LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she wants to revamp how K-12 schools are funded.
Benson, a Democrat, is running for governor. During a recent campaign stop, Benson said that “a child in Alpena has different funding needs than a child from Grand Rapids,” according to Michigan Advance.
Benson’s comparison of a rural district like Alpena to an urban district such as Grand Rapids highlights how well funded inner-city schools are in this state.
Per pupil spending in urban areas.
In 2023-24, Alpena’s public school district general fund received $15,439 per pupil (includes local, state and federal funding) while Grand Rapids’ public school district received $21,449 per pupil, 39% more than Alpena. The state average was $15,206 per pupil.
Both school districts in Alpena and Grand Rapids receive the same $9,608 per pupil foundation allowance. That’s the amount of money that follows each student around to whatever public school district they attend. That “foundation allowance” is a blend of local and state dollars and accounts for about 75% to 80% of a school district’s total funding.
Alpena County, which is sparsely populated with just 28,900 people, feeds the local school district. And 62% of Alpena Public Schools students were “economically disadvantaged,” meaning they qualify for some form of government subsidy.
Grand Rapids Public School had 70% of its students categorized as economically disadvantaged.
Playing favorites?
Although both school districts had a relatively high percentage of “economically disadvantaged students”, Grand Rapids received far more money per pupil than Alpena.
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Federal funding is already heavily weighted to favor school districts with a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
Grand Rapids had a big advantage in federal funding over Alpena. Grand Rapids was given $5,164 per pupil in federal dollars while Alpena received $1,374 per pupil in federal funds. That is the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Education.
But school districts with a higher percentage of at risk students also get extra money from the state.
For example, Alpena – which had 3,607 students in 2024-25, received $3.2 million in state funds for “at risk” students that year. Grand Rapids – which had 13,588 students, received $16.8 million in state funds for its “at risk” population.