Pontiac Times

The Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michael Rice, is asking lawmakers to determine school funding under the assumption that schools will be enrolling the same amount of students as the previous school year, 2019-2020.

Funding is based on the number of students who are enrolled in a district, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. Districts receive funding on a physical count of students who are "present on predetermined days in the fall and spring."

While a University of Michigan survey showed that 33% of parents may not return their children to public school this year, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential, Rice wants lawmakers to assume there will still be the same number of students as last year. Many districts have already decided to offer remote education for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District Mark Greathead wrote an op-ed claiming that public schools aren't receiving enough funding for the upcoming school year, especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. 

“In this current crisis, there is no excuse for not repaying schools after years of disinvestment — the time is now to act in the best interests of our children, teachers and staff,” Greathead wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News.

While Rice wants the same amount of funding and Greathead is asking for more, the Michigan Senate recently approved an education compromise plan that would put students back in the classroom, the Detroit Free Press reported. 

The bipartisan plan won't mandate in-person learning, but it provides extra money to districts. Masks won't be a requirement either, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said, "We strongly encourage masks for everyone," according to the Detroit Free Press.

Highlights of the plan include: no mandated in-person education, funding similar to last year's, attendance defined as those participating in class physically or virtually, and student assessments are required within the first nine weeks of school. 

School boards will also be required to reevaluate plans each month, and districts will establish education goals for students by Tuesday, Sept. 15.