By Sarah Atwood, MediaNews Group

Some Michigan parents and students are finding out on Wednesday that there is no longer such a thing as a free lunch, as the state began a new fiscal year without a K-12 budget.

Michigan’s leaders missed their midnight deadline Tuesday to approve a new state budget, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said state government operations would continue as normal and state employees should continue to show up for work. At about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, lawmakers approved a short-term spending plan to fund state government operations for a week.

More: Many Michigan school districts to eat cost of school lunch as state budget remains in flux

In the absence of new state aid, some Michigan school districts started charging students for meals Wednesday, while others

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