(WXYZ) — A budget delay due to a missed deadline is leaving schools across Michigan unsure about funding that's badly needed.
Watch Simon Shaykhet's video report:
With the school year just weeks away, I've been digging for answers into the cause of all this and how soon districts must get a clearer picture of their own budgets.
As summer days draw shorter and shorter for students preparing to start a new school year, a state budget delay is weighing heavily on the minds of Royal Oak parents like Brianne Reed, along with teachers.
“Are you disappointed state leaders haven’t yet finalized a budget?" I asked Reed.
"Absolutely. I don’t know why it’s taking so long," she said.
In Detroit, the Detroit Federation of Teachers represented roughly 5,000 schoolteachers, and union president Lakia Wilson is troubled.
“There is no agreement at this point. We are getting closer and closer to the school year. We’re in a predicament complaining about student literacy rates and talking about math scores, but there seems to be no real investment," Wilson said.
Digging deeper, I called and visited the Madison School District where budget issues have taken center stage. At the district, the superintendent gave me a statement that reads in part, "We are taking proactive steps to prevent a projected deficit at the end of the 2025–2026 school year. A Deficit Elimination Plan has been approved by the Board of Education and will be submitted to the Michigan Department of Education at the time the governor approves the budget."
“When institutions like school districts don’t know where that funding is going to come from, our kids growing up to face the future, that comes at great risk," Brett Tillander, the CEO of Metro Detroit Youth Clubs, said.
After the state legislature failed to reach a budget deal by July 1, local districts are uncertain how much money they'll get.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said she's committed to signing a budget that funds schools and fixes roads. In the meantime, the state superintendent of schools called out the U.S. Department of Education for withholding federal dollars.
