Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Capitol Report Archives January, 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Go to current Capitol Report for links to complete archive. Voting Records 2003-04 |
2006 Executive Budget Released Executive State School Aid Budget Highlights Executive Department of Education Budget University and Community College Funding Executive Community Colleges Budget Highlights Executive Universities and Financial Aid Budget Highlights Current Year State Budget Rising Costs of Health Care and Retirement State-Run Health Care for Education Employees Emerson Introduces School Funding Plan Lobby Day 2005
Links to current Legislative Action Alerts
may be found on the Legislative Hotline page of this website.  Return to Top 2006 Executive Budget Released On February 10, the Governor's 2006 Budget was presented to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The budget increases funding for K-12 education and worker training, while reducing overall state spending by nearly $390 million. The Executive Budget closes a $773 million general fund shortfall through a mix of spending cuts, revenue enhancements, and fund shifts. It maps out the Governor's vision and marks the beginning of the state's appropriation process. All education budget bills will start in the House this year. Legislative leaders decided to overhaul the Legislature's budget-writing process to center on results, forcing legislators to focus like never before on the results they want from the budget process. This new process is part of "The Price of Government" - the book that seeks to provide government officials formed in result teams with an instruction manual on how to confront fiscal crises like the ones Michigan has faced for years. A Minnesota-based firm, connected with the book's author, is facilitating these result teams. The $750,000 bill is being paid for by the State Chamber of Commerce. Michigan is their first attempt at working with an entire legislature on budget priorities. Usually at this time of year - one week after the Governor has presented his or her budget recommendation for the next fiscal year - legislative Appropriations subcommittees would begin meeting. They would take testimony in public and begin dissecting the budget line by line. Instead, that work has been postponed until March while the results teams meet. These teams, formed around desired results for the state chosen by Republican leaders, are charged with picking three indicators that will show the state whether it is achieving the desired results with taxpayer money. The nine result teams include: Result: The economy is thriving and people are working Result: Kids are succeeding in school Result: People are prepared for jobs and the new economy Result: Our natural resources are protected and preserved Result: People are safe where they live, work, and play Result: People are healthy Result: The most vulnerable live free from harm and as self-sufficiently as possible Result: People and goods move around the state quickly and safely Result: Government is effective, efficient and accountable The legislative teams are currently struggling with definitions of success in these nine result areas. It appears this format will dramatically slow down the budget process. Return to Top Executive State School Aid Budget Highlights: The School Aid Budget for 2006 totals $12.8 billion, an increase of $282 million. Revenue Sources. Reduces the general fund contribution from $165.2 million in 2004 to $20.2 million in 2005. Foundation Allowance Payments. Increases per-pupil foundation allowance by $175 per pupil from $6,700 to $6,875. Special Education State Funding. Fully funds with $1.38 billion; $960.9 million state school aid fund/other state funds. At Risk Children Services. Increases by $33 million, raising the total appropriations from $314.2 million to $347.2 million. Small Class Size. Continues grants at current levels. Preschool Programs. Funds with $153.4 million; $88.3 million state school aid fund/general fund. High School Curriculum Support. Adds $50 per high school pupil (9-12) to recognize extra costs of providing high school curriculum - total funding of $26.3 million state school aid fund for 2005 - 2006. Continuation of additional funding in subsequent years contingent on "Michigan Scholarship Curriculum" available to all pupils. School-based Health Centers. Doubles the number of school-based health centers to 65, funded by $3.7 million from the School Aid Budget, which is matched with $5 million federal funds in the Department of Community Health budget. More than 80,000 youth, ages 10 to 21, are served each year. Reform Board District. Includes funding of $15 million to a district that had a reform board if it experiences declining enrollment in 2005 - 2006. Centers of Education Performance and Information. Proposes $3.7 million increase for operations and for development and implementation of a new system to track students from pre-kindergarten to age 20. Michigan Virtual High School. Increases funding from $3 million to $8 million to provide advanced courses to rural and other schools. ISD General Operations. Funds with $79.75 million, a $2.3 million (2.6%) increase from 2004. Durant-Related Cash and Bond Payments. Fully funds with $79.5 million; nearly $35 million