WDET-FM, 4/23

How are Michigan's public schools funded?

By Bre'Anna Tinsley

In 1993, Michigan's legislature devised a plan to help close the gap between wealthy and poor school districts. Before Proposition A, schools were primarily funded through property taxes, with some money coming from the state. Prop A created the foundation allowance, which guaranteed schools a certain amount of money per student, subsidized by the school aid fund. Mike Addonizio is a professor of education policy studies at Wayne State University. "It substantially increased per-pupil funding for the lower revenue school districts," Addonizio says. "And it also slowed down the growth in revenue for in what had been the property-rich school districts." Addonizio says the goal of Prop A was to reduce the reliance on local property tax to support school operations and shift to a greater share of state revenue. School districts were still allowed to levy property taxes on communities to help fund schools, but only up to 18 mills on the taxable value of the property. The foundation allowance allocates money on a sliding scale, with the between $7,631 and $8,289. Because of this, all school districts are not funded equally. https://wdet.org/posts/2018/04/23/86691-how-are-michigans-public-schools-funded/