For immediate release Oct. 16, 2025
Contact: Angie McArthur, Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD Superintendent
(906) 632-3373
Regional educators, legislators reflect and comment on Michigan budget process and delays
When the Michigan legislature passed a state budget on Oct. 3, 2025, it was a relief to the state’s school district leaders that resources were finally locked in to serve students for the year ahead. The reason for their angst: School districts’ fiscal years run July 1 to June 30 each year, and the state budget is required by law to be completed by July 1, in large part so school districts can plan their budgets for the approaching school year.
That did not happen this year.
Instead, months of wrangling among Democrats and Republicans in the Michigan House and Senate resulted in numerous delays that stretched into early October. Districts were becoming anxious over whether they would receive their first state aid payments on Oct. 20 to keep school doors open, educating and welcoming students.
“Schools always make everything okay, but that is not at all what is good for our students,” said Scott Koziol, Superintendent of Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District in Northwest Michigan. “It is vital that school districts across the state of Michigan have a budget by July 1 each and every year to ensure appropriate planning of programming and services for students.”
Superintendents and school business officials agree: A clear and defined process must be developed and communicated for future budgets to ensure that the delays that occurred this year do not happen again. Koziol said that transparency in the budgeting process is critical to build - and in this case, rebuild - trust of all the stakeholders who are working hard to help each student meet educational goals.
“If education is truly a priority in our state, for our legislators and our governor, then we need a dependable and infallible process for developing and approving a budget in a timely manner that does not put any public entity, like schools, in limbo for months on end,” said Dr. Angie McArthur, Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD Superintendent.
Michigan Senator John Damoose shared his own frustrations with this year’s process as he empathized with school leaders. Damoose’s 37th senate district includes Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Leelanau and parts of Mackinac and Chippewa counties. “The legislature has one job mandated by state law - produce a budget every year and do it on time by July 1st,” said Damoose. “There is no excuse that this year’s budget - especially the school aid budget - stretched into October. We must resolve this and it can never happen again.” Damoose recognized the level of anxiety created for districts by not having a funding plan in place as they opened their doors for the 2025-26 school year. “The level of uncertainty caused by missing the deadline this year had real-world consequences for our kids and our hard-working school employees,” Damoose said. “In the end, I am thankful we were able to preserve certain key areas of funding like transportation, school lunches, school safety, mental health, and rural district funding. But it must be our top priority as a legislature to make this process more reliable for our schools in the future.”
In addition to reliability and transparency in the process, state education leaders implore those in the legislature and the governor to involve educators in the budget development process for schools. School finance professionals can explain and forecast implications of new language or proposed changes, which are often complex with many ramifications not readily obvious to those outside of school finance roles.
“If you’re creating a budget that impacts schools, it simply makes sense to ask schools what they need and how the state government can help them educate their students,” said Dr. Greg Nyen, Superintendent of Marquette-Alger RESA in the Upper Peninsula. “Uninformed decisions will result in unintended consequences as they relate to the elimination of services and programming that are working well for students and parents.”
Inviting these key education partners can help lawmakers understand the distinct needs of districts throughout the state.
“Rural and urban school districts can and do have vastly different needs. The state budget must address them all regionally by bringing stakeholders to the table and seeking their knowledge and expertise,” said Alan Tulppo, Superintendent of Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District in the Western Upper Peninsula.
Many school districts in Michigan follow the “Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC)” model, which underscores the critical importance of all partners working together for students.
“We know our communities, families, school districts, and legislators have the same goal - creating learning environments where each student is supported in reaching their fullest potential. This can only be achieved if we all work together and understand that we each have areas of expertise that can benefit the whole,” said Tulppo.
While educators don’t set the budget, Nyen, the Marquette-Alger superintendent, said educators have critical contributions to make to the process. “If our priority is educating students to the best of our abilities in every corner of Michigan - from metro Detroit to the woodlands of Watersmeet - educators need to be part of the conversation,” Nyen said.
The educational leaders expressed their gratitude for portions of the budget, which has been signed into law by Gov. Whitmer. It included a small per-pupil foundation grant increase, as well as critical categoricals for items like rural transportation costs, free school lunches for all students, and mental health resources in schools.
They also remain united in their call for a better budgeting process in the years ahead.
“We have joined together in this messaging because we care greatly about our students in Michigan,” said Dr. Tara Mager, Superintendent of Northwest Education Services in Traverse City. “We are prepared and willing to be part of the change that results in better schools, better teachers, better communities, and ultimately a better state as a result.”
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