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 Go to current Capitol Report for links to complete archive. 2002 2001 2000 |
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Charter School Legislation -- A Fight to the Finish New Legislature Speeding Forward Detroit & Highland Park to Receive Federal Grants Schools Face $127 Million State Aid Cuts Higher Education Cuts Being Bargained Office of State Budget Letter Prorations of School/K-12 Budgets Proration on ISDs for Fiscal Year 2003 Estimated FY03 K-12 Proration Impact Legislative Directory Lobby Day 2003--Tuesday, March 18 may be found on the Legislative Hotline page of this website.  Return to Top Charter School Legislation -- A Fight to the Finish Sick of waiting for the House to find a resolution to the charter school expansion issue, the Senate thought it had adjourned for the year on December 13. However, Senators were called back into a special session on Monday, December 30 to vote on Senate Bill 143, a Detroit only charter bill. Senate Bill 143 would have required the Mayor to open three new charter schools in Detroit each year for five years. The Detroit Public School System would have received $2.5 million per year for three years to offset the loss of funding from pupils leaving the school system for these charter schools (District estimates a loss of $32.5 million). In this bill, Mayor Kilpatrick would have been made a chartering authority, and he would have gained full control over Detroit's seven- member reform school board. The Senate vote was 18 to 12, only two votes short of passage. Since the lawmakers officially adjourned their two-year session following the vote on Senate Bill 143, this and other unpassed bills are now dead. The education and labor community united to defeat this legislation using phone calls, e-mails, and letters to legislators regarding the detrimental effects these new charter schools would have had on Detroit Public Schools. We would like to thank Detroit Teacher Edith Adams, MFT&SRP and DFT Vice President George Adams, Detroit Teacher Steve Conn, MFT&SRP Secretary-Treasurer Lois Lofton- Doniver, MFT&SRP President David Hecker, DFT President Janna Garrison, and DFT Recording Secretary Candice Laurence for making a special trip to Lansing on December 30 in order to lobby Senators on Senate Bill 143. It is certain that a charter school expansion bill will soon be introduced in the new legislative session. The MFT&SRP will continue to keep you advised on this important issue. Return to Top New Legislature Speeding Forward With the 92nd State Legislative session barely underway, 20 bills have already been introduced affecting education. We have 54 new House members and 29 new Senators. A perfect way to start a good working relationship with them is to attend Lobby Day. Registration Forms will be in the mail soon. Nothing is more effective than personal contact. Remember--these legislators will have a great impact on our schools and jobs. A list of our new Senators and Representatives is attached. Return to Top Detroit & Highland Park to Receive Federal Grants In the first 18 months of the four and a half year 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) Program, the state of Michigan will award $11,161,154 to districts around the state who are on the cutting edge of educational innovation with before and after-school program offerings. Over the course of the grant program, Michigan is in a position to award more than $33.4 million to the sites. The purposes of the 21st CCLC program, managed by the Michigan Department of Education, are:
Return to Top Schools Face $127 Million State Aid Cuts On January 14, state economists reported at a Revenue Estimating Conference that school aid revenues, will fall $127 million short for this year. The State must prorate payments to school districts in order to eliminate the shortfall. As a result, the State Budget Director gave notice to the legislature on January 15 stating that the department will prorate payments, as required by Section 11(3) of the School Aid Act. The Department of Management and Budget has estimated the proration will be a 3.8% across-the- board cut in payments for all school districts. The legislature has 30 days or 6 session days (whichever is greater) from the date the notice is given to appropriate additional funds (from the Budget Stabilization Fund, general fund, or other source) or reduce appropriations in order to avoid a proration. Assuming a 30-day time frame, the legislature would need to act by February 14, 2003, if a proration is to be averted. If no action is taken, schools will see a reduction in their state aid payments beginning in March. While the School Aid Act requires proration, it protects certain sections from being reduced. These sections include: special education, school lunch programs, Durant payment, and Proposal A obligations. These total $7.8 billion that cannot be prorated. Since the FY 2003 estimate for school aid appropriations is $11.5 billion, this means that there is a total of $3.7 billion remaining which can be prorated to make up the shortfall of approximately $127 million. Currently, districts' foundation allowances constitute approximately 80 percent of their total funding. Foundation allowances are paid out of two different sections: the Proposal A Obligation Payment and the Discretionary Payment. Only the Proposal A Obligation Payment, which guarantees districts' per pupil funding at the FY 1994-95 level as required by the Michigan Constitution, is prohibited from being cut. Since the Proposal A Guarantee accounts for different proportions of districts' foundation allowances, the amount of proration on the foundation allowance will vary by district. See the attached letter and updated charts for MFT&SRP districts' proration estimates. Fiscal experts are also predicting a $366 million shortfall for the 2003 - 2004 school aid budget. This will result in an estimated 11% budget reduction for districts next year, unless the Legislature enacts additional revenues. Action Needed: Contact your legislators and explain what these cuts will mean in your district. List the likely ramifications of these funding cuts. Secondly, attend Lobby Day March 18 to personally speak with your legislators in Lansing. Return to Top Higher Education Cuts Being Bargained At the above-mentioned Revenue Estimating Conference on January 14, state economists also reported general fund revenues will fall $150 million short for this year. Since Higher Education and Community Colleges are funded from this budget, further cuts to these and other budgets are now being negotiated by legislative leaders and the Governor's office. It is expected that an Executive Order will soon be issued containing these budget cuts. It is estimated that in fiscal year 2004 the General Fund will be short $1.7 billion. With the Higher Education and Community College budgets not yet set for next year, adequate funding will be in serious jeopardy. Return to Top Office of State Budget Letter The Office of State Budget Letter is reproduced here in .pdf format. Click Here [will open in new window] Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view or print this document. If it is not already installed on your computer you will need to download the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. Return to Top Prorations of School/K-12 Budgets Prorations of School/K-12 Budgets is a publication of the Senate Fiscal Agency and is reproduced here in .pdf format. Click Here [will open in new window] Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view or print this document. If it is not already installed on your computer you will need to download the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader. Return to Top Proration on ISDs for Fiscal Year 2003
Estimated Impact of a 3.8% Proration on
Intermediate School Districts for Fiscal Year 2003
Notes: 1) Data was taken from the January 2003 Department of Education state aid payment files. 2) All of an ISD's state aid payment is subject to proration except payments made under Sections 11f (Durant Cash Payments), 11g (Durant Debt Service Payments), and 51a (2) (Special Education Payments). 3) Deducts were not included in the calculation. Source: House Fiscal Agency bk:opeiu42aflcio: January 27, 2003 Return to Top Estimated FY03 K-12 Proration Impact
Estimated FY03 K-12 Proration Impact
Assumptions: 1) Estimated school aid reductions are based on the assumption of an annualized 3.8 percent proration. 2) The reduction in the discretionary payment approximates the reduction in the foundation allowance. 3) These numbers are preliminary and may change somewhat when revised data become available. Source: House Fiscal Agency bk:opeiu42aflcio: January 28, 2003 Return to Top Legislative Directory For a printer-friendly version of the current Legislative Directory, please click here. You may also locate and contact the governor, your state senator and representative by visiting the Governor's, House and Senate websites: Governor's Office Find your State Senator Find your State Representative Return to Top |
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