6/12/14 - Despite criticism from members of his own party, a local lawmaker says budget legislation passed by the House shows the future is bright for children in the state and they continue to be a top priority. State Representative Bill Rogers is chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Education and School Aid. The term limited Republican from Genoa Township talked about Wednesdayâs passage of the stateâs 2015 spending plan for preschoolers, K-12, community colleges and higher education. He says the committee put a focus on closing the equity gap between Michiganâs schools and increased funding to smaller and more rural school districts by over $100 per pupil. But many Democrats and more than a dozen Republicans voted against the education package in the House, which ended up passing on a 60-50 vote. In the Senate, the vote was even closer, with five Republicans joining all the Democrats in opposing the bill, which only passed in the upper chamber 21-17. Critics said the $50 per-pupil minimum hike is less than Governor Snyder proposed and less than the both the House and Senate had approved before final negotiations. They also were upset that lower-funded districts, many of them cyber schools with low overhead costs, were receiving an additional $125 per pupil that many traditional districts were not getting. Rogers says the upcoming fiscal year will be the largest disbursement in history from the School Aid Fund, reinforcing Michiganâs continued improvement. He says the state now also tops the nation in pre-K funding with an increase of $65 (m) million. (JK)
↧