LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – 2023 brings in a new legislature that has a Democrat majority, and one of the areas that could face changes is education.

During the 2022 Gubernatorial Election, this issue was debated at length, especially regarding Governor Whitmer and the state’s approach to schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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While Michigan currently enjoys and will be granted more Federal funding in 2023 which has helped schools pay for mental health services for students and other programs like tutoring after the pandemic, schools have struggled to fill those positions.   The past several years, Michigan has seen a higher teacher dropout rate among other school officials.  Schools as recent as the summer have implemented incentive programs to get more teachers in classrooms and administrators in schools.  The legislature will likely have to plan what to do when that funding runs dry.

Gov. Whitmer and her administration won reelection partially for her commitment to cut taxes for low-come workers and retirees, though also promising to improve Michigan’s school funding system.  After a study designed to “estimate the resources needed in Michigan to allow students, teachers, schools, and districts to meet state standards” was completed, the final recommendation had a more than $3 billion price tag.  The governor is expected to release her budget proposal in February which could include relying on state surpluses to keep education funding  and taxes low, or pursue new funding methods.

More than just qualified school workers, school facilities themselves have needed face lifts, but costs are also rising.  In November, Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti conveyed to board members during a committee meeting that the end date for projects that are part of a $700 million facility initiative is now 2029, four years later than the original end date according to Bridge Michigan.  Agenda materials cited “the current labor market, delays in equipment and material shipments, and the number of construction projects that are currently underway in Southeast Michigan.”