LANSING, Mich. (Feb. 11, 2021) — Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills) has issued the following statement on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget recommendation presented today to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, which included historic funding for K-12 education and increased funding for childcare programs for those who need it most:
“As a computer engineer, when I see a problem, it’s my nature to want to solve it. The economic constraints the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on our school systems cannot be ignored, as they’ve created tremendous challenges with in-person and remote learning, and they have illustrated the inequities in our school-funding model.
“It is both logical and sensible to ask — as Gov. Whitmer is — for the largest-ever investment in education that includes school-related activities and supports that help working families, like access to affordable childcare for those who qualify. Michigan students and families need and deserve our support, not partisan games, and I look forward to doing everything I can to deliver that to them.”
Key highlights of the governor’s budget recommendations on education and childcare include:
- $203 million increase in base per pupil funding, reducing the gap between the highest and lowest-funded districts to $336 per pupil.
- $250 million to support student academic recovery, physical and mental health, and postsecondary readiness and transition.
- $120 million to provide opportunities for summer learning, after-school learning, day camps, and other activities supporting student needs outside a regular schedule.
- Raising the state payment for a full-day preschooler in the Great Start Readiness Program for the first time since 2014.
- $362 million to expand childcare options for working families who qualify and to help support childcare providers as they recover from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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