Public Act 268 of 2008

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• Introduced by Sen. Ron Jelinek (R) on February 13, 2008, to provide the “template” or “place holder” for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 school aid budget. This bill contains no appropriations, but may be amended at a later date to include them.
  • Referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 13, 2008.
    • Reported in the Senate on March 25, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on March 26, 2008, to adopt a version of this budget that expresses the fiscal and policy preferences of the Republican-majority in the Senate on various spending items and programs. See Senate-passed version for more, and for details see analysis from the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on March 26, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman (D) on March 26, 2008, to add $19.6 million in spending for various government preschool programs. The amendment failed in the Senate (18 to 20) on March 26, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Mark Schauer (D) on March 26, 2008, to add $5 million in spending for various government preschool programs. The amendment failed in the Senate (19 to 19) on March 26, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman (D) on March 26, 2008, to add $32 million in spending for a program proposed by Gov. Granholm to use borrowed money to give subsidies to certain lower income school districts so they can close existing high schools and replace them with smaller high schools. The amendment failed in the Senate (17 to 21) on March 26, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Gilda Jacobs (D) on March 26, 2008, to insert a $100 "placeholder" that could be increased later to pay for a study on how much money is "adequate" in different parts of the state to pay the costs of a student's presence in a public school for a year. The amendment failed in the Senate (19 to 19) on March 26, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Roger Kahn (R) on March 26, 2008, to allow a portion of a $250,000 grant for establishing school "international baccalaureate" programs to be given to an existing program. The amendment passed in the Senate by voice vote on March 26, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on March 26, 2008, to revise the allocation of differential funding increases to school discricts that currently spend more than or less than $8,433 in state aid. The bill would give districts above that amount $71 increases, and those below that amount $142 increases. The amendment would add $20 to the increase for the higher spending districts. The amendment failed in the Senate by voice vote on March 26, 2008.
• Passed in the Senate (36 to 2) on March 26, 2008, the Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-2009 school aid budget. This would appropriate $13.381 billion, compared to $13.006 billion, which was the FY 2007-2008 amount appropriated in 2007 (which includes supplemental budgets and executive order changes adopted in addition to the previous year’s budget). It would raise the minimum per-pupil foundation grant by $71 per pupil at higher-spending schools, and $142 at lower spending ones. Unlike the executive budget recommendation proposed by Gov. Granholm, (Senate Bill 1149), the Senate version does not include money for more full day kindergarten programs, or for a program to use borrowed money to give subsidies to certain lower income school districts so they can close existing high schools and replace them with smaller high schools. The Senate would spread the money that would have gone for debt service on that to all districts for infrastructure spending. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on April 8, 2008.
  • Referred to the House Appropriations Committee on April 8, 2008.
    • Reported in the House on June 5, 2008, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the House on June 10, 2008, to replace the Senate version of this budget with one that expresses the preferences of the House majority on various spending items and funding sources. For more see details see the analysis from the non-partisan House Fiscal Agency. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Howard Walker (R) on June 10, 2008, to increase the basic per-pupil foundation grant by $19, and to limit the extra "20j" payments to certain districts so that only districts with fewer than 300 special education students are eligible. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. David Palsrok (R) and Rep. Chris Ward (R) on June 10, 2008, to revise the formula by which a "proration" of any potential funding reduction is allocated among districts. Note: Although passed, the amendment was not included in a subsequent substitute version of the bill that was adopted. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Bruce Caswell (R) and Rep. Dudley Spade (D) on June 10, 2008, to allow a homeschooled child, on in a private school, or one in a district that does not offer a particular class, to take the class if offered by another district, with state funding flowing to the district offering the class, subject to certain conditions. The amendment passed in the House (108 to 0) on June 10, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Bruce Caswell (R) on June 10, 2008, to adopt a version of this budget that expresses the fiscal and policy preferences of the Republican-minority in the House on various spending items and programs. In general, these are similar to the Senate-passed version, which are distinguished from the House majority's preferences in the individual line item descriptions contained in the analysis from the non-partisan Senate Fiscal Agency. The substitute failed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Rick Jones (R) on June 10, 2008, to establish as non-binding preference of the House that if a bill is passed like the one proposed by the amendment sponsor temporarily suspending the sales tax on gasoline the foregone revenue should be deducted from other unspecified state programs, rather than from the public school establishment. Note: Although passed, the amendment was not included in a subsequent substitute version of the bill that was adopted. The amendment passed in the House (104 to 5) on June 10, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Tom Pearce (R) on June 10, 2008, to strip out language that tilts more funding to districts that provide full-day kindergarten. