5/9/14 - A local lawmaker says the school aid budget will increase school funding by close to half-a-billion dollars from 2014 levels, while critics say the bill is still unfairly distributing education dollars. The Republican-led Michigan Senate and House passed $13.7 billion schools budgets increasing per-pupil funding in K-12 schools. State Representative Bill Rogers chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid. The Genoa Township Republican spoke on the House floor Thursday prior to passage of the school aid budget for 2015. "I am proud to say we have increased over the prior budget school aid by approximately $460 million dollars. Realizing that some people will never say its enough, I will say my children never said I gave them enough of an allowance. But we have increased the funding for schools." But not everyone saw things so positively. Democratic State Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood of Taylor said the bill was nothing less than âraiding the School Aid Fund to make up for the money now missing from the General Fund." Hopgood said that kids, âshouldn't have to pay for corporate tax handouts, nor should they have to pay for the poor budgetingâ of the legislature and that School Aid Fund dollars were intended to be spent on one thing only: K-12 schools. The budget provides funding increases to community colleges, higher education and School Aid for K-12 education. Differences between the House and Senate versions will be hammered out in conference committees after lawmakers and Snyder's administration meet. (JK)
↧