Students across Michigan started their school year this week but school administrators are operating in the dark. That’s because state lawmakers have blown through the deadline to pass an education budget for the next fiscal year.
Education leaders across the state don’t know what their fiscal year budget will look like, because the state Legislature didn’t approve of one before the July 1 deadline.
Now, public and private schools and colleges must make budgeting plans without guidance.
Jennifer Verleger is the superintendent of Mount Pleasant Public Schools. She says the district is in good financial shape.
“We're trying to be very cautious as we move forward,” Verleger said. “We want to be able to maintain the programming as much as we can, but we want to make sure also that we have the funding to do that. So, we need to be fiscally responsible as well.”
However, if no budget is passed before Oct. 1, non-essential state government services will shut down. Verleger says long-term plans are being made if the district runs into money problems.
“There may be a point where we have to look at programs that we can no longer afford to sustain, but we will look at every other option first before we eliminate programs or before we take away supports from students,” Verleger said.
About a half hour south of Mount Pleasant, Alma Public Schools is feeling the same pinch. The district serves around 1,800 students.
Superintendent Stacy Luberda-Criner says the district doesn’t have clarity on things like funding for Pre-K programs and professional development for teachers.
The lack of clarity has made personnel decisions difficult.
“Each time I have a resignation I am not filling those positions at this point in time, to try to just ensure that we're complying with the budget that doesn't currently exist,” Luberda-Criner said.
The biggest concern however is school lunches, state funding for universal free school lunches ends on Sept. 30. In 2024, the state said 477,000 kids ate breakfast at school every day, and 867,000 ate lunch every day.
Education leaders around the state are asking parents to fill out the Education Benefits Form, used to determine eligibility for free or reduced lunches.
Luberda-Criner says around 70 to 80 percent of the district’s students take advantage of the program, and they expect participation to increase this year.
“So, one of the things that we had the most questions on during our open house was related to school lunches and whether or not they're going to be provided for their students,” Luberda-Criner said. Parents have not yet made the transition to budget for within their home budgets for the accommodation of lunch programs,” she added.
Clare Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Forsberg echoed that school lunch funding was among the biggest worries in his community.
“We serve about 4,500 meals per week, if I'm not mistaken, and so that is, you know, a substantial portion of our population,” Forsberg said.
Legislators are still intensely debating the state budget.
The state Senate passed its budget in May. The state House has yet to pass its version. Republican leadership wants $3 billion in road funding passed alongside the school budget.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expressed concern about the budget during a press conference in Romulus last week.
“You can’t send bills to the governor on Oct. 1 and think that they go into effect that day. The budget’s got to get done at least a week in advance of that, if not two. And, so, yeah, we’re down to a matter of weeks,” Whitmer said.
Both Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall, and Democratic state Senate Majority leader Winnie Brinks expressed support for docking lawmaker pay if the deadline passed with no budget.
A Republican amendment to do just that got bipartisan support but failed to pass in the state House.
As the school bells ring out at Mount Pleasant High, Superintendent Verleger said she wants lawmakers to come to compromise.
“I am very hopeful that the folks in Lansing will be able to figure something out in the next month for us. Because I think there is a broad understanding of how big of an impact this would have, not only in Mount Pleasant, but across the state.”
The state House is back in session on Tuesday.
Rick Pluta and Colin Jackson contributed reporting to this story.