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D) on June 10, 2008, to repeal provisions related to contingent funding for certain preschool programs. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Matthew Gillard (D) on June 10, 2008, to insert a $100 "placeholder" for "a web-based practice assessment and classroom remediation program that includes reading, mathematics, social studies, and science and may be used by up to 250,000 pupils in grades 6, 7, and 8." The placeholder places this item on the agenda in a House-Senate conference committee on the bill. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Matthew Gillard (D) on June 10, 2008, to insert a $100 "placeholder" for junior achievement programs that focus on entrepreneurship, work-readiness skills, and financial literacy. The placeholder places this item on the agenda in a House-Senate conference committee on the bill. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Marsha Cheeks (D) on June 10, 2008, to insert a $100 "placeholder" for a grant to a potential boarding school in Detroit with a maritime focus. The placeholder places this item on the agenda in a House-Senate conference committee on the bill. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Terry Brown (D) and Rep. Jeff Mayes (D) on June 10, 2008, to spend $300,000 on grants to three particular Intermediate School Districts to train students in "alternative energy". The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. John Moolenaar (R) on June 10, 2008, to strip out a proposal to spend some $300 million replacing large high schools in some districts with small high schools. Also, to increase the basic per-pupil foundation grant by $12. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Andy Meisner (D) on June 10, 2008, to spend $250,000 on a grant to a "center for advanced studies and the arts" operated by a consortium of Oakland County school districts. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Matthew Gillard (D) on June 10, 2008, to adopt a substitute version of the bill that is essentially identical to the original substitute before it was amended, as a means to sweep away some Republican amendments that were added to the bill. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on June 10, 2008.
• Passed in the House (61 to 48) on June 10, 2008, the House version of the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 school aid budget. This would appropriate $13.415 billion, compared to $13.006 billion, which was the FY 2007-2008 amount appropriated in 2007, and $13.515 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm in February (Senate Bill 1149). It would raise the minimum per-pupil foundation grant by $55 per pupil at higher-spending schools, and $110 at lower spending ones. The House version funds the Governor's proposals for more full-day kindergarten programs, for using some $$300 million in borrowed money for subsidies to certain lower income school districts to close replace some high schools with smaller high schools, for more spending on various preschool programs, and more. Significantly, the House would allow Detroit to retain the "district of the first class" status that under current law limits new charter schools in the city, despite the fact that the district will soon fall below the 100,000 student threshold that is the statutory basis for this status. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the Senate on June 11, 2008.
• Failed in the Senate (16 to 22) on June 11, 2008, to concur with a House-passed version of the bill. The vote sends the bill to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the Senate on July 17, 2008.
• Passed in the Senate (31 to 4) on July 17, 2008, the House-Senate conference report for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 school aid budget. This would appropriate $13.378 billion, compared to $13.006 billion, which was the FY 2007-2008 amount appropriated in 2007, and $13.515 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm in February (Senate Bill 1149). It would raise the minimum per-pupil foundation grant by $56 per pupil at higher-spending schools, and $112 at lower spending ones. The conference goes along with the House in allowing Detroit to retain the "district of the first class" status that under current law limits new charter schools in the city, despite the fact that the district will soon fall below the 100,000 student threshold that is the statutory basis for this status. It funds a scaled-down version of the governor’s proposal to provide subsidies to certain lower income school districts to replace some high schools with smaller high school ($16 million annually for four years but with no new debt); establishes as the intent of the legislature that beginning in 2011 schools must provide 70 percent of the regular school hours in their kindergartens; and adds an additional $10 million for various preschool programs. For budget details see House Fiscal Agency analysis. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on July 23, 2008, the House-Senate conference report for the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 school aid budget. This would appropriate $13.378 billion, compared to $13.006 billion, which was the FY 2007-2008 amount appropriated in 2007, and $13.515 billion proposed by Gov. Granholm in February (Senate Bill 1149). It would raise the minimum per-pupil foundation grant by $56 per pupil at higher-spending schools, and $112 at lower spending ones. The conference goes along with the House in allowing Detroit to retain the "district of the first class" status that under current law limits new charter schools in the city, despite the fact that the district will soon fall below the 100,000 student threshold that is the statutory basis for this status. It funds a scaled-down version of the governor’s proposal to provide subsidies to certain lower income school districts to replace some high schools with smaller high school ($16 million annually for four years but with no new debt); establishes as the intent of the legislature that beginning in 2011 schools must provide 70 percent of the regular school hours in their kindergartens; and adds an additional $10 million for various preschool programs. For budget details see House Fiscal Agency analysis. Passed in the House (68 to 39) on July 23, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on August 6, 2008.