Could funding cuts to Michigans wealthiest school districts force statewide tax increases?
Area educators for years have been calling for so-called “20-J” school districts to lose their extra funding. But, now, some are wondering whether that $54 million will be replaced by higher taxes. The money goes to 39 districts with the highest per-student foundation grants, including Saugatuck, and was intended to keep them highly funded. You know the names — Birmingham, West Bloomfield, Grosse Pointe — because superintendents and school boards have long held them out as examples of the unfairness of the state’s school finance system. When Proposal A was drafted 15 years ago with the intention of easing the property tax burden and closing the gap between high- and low-spending school districts, lawmakers needed support from wealthy districts. They were promised they could be “held harmless,” and the goal of the legislation would be to bring lower districts up to their levels. Section 20-J is the part of the school code that allows for the “categorical,” which is a line of special s
Related Questions
- Why hasn Alamedas School District done something to address the funding inequities that mean Alameda gets less state funding than other school districts?
- Could funding cuts to Michigans wealthiest school districts force statewide tax increases?
- Should budget rules force Congress to pay for tax cuts and spending increases?
