Statement by The Education Trust-Midwest on the budget proposal from the Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee

The statement can be attributed to Amber Arellano, executive director of The Education Trust-Midwest.

“We applaud Sen. Darrin Camilleri and fellow policymakers for their ongoing efforts to ensure Michigan’s students with the greatest needs — particularly those living in concentrated poverty, rural students, English Learners, and students with disabilities — have the resources they need to succeed in school.

“The Senate budget proposal, which includes a new “opportunity index” – or a mechanism to appropriately weight funding based on concentrations of poverty in a student’s school district — is a significant step toward addressing Michigan’s unfair school funding system. Our state’s funding formula has long been among the most regressive in the U.S.  It is time that changes.

“The proposal also acknowledges the need for greater funding to support the needs of English learners by doubling the investment for those students, while significantly increasing funding to support students with disabilities. The Education Trust-Midwest joins our many partners in the statewide coalition, Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity, in applauding these important proposed improvements.

“While much more needs to be done to dramatically transform Michigan’s school funding system so that it truly meets the needs of all students, particularly the most underserved, we are heartened by this progress to begin to address longstanding school funding gaps.

“We look forward to continuing to work with policymakers on these critical efforts.”