TEMPERANCE, Mich. — Schools in Michigan will see a lot more money this upcoming school year.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a historic $17.1 billion education budget on Tuesday. That's a $1.6 billion increase in spending over last year.
Bedford Public Schools superintendent Dr. Carl Shultz says it's the biggest investment in Michigan public schools in 30 years.
"It's a huge win for our students and our staff members and our communities," said Dr. Shultz.
Dr. Shultz says he's been waiting years to see this happen. The budget sends more money to every school district across the state. Bedford will see around $585 more per student.
"Those dollars will go into classrooms. They'll go into programs," said Shultz. "You know we're not looking to horde money. We're looking to spend money and increase the things that we already do that are wonderful and make them great."
The bill also guarantees each district will receive at least $8,700 in funding per student from the state. That's something Shultz believes will help make funding more fair and equitable.
"Not only catches us back up from that one time cut around six years ago, it also closes the gap between the lowest funded schools and the highest funded schools in the state," added Shultz.
That's something Bedford parent Hong Parshall also says is long overdue.
"Just doesn't seem like there's been a whole lot of support for public schools in recent years, so this is very exciting," said Parshall.
She is also happy about the additional $240 million dollars that will be used to hire more counselors and nurses for mental health, which is another area she says has been neglected.
"Especially with the pandemic this past year, so many children doing remote learning, I think their mental health has suffered a lot," she said, "so I think this is badly needed funding."
Shultz stressed that the days where funding was just about curriculum and content are gone. He says the needs of students have changed drastically over time and we need to invest in those needs to help students find success.
In addition to the $8700 dollars in per student funding, the state also approved $4.4 billion in extra funding for schools for COVID relief.