state school aid fund. Adult Education. Maintains at $20 million of state funds with continuation of "Michigan Works" pilot participation. Develop Models of Regional Efficiencies to Reduce Schools Expenses for Business Management Functions. Funds with a $200,000 best practices grant from the general fund. MPSERS Contribution Rate. Increases percentage of payroll that districts must allocate for public school employees from14.87 percent to 16.34 percent. Professional Development. Appropriates over $106 million of federal funding to improve teacher quality through professional development to assist in meeting requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Blended Count. Continues formula at 75% of fall and 25% of previous February student count. Hold Harmless Districts. Maintains funding at current level. Freedom to Learn. Eliminates funding to provide wireless laptop computers to six grade students for a savings of $3.7 million in state funds and $17.3 million in federal funds. Michigan Virtual University. Eliminates funding totaling $1 million in general fund savings. Return to Top Executive Department of Education Budget: The Department of Education Budget for 2006 totals $12.5 million, an increase of $1,159,280. After-School Enrichment Opportunities. Federal 21st Century grants totaling $29.3 million provide after-school enrichment opportunities to over 25,000 children in 184 schools. Youth development activities include drug and violence prevention; counseling; art, music and recreation; and technology. School Breakfast and Lunch Payments. Increases funding by $1.6 million, to total $9.6 million, to reflect an anticipated cost increase and an increase in the number served. MEAP Contract. Appropriates $2.6 million in additional Merit Award Trust Funds for contractual services to revise the High School MEAP test to also be a college entrance exam, as required by Public Act 596 of 2004. National Board Certification Grants. Eliminates the National Board Certification grant, which pays one-half of the fee for teachers to become certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, saving $100,000. Return to Top University and Community College Funding for FY 2005 - 2006 The Executive Budget proposes a $30 million reduction in funding for fiscal years 2005 and 2006, but proposes to offset this reduction by the issuance of state bonds for special maintenance projects at universities and community colleges of up to $100 million annually. Most student financial aid programs are continued at 2005 levels, but recommends increasing support for the Tuition Incentive Program by $2 million to $12 million, and eliminating the Tuition Grant Program which provides grants to students attending private colleges. Return to Top Executive Community Colleges Budget Highlights: Operations Funding. Reduces each college's operations appropriation (including funds appropriated for tuition restraint in FY 2004 - 2005) by 1.7 percent for total reduction of $4.9 million. Provides an extra $100 million, available in both 2005 and 2006, for special maintenance needs to enable colleges and universities to improve laboratory space, libraries, classrooms, and other critical infrastructure needs. Tuition Restraint Incentives. No tuition restraint policy is recommended for community colleges in FY 2005 - 2006. At-Risk Student Success Program. Continues program funding at $3.3 million. Renaissance Zone Tax Reimbursement. Increases funding for renaissance zone reimbursement to colleges by $500,000 GF/GP to reflect projected increases in taxable value within zones located in college districts. Return to Top Executive Universities and Financial Aid Budget Highlights: Operations Funding. Reduces each university's operations appropriation by 1.76 percent (based on total of operations and tuition restraint appropriations) for total reduction of $25.1 million. Provides an extra $100 million, available in both 2005 and 2006, for special maintenance needs to enable colleges and universities to improve laboratory space, libraries, classrooms, and other critical infrastructure needs. Tuition Restraint Incentives. Maintains for the 2006 budget and continues to make a portion of a university's support contingent upon minimizing tuition and fees. Universities that increase tuition and fees to no more than 5 percent or $307, whichever is greater, will receive tuition restraint incentive payments totaling over $87 million. The Martin Luther King-Cesar Chavez-Rosa Parks Program. Appropriates $5.1 million to restructure this program into a competitive grant program to better focus on results. This $5.1 million restructured program will continue to encourage under-represented minority students to attend and complete college. A college or university will be required to match state funds, and the program participants will be tracked over the course of their collegiate careers to evaluate the results of the spending. Merit Award Program. Increases funding by $59.6 million (Merit Trust Fund) for $2,500 Merit Awards for students attending state institutions; does not fund $1,000 awards for students attending out-of-state institutions, nor awards of $500 for performance on middle school MEAP, which are scheduled to be paid beginning in FY 2005 - 2006, for a saving $13 million. Other Grants and Scholarships. Continues