- Budgeting Challenges: Superintendent Jeff Beal needs to plan Jackson Public Schools' budget while not having final numbers in grant funding.
- State Budget Issues: Last year, schools received less funding than expected in per-pupil mental health funding. Beal announced a $4 million deficit in February.
- Legislative Response: Lawmakers propose increased funding for schools, with Republicans backing a plan that includes $15 billion in school aid, while Democrats continue negotiations on the school aid budget.
Superintendent Jeff Beal has been planning budgets with Jackson Public Schools for 11 years, but the process can still bring challenges.
"You don't know how many students you'll see in the fall, and you don't know what your federal Title I grants are going to be in the fall," Superintendent Jeff Beal said.
Adding to the challenge, schools must have their budgets finalized by July, but the state budget needs to be completed by September 30.
As that process played out last year, schools received far less money than expected.
"We didn't see the revenue that we were supposed to come in," Beal said.
In February, Beal announced the district was facing a $4 million deficit.
I wanted to find some answers to help school districts like Jackson's, so I asked Jackson lawmakers about the budget process.
"We did propose a per-pupil increase higher than what the governor proposed. That would bring about $3 million back to Jackson Public Schools, $1.3 million to Chelsea, and $2 million to northwest. So, that's really going to help our schools," Republican State Representative Kathy Schmaltz said.
House Republicans passed a "government shutdown prevention plan" along party lines in February, which included 15 billion dollars in school aid funding.
"We need an educated population here in Michigan if we are going to continue to grow our state. The House Democrats are continuing to negotiate. We are continuing to call for additional committee meetings and hearings to make sure we're actually going through the budget process," Democratic State Representative Carrie Rheingans said.
As the budget process continues, Beal hopes lawmakers remember the communities impacted.
"It could be held hostage to various political whims or bills, strings, or policies, or bargaining back and forth. That's very dangerous for schools and certainly creates a sense of uncertainty for staff and the community," Beal said.
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