The $16.1 billion school budget includes an increase of per-pupil funding to help close the gap with the districts at the minimum funding level receive the maximum increase of $120 per student.
The bill signed by Gov. Rick Snyder Monday, has now increased the state funding for K-12 school districts to $12.1 billion, which is $1.4 billion higher since fiscal year 2011.
Highlights of the 2017 School Omnibus bill include the $150 million per-pupil increase, which equates to the range of per-student funding as $60 to $120. An additional 2.9-percent, or $39.8 million, for operations of Michigan's 15 public universities and an additional 1.4-percent increase, or $4.4 million, for community college operations.
The bill also includes an increase of $500,000 in funding for the FIRST Robotics program, an investment of $58 million for career and technical education programs and equipment, and the continued support of $379 million for at-risk funding for students across the state. According to the press release, more than 90-percent of districts, urban and rural, receive this funding.