Governor Looking To Make Changes To Michigan's School Aid Act

LANSING (WWJ) - Some big changes could be coming to the way money is distributed to Michigan school students.

WWJ's Tim Skubick reports that Gov. Rick Snyder is looking to change the School Aid Act after 30 years.

The governor wants to rewrite the school aid act which allocates dollars to schools for kids says Skubick. But the governor wants to change distribution slightly to give the money to the kids rather than the school districts.

Doug Pratt is with the  Michigan Education Association (MEA), he says additional dollars have to be part of the discussion.

"Money needs to be on the table, but we also have to have a real conversation about how the money that is there is allocated. Is this it's an opportunity to just syphon money away into pet projects and things that only help a select few, or is this a chance to really come together, participate in a collaborative way?" said Pratt.

"We need to make sure the law permits the student to go any time, any place, any way to school - we need more flexibility. Secondly, he believes that performance rather than seed-time should control the funding of public education. ... he just wants more options for people," said Republican attorney RichardMcLellan.

They will convene an education summit of over 80 groups on this rewrite this week.