Schools Challenge State Shift of School Aid Fund Money to General Fund (MI)

September 24, 2010

At least two schooldistricts in Michigan’s upper peninsula are not happy with a move by statelawmakers to shift a “surplus” of funds from the states School Aid Fund to theGeneral Fund in a move to balance the budget, reports the Escanaba Daily Press.

The move happened earlier this month when lawmakers approved, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a measureto shift $208 million from the SAF to the General Fund. The money, lawmakersargue is necessary for the budgeting process. Lawmakers also felt the move wasacceptable because the federal government had just approved $26 billion Education, Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. Michigan is expected to receive $300million from the Act for education.

Education funding has taken hits over the last several budget cycles because ofdeclining revenues from sales tax and lottery sales.

The issue, school officials in the U.P. argue, is that no one has a time framefor when that money will be available, what rules will govern its use and howit will be distributed across the state.

So those officials say that lawmakers have “robbed” the education fund to balancethe budget. In the meantime, as schools attempt to balance out their annualbudgets, most of which began July 1 without any real concrete knowledge ofstate income, are left reading budgetary tea leafs to figure if, or when, theywill receive a per pupil funding increase.