LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Department of Education is promoting a report that says the state’s K-12 schools need $23 billion in infrastructure upgrades although schools haven’t yet spent all of the $5.6 billion in federal pandemic relief they receive d.

The MDE published a press release April 21 that supported the findings of a $20 million taxpayer-funded study overseen by the School Finance Research Foundation, a non-profit run by current and former public school superintendents.

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The School Finance Research Foundation is a non-profit affiliated with the School Finance Research Collaborative, which released a 2018 study that said to adequately educate a student, the state should spend an additional $3.6 billion a year.

The 2025 study’s goal was to give an idea on the total cost required “through either new construction or repairs on existing facilities, to bring all K-12 public school buildings in Michigan to a common standard of health, safety, and wellness.”

The report comes as school districts have enjoyed record levels of funding due to the pandemic. The $5.6 billion K-12 schools received in federal pandemic relief must be spent by the end of 2026.

In 2018-19, K-12 schools received $14.8 billion in state and federal funding. That was the last year before the pandemic impacted budgets. From 2020-21 through 2024-25, K-12 schools have had revenues averaging $20.2 billion a year during that five-year span.

One way school districts can get funding for repairs is to get voters to approve a school bond.

But in 2024, there were 42 school bonds rejected in the state with 41 passed, meaning the majority of school bonds failed. That was different than before the pandemic. In 2018 and 2019, 70% of the 11 school bond proposals were approved by voters.