State Activities​

The following statement was released today by the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, Michigan Association of School Boards, Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators, Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association, Michigan Association of Administrators of Special Education, Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation, School Equity, and the Education Advocates of West Michigan regarding the need to uphold public school payroll tax relief enacted last year:

"Recent media reports suggest lawmakers may attempt to reverse the historic payroll tax relief enacted last fall to reduce the burden the state’s pension debt places on schools. At least one budget proposal also calls for diverting an additional $1.5 billion of School Aid Fund revenue away from classrooms to support the state’s general fund. As representatives of Michigan’s public schools, staff, and students, we strongly oppose any such changes.

“HB 5803, signed into law by Governor Whitmer, reduced the payroll tax public schools pay into the state’s educator retirement system by 5.75%. This wasn’t a windfall. It was a long-overdue correction to an arbitrary and unfair overpayment. For years, schools have been sending dollars back to Lansing to cover state-run pension debt that should be the state’s responsibility. With retiree healthcare liabilities now overfunded, the state’s budget experts confirmed these payments were no longer necessary.

“Schools made tradeoffs to get this relief. Rather than seeing per-pupil increases last year, districts accepted no increase in the foundation allowance in exchange for these cost savings. Those dollars have already been built into local budgets to support students and staff, just as foundation allowance dollars would have been. Taking them back now would blow a hole in school budgets across the state.

“Meanwhile, each of the three major budget proposals would reduce the share of School Aid Fund revenue going to K-12 education. One version shifts an additional $1.5 billion to the higher education budget—not to boost universities, but to replace general fund dollars that are then left on the balance sheet for other, non-education priorities. The result: a shell game that shortchanges K-12 classrooms. These dollars belong in the classroom and should not be used to pave the way for unrelated budget deals.

“We urge state leaders to uphold their commitment to students and educators by preserving this essential tax relief and protecting K-12 resources. Michigan’s future depends on strong public schools, and strong public schools depend on stable, predictable funding."