LANSING — Michigan lawmakers still disagree on how the state should support public education, including whether they should continue to spend $125 million in funding for transport services.
Less than a month from the start of school and more than five weeks after their self-imposed legal deadline, Northern Michigan superintendents say they’re concerned that the plan could leave out the funding the helps cover increased rural transportation costs.
“Where we’re located, we have to travel significantly farther than in suburban or urban district with our busses,” said Katy Xenakis-Makowski, superintendent of the Johannesburg-Lewiston Area School District.
At the center of the disputes are different approaches to so-called “categorical” funding — money that the state assigns based on the spe