State Leaders Agree on Tentative Budget

The governor and legislative leaders announced a tentative deal Thursday that would lessen planned cuts to schools and put aside money in the state's rainy day funds.

Gov. Rick Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and House Speaker Jase Bolger made the announcement in Lansing.

The terms of the deal include:

• A per-pupil cut that would be less than $100. The original cut proposed by Snyder was to be $300 per student. Last year, the state cut $170 from per pupil funding.
• $310 million in funding for K-12 schools more than was originally proposed. $150 million of that would be distributed on a per-pupil basis to districts that meet "specified financial best practice measures as defined in the K-12 appropriations bill." The schools would also get a one-time $160 million to help defray retirement system costs.
• $30 million in additional funding for local units of government, half of which goes to cities, villages and townships as part of the Economic Vitality Incentive grants, and the other half going for county revenue sharing.
• $50 million for the Michigan Strategic Fund for economic development activities, including brownfield redevelopment and historic preservation incentives. 
• A $25 million cap on incentives for the film industry.
• Money for the state's rainy day funds, including $255 million for the  Budget Stabilization Fund and $133 million to a School Aid Fund reserve account.

The governor had asked for a deal by May 31.

"We will have a timely, balanced budget in place so that our municipal and school partners can accurately plan for the coming year, avoiding the chaos that too often has been foisted upon them due to Lansing's inaction," Snyder said in a statement.

According to , under Snyder’s original education budget proposal, Dearborn stood to lose $1,200 per student. The per-pupil cut would have been $460, but Dearborn would also be hit disproportionately by at-risk and bilingual student funding.

Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) cautiously celebrated the move forward on lessening school funding cuts, but said that much more needed to be done.

"While I am happy the governor and Republican leaders have started listening to the thousands of people in our state who demanded our schools be protected from severe cuts, I am concerned that this budget plan is still taking money from the School Aid Fund, where it belongs," Darany said in a business. "A lesser cut than was originally proposed should not be a cause for celebration when the money originally in the School Aid Fund would have shielded our children from seeing any cuts at all.

"The only way that Michigan's economy will continue to improve is to ensure that our children are receiving a world class education that will prepare them for the 21st century job market," Darany added.