funding at current levels for: State Competitive Scholarships ($34,630,500); Michigan Work Study Program ($7,326,300); Nursing Scholarship Program ($4,000,000); Part-Time Independent Student Program ($2,653,300); Michigan Education Opportunity Grant ($2,084,200; and Byrd Honors Scholarship Program ($1,500,000). Agricultural Experiment Stations. Reduces from $33.2 million to $29.9 million. Cooperative Extension. Reduces from $28.6 Million to $21.9 Million. Tuition Incentive Program. Increases funding from $10 million to $12 million to reflect increased participation by many students with the greatest financial need. Tuition Grant Program. Eliminates this program which subsidizes attendance at private colleges. Currently, a disproportionate share of the state's financial aid dollars (33 percent or $61.8 million) is supporting the relatively small number of students attending private colleges. Return to Top Current Year State Budget The Michigan Constitution requires the state operate with a balanced budget. To deal with the 2004 - 2005 general fund structural deficit, the Governor has proposed a mix of budget shifts and cuts in the form of an Executive Order and supplemental appropriations bill. The Executive Order needs an affirmative vote by both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The supplemental bill, House Bill 4308, is required to go through the full House and Senate and be signed by the Governor. The House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the first executive order proposal to reduce spending by about $220 million. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee rejected Executive Order 2005-3 objecting to how the proposal dealt with reductions to universities and colleges. The proposed Executive Order would have reduced funding to the state's 15 public universities and 28 community colleges by $30 million, but included $100 million in bonds to universities and colleges for maintenance to offset the loss in operations funding. The Governor and the House struck an agreement to restore the funding later in the fiscal year if additional revenues materialize as expected. Despite the compromise, Senate Republicans said it still represented a breach of the state's promise not to cut their funding this year if they held tuition in check, especially since there is no guarantee of extra revenues. Governor Granholm and Republican legislative leaders have scheduled meetings in hope of quickly reaching an agreement on how to fix a $375 million shortfall in the current year budget. Return to Top Rising Costs of Health Care and Retirement in Public Education House Resolution 14 (Palmer, R-Romeo) states that the House of Representatives intends to address the rising costs of health care and retirement in public education. It passed the House of Representatives with a 57 to 49 straight party-line vote (with 1 Republican absent and 3 Democrats not voting). HR 14 places most the blame for the financial crisis our school districts are facing on rising labor costs, including health insurance and generous pension benefits. It states that retirement and health care costs have eroded many of the financial gains our schools realized in the years following Proposal A. The resolution contends that despite increasing per-pupil funding, these school funding increases have been largely consumed by retiree and health care obligations. Its stated goal is to direct more resources directly into Michigan's classrooms. As you can see, school employees health care and retirement benefits, as well as collective bargaining rights, are already under attack in the state legislature. While this is only a resolution that doe not give the legislature additional power or change state law, it does convey legislative intent. We will need a vast amount of support from our members just to protect these well-deserved rights and benefits. Return to Top State-Run Health Care for Education Employees Being Considered During the holidays, majority leaders in the Senate decided to spend $250,000 to commission a study investigating the feasability and cost savings of placing all public school and community college employees into a statewide pool for the purpose of health care coverage. This study was requested by the Legislative Council and does not require a vote by legislators. A Request for Proposal (REP) was due back to the Council on February 4 with the completed study expected this June. This deadline coincides with final K-12 and Community College Budgets decisions. On January 25, 2005, Senates Sikkema and Johnson introduced Senate Bills 55 and 56, which will be used as vehicle bills for this initiative. Senate Bills 55 and 56 would:
Action Needed: Contact your State Senators and Representatives. For your convenience, you may locate your state legislators' contact information on our website: http://www.mftsrp.org. Return to Top Emerson Introduces School Funding Plan Senate Bill 246 (Senator Emerson , D-Flint) called the K-16 Coalition Plan, would guarantee future state funding for schools and universities. The proposal seeks to boost the K-16 budget each year by 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever figure is less, using 2002 - 2003 as the base year. Below are the highlights of the proposal:
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