Saturday, March 31, 2012

How the budget is shaping up in both houses so far

Steven Norton of Michigan Parents for Schools wrote on the MPS Facebook page:
"I'm late in working up an analysis of the budget proposals, but things are getting interesting. Both the House and Senate are working on parallel tracks, which will have to be reconciled at some point. The House appears to have softened the "best practices" requirements and replaced the "performance" bonuses with technology grants. They also increase the MPSERS offset. (Need to see where the money is coming from.)

In a more naked political appeal, the Senate committee stripped out the MPSERS offset money and used it, along with some cash taken from other areas, to increase the foundation allowance. Net effect for districts is roughly the same, but an increase in per-pupil funding sounds better. Ironic, given that they're not up for election until 2014.

In any case, the actual increase in K-12 funding is negligible compared to last year. We need to keep the full picture in mind."