KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo School Board didn’t take a formal stand, but they are urging parents to talk to lawmakers and tell them to back Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal.
Finance Director Gary Start briefed trustees last night on the spending plan and how it depends on a 45-cent/gallon gas tax to free up dollars for extra school funding.
He says it doesn’t depend on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ funding plan, but rather provides extra funding for Special Ed, underprivileged and vocationally oriented students who cost more to teach.
He says it would mean an additional $4.8-million dollars in funding for Kalamazoo Schools next year, if it passes as written.
No one expects that to happen, and while it would not bring funding levels up to where recent studies say they should be, Start says it’s at least heading in the right direction.
(copy written by John McNeill)
