Whitmer recommends trimming education budget, boosting per-student funding for FY 2026

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to members of the Michigan Legislature in Lansing on Jan. 24, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth)

In the kickoff to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget season, State Budget Director Jen Flood outlined Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposal, presenting on Wednesday a slimmed-down School Aid budget to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. 

While the current FY 2025 School Aid budget provides $23.4 billion to Michigan schools, Whitmer’s FY 2026 recommendations total $21.2 billion.

Despite the decrease in overall funding, Whitmer promised there would be “record high” per-pupil funding in her FY 2026 recommendations, as first reported by the Michigan Advance.

Sure enough, State Budget Office leaders touted a 4.1% increase in the total funds allocated per-student, while maintaining programs like free breakfast and lunches for students and free pre-K for every four year old across the state. 

“As a mom of two, I can talk about how rewarding parenting is, and I can also speak firsthand to the cost of raising children. That’s why this budget is focused on lowering costs for families. We’re proposing universal pre-K, which saves families $10,000 per child in saved daycare costs; free school meals, which saves parents time and puts an extra $850 in their pockets every single year,” State Budget Director Jen Flood said.

Whitmer’s proposed FY 2026 budget would include a $392 increase to the per-pupil allowance, with $10,000 set aside for each student for a total of $516 million.

The Whitmer administration has touted record investments in per-student funding for the past few years, although the current FY 2025 school budget, which allocated $9,608 per pupil, maintained the same level as the School Aid budget for FY 2024. 

While the current budget includes an additional $598 million stemming from a reduction in school districts’ required contributions to the teacher retirement fund — which Whitmer’s office said was equivalent to a 4% increase in funding per pupil — Republicans slammed the stagnant per-pupil spending. 

Republicans were similarly critical of a reduction in mental health and school safety funding with the FY 2025 budget allocating $26.5 million in grants for per-pupil mental health and school safety compared to the $328 million included in FY 2024 budget.

The final budget bill noted the $598 million freed up in retirement fund payments should “be used to support student mental health, school safety, the educator workforce and academic interventions.” Whitmer later approved an additional $126 million supplemental for school safety and mental health. 

For FY 2026, Whitmer proposed $258 million in ongoing funds for school safety and mental health. 

When asked about the $258 million allocation, House Appropriations Chair Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Twp.) told reporters that some items included in the executive recommendations aligned with the education plan House Republicans assembled over the summer. 

“Sadly, there is a need for it, both mental health support and our school resource officers. We want our kids and our parents to feel comfortable when they send their kids to school, and we all want them to be, you know, healthy in mind, body and spirit, and that’s the goal. And so we will work towards that,” Bollin said.

Whitmer’s recommendation also includes $202.4 million in ongoing funds in support for special education students — a 10% increase in the state allocation from the current law — as well as $94 million to support academically at-risk students, English language learners, career and technical education students, and students in rural school districts.

It also sets aside $23 million to provide additional literacy coaches and more instructional time to support student literacy, in line with a law signed in October to support students with dyslexia. 

Additionally, the budget proposal allocates $250 million to implement the governor’s Students, Metrics and Results with Transparency (SMART) Plan, which was first reported by the Michigan Advance. 

Whitmer’s proposal also includes multiple funding pots to support individuals looking to go into education, including $75 million to continue providing a tuition-free pathway for becoming a teacher through the MI Future Educator Fellowship and Student Teacher Stipends. It also sets aside $50 million for “Grow-Your-Own programs” providing districts with resources to help non-credentialed staff get the education and training needed to become a teacher. 

For higher education, Whitmer’s recommendations included a $50 million investment in the state’s Postsecondary Scholarship Fund to support the Michigan Achievement Scholarship which provides Michigan high school graduates access to an associate degree or skilled certificate tuition-free at a community college, or the equivalent of up to $27,500 toward the cost of attendance for a bachelor’s degree.

She also requested $15 million in one-time funding for the College Success Fund, which offers grants to public and private universities and community colleges to improve student support and completion efforts.

The state’s 28 community colleges would receive an additional $14.6 million for operations, while Michigan’s 15 public universities would receive an additional $69.8 million.