FLINT, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Flint Community Schools are one of the most well-funded districts in the state, thanks in a big part to federal funding.

Flint Community Schools received $29,640 per pupil for its General Fund in 2022-23, with more than half of that due to federal dollars. By comparison, nearby Grand Blanc Community Schools received $13,270 per pupil in total funding and the state average was $14,475.

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Flint received $15,108-per-pupil in federal funding in 2022-23, the latest year data is available from the Michigan Department of Education’s 1014 bulletin. To put that in perspective, Flint received more money per pupil in federal dollars than the average school district received per-pupil in all funding – state, local and federal.

Now, the district is putting that at risk by saying it will defy an order from President Donald Trump’s administration to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights sent a Feb. 14 letter warning districts that they had 14 days to dismantle DEI policies or face losing federal money.

“Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them—particularly during the last four years—under the banner of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline,” the letter stated. “But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.”

About 13% of Flint district’s students are categorized as “white” by the state in 2024-25.