Granholm to rescind second school funding cut

While signing a series of bills reforming the state’s education system in order to qualify for up to $400 million in federal funds, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said that a second round of cuts to K-12 funding she ordered last fall will likely not have to be imposed because of an unexpected boost in state revenue over the last couple months. The Lansing State Journal reports:

While signing education-related bills to make Michigan eligible for up to $400 million in federal Race to the Top education funds, Granholm told reporters that revenue has stabilized. That means the state has about $150 million more than expected and that the cut “won’t need to happen,” she said.

This will be a big relief to school districts, but it doesn’t help solve the now-annual problem of school funding. It leaves in place hundreds of millions in cuts from state aid to public schools, necessitated by the fact that we simply don’t have a stable source of school funding in place in this state.