LANSING — Local K-12 educators are tuned to the state Capitol as legislators continue to haggle over dollars for the next fiscal year as another school year rapidly approaches.
As the party politics play out, some fallout has included Okemos families no longer assured of getting free meals for their children, two St. Johns staffers getting laid off, and a Dansville bus route being erased.
Some districts are taking a wait-and-see approach, with administrators hoping state legislators settle on a budget by Oct. 1, when the state’s next fiscal year is supposed to start.
They’re hoping they’ve calculated properly when they finalized their budgets around the start of summer and take courage from their district’s fund balances and financial stewardship thus far. In some cases, they’re trying to reassure families while urging them to reach out to legislators.
“I also want the community to know this,” Ben Shuldiner, Lansing School District’s superintendent, said at a recent board meeting. “You might have seen reports or even just conversations about some districts making decisions about cutting or not cutting. The Lansing School District is not even going down that road at this time.
“We have no indication that there isn’t going to be a state government budget. Certainly our students deserve to be able have a wonderful first day. If the budget doesn’t get passed by October, that’s a different story but that will be a difficult situation for all school districts in the state of Michigan.”
In June, when state funding already was uncertain, Lansing’s school board approved a scaled-back $263 million spending plan that dipped deep into the district’s savings for the 2025-26 school year.
The Legislature has traditionally tried to arrive at a budget agreement early in the spring or summer to allow local public school districts to know what their funding is going to be before their new fiscal years begin July 1.
In June, the Senate wanted $10,008 per pupil and more money to be available in grant funding for items like school safety and at-risk students. The House wanted $10,025 in per-pupil funding, and for existing grants to be rolled into block funding distributed equally across Michigan’s districts. Last school year’s per-pupil funding was $9,608.
State Rep. Julie Brixie, D-Okemos, is concerned the House will stall on getting a new budget approved on time.
“They’re dragging their feet, and they’re hurting children as a result of it,” she said. “The whole reason the statutory deadline of July 1 was passed was so that schools would not be in this position.
“I am not optimistic that we’re going to get out of it in time to avoid a governmental shutdown. It’s just going to negatively impact a lot more people.”
Greater Lansing students started returning to school this week, and many of them will begin classes next week. Lansing’s first day is Aug. 20.
About 50 Dansville students will ride a different bus on Monday, Aug. 18, because of the state funding uncertainty. And high school students won’t see new striping in the parking lot, a $10,000 savings for the district, said Superintendent Jennifer Wonnell, who wants to keep instructional programs safe.
“We’re just pulling back in little areas where we can,” she said.
Some Okemos families will feel the state-school funding predicament in their own pocketbooks because free meals are no longer available for everyone.
They received a letter from Brian Kremkow, the district’s food service director, advising them that the past two years of free meals for all Michigan students was over.
“Okemos Public Schools will need to charge for student meals at least during the start of the 2025–26 school year due to a delay in state funding,” he said. “Michigan lawmakers have not yet adopted a 2025–26 school budget, so that guaranteed funding is not currently available.
“Due to differences in community income levels that determine eligibility for additional meal program funding, some area school districts will continue to offer free meals to all students. Okemos does not currently qualify for this support.”
Superintendent John Hood did not respond to an Aug. 8 request to further discuss the matter.
Shannon Beczkiewicz, the district’s communications coordinator, offered this statement: “The uncertainty of educational funding in the state budget causes school districts to make difficult decisions. Even without the state program providing Michigan students free breakfast and lunch, no Okemos student will go hungry. Families can apply for free and reduced meals and board policy allows the district to provide meals to students regardless of their ability to pay.”
Eaton Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Dufresne could not be immediately reached for comment. But the board’s Aug. 13 agenda listed this item for discussion: “A proposed resolution has been drafted for consideration, urging the Governor and State Legislature to pass the state budget in a timely manner to ensure school districts can effectively plan for the upcoming fiscal year.”
St. Johns Superintendent Anthony Berthiaume said the district laid off three staff members, including two teachers, but was able to call back one of the teachers.
There were other cuts and conservative strategies taken.
“We’re going to have to be good for the whole school year no matter what happens,” he said.
Bill Barnes, superintendent of Grand Ledge Public Schools, said the district is in decent shape, all things considered.
“We’ve planned well. We have good solid fiscal strategy here in the district,” he said. “We feel very comfortable that we can continue to run programs as they are throughout this year.
“But we need a budget, because there’s so much unknown, and we have to make decisions about how we’re going to be spending our dollars. If we don’t know how many we’re getting, it’s really difficult to make those good decisions.”
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: How will stalled state budget affect schools? Lansing area districts weigh in as Day 1 beckons
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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