FLINT, Mich. – July 14, 2022
Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined Mayor Sheldon Neeley and other community leaders at Mott Community College to sign a record $19.1 billion education budget, a $2 billion increase. Flint and other Michigan cities and schools will see a $450 per student increase in funding from the previous year,bringing the total per pupil spending in Michigan to $9,150.
“I worked in education in Flint for ten years working with kids identified as ‘at risk’ to ensure they reached graduation, and my funding came from the state. When that money disappears, so does the support mechanism for those kids,” said Mayor Neeley. “These dollars that we are talking about today re-fortifies our commitment to the education in the state of Michigan.”
The historic budget also includes $1.92 billion for special education programs, $168 million for school safety initiatives and $250 million for school infrastructure improvements. Mayor Neeley went on to call the funding increase a “clear and present blessing.”