The Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education has unanimously passed a resolution in public support of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s 2019-20 Budget Proposal. The Board of Education supports the plan for school funding that reflects the work of the non-partisan School Finance Research Collaborative.
The Board of Education resolution highlights that the School Finance Research Collaborative and other school finance studies have pointed to the need for significant new funding for K-12 schools, in addition to changing how those dollars are allocated to reflect the unique needs of each individual student.
AAPS Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeanice Swift, highlights the proposed budget’s weighted formula that considers the additional costs required to educate some students. “Finally, there is an acknowledgement that it costs more to educate some students than it does to educate others,” Swift says. “Under Governor Whitmer’s proposal, the Ann Arbor Public Schools would benefit because as the 4th largest Michigan school district, we educate a varied student population representing a wide range of learners along a continuum of needs.”
Specifically Governor Whitmer’s budget plan emphasizes the need for the state to properly fund early literacy programs, special education programs, career and technical education, and programs for at-risk students.
The AAPS Board of Education resolution also urges the Michigan Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign the Fiscal Year 2020 state budget prior to July 1, 2019, as school districts across the state must approve their 2019-20 budgets by June 30, 2019.
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