whether it’s the professional trades, information technology, or other high-demand occupations.

Public Health

• A $6.8 million investment for drinking water quality programs, including lead prevention and toxicology response.

• An investment of $4.5 million for the statewide school drinking water quality program to help ensure our children have clean, safe water at school.

• Continued support for Flint’s recovery includes an additional $48.8 million supporting water filter replacement, the lead poison prevention program, nutrition services, early childhood services and the expansion of the Children’s Health Access program, to name a few.

Following the release of the governor’s proposed budget, the Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) “voiced support for his calls for continued investment in vital programs” and shared in Snyder’s concern for potential tax cuts by the Legislature that could affect the stability of the programs and services that are critical for Michigan families.

“These are all longstanding priorities for the League and we appreciate the governor’s recognition that they are key to a better Michigan for everyone,” Gilda Jacobs, president and CEO, MLPP said. “But these very items could be first on the chopping block for the Legislature as they seek to reconcile hundreds of millions of dollars in ineffective and unaffordable tax cuts that give very little money back to most taxpayers.”

As for the state budget, once a final version is approved by lawmakers, it will go in effect this fall, as the state’s 2018-2019 fiscal year begins October 1.

Want more?

Check out the full budget proposal.

View MLPP’s 2019 budget priorities.