LANSING, Mich. — Education leaders from across Michigan gathered Tuesday morning for a roundtable hosted by the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, calling on the Michigan Legislature to immediately finalize a FY 2025-2026 education budget. Speakers warned that the ongoing budget delay, now nearly a month past the state’s legal deadline, is placing Michigan’s students, schools, and educators at growing risk.

“We are now four weeks past the statutory deadline to deliver a budget to Governor Whitmer, and every day that ticks by only makes the situation worse,” said Peter Spadafore, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity. “This is a manufactured crisis. The Legislature has the resources and the authority to get this done, but they’ve chosen not to. It’s time to pass a budget that is sustainable, significant, and puts the needs of our most vulnerable students first.”

The roundtable featured local and statewide education leaders who outlined how the absence of a state budget is already causing uncertainty for school operations, staffing, and planning ahead of the new school year.

“Our members, which include more than 600 superintendents and school administrators, are already confronting the possibility of layoffs and reductions in services,” said Dr. Tina Kerr, executive director of the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators. “Public schools began their fiscal year on July 1. They were forced to build budgets without knowing what they’d receive from the state. That’s unacceptable and it’s illegal. We’re urging the Legislature and the Governor to do their job and finalize a responsible school aid budget immediately.”

Dr. Kerr continued, “We’re not in a recession. We’re not lacking resources. The budget delay has nothing to do with school funding. It’s being held up by unrelated issues at the expense of our kids.”

Kimberly May, board president of Wayne-Westland Community Schools, echoed that frustration from a school board perspective. “Every year, publicly elected school board members are required by law to pass a balanced budget by June 30—whether or not the state has given any guidance,” she said. “We do our jobs. Our lawmakers should be held to the same standard. By missing their deadline, they’ve violated the law and created confusion that directly impacts how we fund classrooms, programs, and staffing. This isn’t just a breakdown in process—this has real consequences for kids.”

May added, “The state’s continued delay is only compounded by uncertainty at the federal level. These problems weren’t created by school districts—they’re the result of inaction in Lansing and Washington. Our students deserve better.”

Piper Bognar, superintendent of Van Dyke Public Schools, spoke passionately about the toll the delay is already taking on small and under-resourced districts like hers.

“This manufactured crisis has forced us to plan for fewer resources for our students,” Bognar said. “Our budgets were legally approved by June 30, based on current per-pupil funding, but that doesn’t cover the many categorical grants, like 31AA, that support student mental health and school safety. Whether or not we can afford School Resource Officers depends on that funding that’s being withheld.”

“Federal and state uncertainty means we’re doing the budgeting, staffing, and scheduling process three times over,” Bognar continued. “It’s like destroying education from the inside out. In smaller districts, staffing depends on these grants—layoffs and rehires aren’t just disruptive, they deprive our students of their most qualified educators.”

Bognar added, “This year, we’re literally putting concrete over kids. We’re saying a road deal has to come before a school budget. But public education was never meant to be a bargaining chip—it’s supposed to be the great equalizer. I serve students who are first-generation college hopefuls—students like me. They succeed because of what we invest in them. And when we delay or underfund schools, we deny them the tools to succeed.”

“Principals are being asked to make academic, staffing, and programming decisions without knowing what funding they’ll receive,” said Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals. “We’ve built schedules, hired staff, planned course offerings and interventions. Now we’re asking: Will we have to cancel classes? Increase class sizes? Cut mental health supports, AP courses, or CTE programs?”

“Without a budget that is both right and on time, the choices schools face aren’t just heartbreaking—they represent lost opportunities for our students,” added JoLynn Clark, principal of Frankenmuth High School. “The state must pass a budget that increases the per-pupil foundation and includes weighted funding for high-need students.”

The roundtable closed with a united call to action for lawmakers. “We urge the Legislature to return to the table, reach consensus, and pass a student-centered budget that gives schools the certainty they need to serve Michigan’s 1.4 million students,” said Spadafore.