LANSING, Mich. –With the July 1 budget deadline now a day away, the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity (The Alliance) is once again urging lawmakers to finish the FY 2027 K-12 education budget on time, warning that last year’s late and chaotic budget process inflicted real, lasting damage on school districts across the state.
Superintendents from districts that lived through last year’s delays say the consequences went far beyond a missed deadline. In Wayne-Westland Community Schools, last year’s funding uncertainty led to layoffs in October, disrupting students mid-year.
“Reducing teachers during the school year meant that in October, we were forced to reassign students who had been with a specific teacher since August,” said Catherine Cost, Ed.D., Superintendent of Wayne-Westland Community Schools. “While the increase in the per-pupil allowance was appreciated, the surprise loss of categorical funding meant we operated on a similar budget to 2024-25, meaning we didn’t get an increase at all.”
In Ferndale Public Schools, last-minute budget changes forced staff cuts and delayed student support at the start of the school year.
“Last year we were unable to offer our after-school tutoring programming until well after our first assessment window,” said Camille Hibbler, Superintendent of Ferndale Public Schools. “We were also forced to reduce two staff positions that were originally planned for inclusion in our budget. Unfortunately, they were security guards. We also received a state aid reduction for attendance on a planned virtual instruction day in early October, which wouldn’t have occurred under the previous year’s budget. The last-minute, overnight changes really hurt us.”
Peter Spadafore, executive director of The Alliance, said these are not isolated stories. They are a preview of what happens when Lansing fails to meet its constitutional and statutory obligation to fund schools on time.
“Superintendents Cost and Hibbler are describing the real cost of a late budget: reassigned students, cut security staff, delayed tutoring, and dollars that disappeared overnight without warning,” Spadafore said. “These are not abstract line items. They are decisions that hit classrooms, students, and staff months after the school year already started. With only days remaining before the July 1 deadline, the Legislature has no excuse to let this happen again.”
The urgency was underscored today by a joint memo to the Legislature from ten education organizations, including The Alliance, the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, the Michigan Association of School Boards, and others representing superintendents, school boards, and administrators across the state. The memo calls on lawmakers not to leave Lansing this weekend without a finished K-12 budget, noting that the framework has been settled for weeks, both chambers have passed proposals, and revenue is running above projections. It also warns that unrelated disputes, including major changes to property taxation, should not be allowed to delay a budget that schools are legally required to finish on time.
“Wayne-Westland, Ferndale and districts all across the state cannot plan around uncertainty, and they cannot absorb another year of overnight surprises,” Spadafore said. “Michigan’s students deserve a budget that is done on time, done right, and done before the bell rings in the fall.”
