Governor Whitmer Header
Dear Friend,
Today I signed my sixth balanced, bipartisan education budget which makes record-breaking investments to set our students up for success, build up our schools, and support our teachers.
As a parent, I know our kids are our number one priority. That?s why this year?s education budget puts students first by making historic investments to improve learning outcomes and delivers on goals I proposed earlier this year to help every kid thrive from pre-K through postsecondary.
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Education is key to growth?economic growth, community growth, and personal growth. ?Whether you?re headed to trade school, starting a union-backed apprenticeship, or going to community college tuition-free, you deserve a fair shot at your dream and growing your life here in Michigan.
Together, we are putting our students first, supporting our teachers, and growing opportunity so that anyone can ?make it? in Michigan.
Check out the details below.
Sincerely,
G signature
Gretchen Whitmer
Governor
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*K-12 Students ? Helping Kids Learn*
Every kid deserves a fair shot at a bright future and the best way to set them up for success is to invest in them and their classrooms. This budget:
* Continues our all-time high per-pupil investment?with over *$10,000* per kid?and keeps the funding gap between schools closed.
* _Increases per-pupil funding by 4%_ ? up *$400* over last year. In total, we have increased per-pupil funding by *26%* since I took office in 2019.
* Delivers additional resources for _at-risk students_, _English language learners_, _rural districts_, and s_pecial education students_.
* Tackles our literacy crisis head-on, supporting our _literacy coaches_ and offering more _personalized academic instruction_.
* Takes _mental health_ and _school safety_ seriously, with ongoing per-pupil investments in both that schools can use to hire more counselors, social workers, and campus resource officers.
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*Feeding our Students*
Students should focus on learning, not worrying about their next meal.
* This budget continues providing every single Michigan public school student?all *4 million* of them?free breakfast and lunch at school.
* Free meals save parents* $850* a year, per kid, and valuable time every morning.
* We?ll keep feeding kids over the summer too. This budget keeps supporting _?Meet Up and Eat Up?_ programs, which offer any Michigander 18 and under free meals all summer long.
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*Supporting Educators*
So much of our success depends on the teachers and staff who show up every day and fight for their students as if they were their children. That?s why this budget:
* Lowers costs by putting money back in the pockets of our teachers.
* Continues helping current teachers pay back their student loans.
* Supports students teachers on their path to the classroom by continuing to offer paid opportunities.
* Funds the MI Future Educator Fellowship, a tuition-free?program?for college students to become certified teachers.
* Funds a 15% rate increase for childcare and bonuses for childcare workers.
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*The Michigan Guarantee: Pre-K - Community College*
Earlier this year, I proposed what I?m calling the _Michigan Guarante_e, a plan to give every kid access to a free, public education from pre-K through community college.
I am proud that in this year?s budget, _we got it done_.?
*Free Pre-K *
* In this budget, we are expanding access to _free pre-K to every four-year-old_, prioritizing families who need it most.
* Getting this done saves parents *$10,000* a year and helps every kid arrive at kindergarten more ready to learn.
*Free Community College*
* This budget will allow every high school graduate from the class of 2024 and beyond to earn an _associate?s degree_ or _skills certificate_ at their local community college, _tuition-free_.
* This is a _big deal_. It?s a _life-changing opportunity_ for nearly *20,000* young people annually, saving them up to *$4,800* while putting them on a path to a better-paying job.
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*Supporting Higher Education*
We are also doing more to support students pursuing their education at 4-year institutions and Michiganders who want to go back to school or switch careers. That's why this budget:
* Increases funding for the Michigan Achievement Scholarship to lower the cost of college by thousands of dollars a year?up to *$27,500* over 5 years?for a majority of graduating high school seniors.
* Continues funding _Michigan Reconnect_, which offers _anyone_ 25 and older a tuition-free degree or skills training at their local community college.
* Increases the _Tuition Incentive Program_ and fully funding the _Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver_, two programs that open doors of higher education to groups too often left out or left behind.
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