Gov. Rick Snyder’s controversial school budget has its roots in state constitutional language that is a half-century old.
Snyder’s camp has said the state constitution clearly states that the School Aid Fund is “aid to school districts/higher education,” but where did that language come from?
As researched recently by Craig Thiel of the Citizens Research Council – and reported by Derek Melot of the Center for Michigan – the constitutional Committee on Style and Drafting in 1962 changed the previous wording on the School Aid Fund from “school districts,” then to “public education” and finally to “aid to school districts/higher education.”
So was there much thought put into this change? Apparently not. Thiel told Melot that he could find no record of any in-depth discussion about the change among constitutional committee members.
For decades, school aid funding continued status quo, with the School Aid Fund going to public school districts, until last year’s state fiscal crisis.
