The School Finance Research Collaborative is a diverse group of business leaders and education experts, from Metro Detroit to the U.P., who agree it’s time to change the way Michigan’s schools are funded.

The project began when the Kellogg Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to the Oakland Schools Education Foundation on June 30, 2016. The Purpose of the grant was to support the School Finance Research Project (the Project) and the formation of a Collaborative. The Collaborative  would work to ensure that the needs of at-risk and vulnerable students were prioritized and elevated equitably in new revenue/funding formulas for public education by providing analysis of the 2016 state commissioned adequacy study for K-12 education in Michigan, and determining what steps should be taken to provide the most valid and reliable information on what it costs for all students to reach state standards for student achievement.

The School Finance Research Collaborative has completed Michigan’s first comprehensive school adequacy study, providing a roadmap to fixing Michigan’s broken school funding approach and making it fair for all students.

What does it cost to educate a child?

The Challenge

Many of Michigan’s public schools are struggling to meet student performance standards, and our students will continue to fall behind if our school funding approach doesn’t address their wide-ranging needs.

The School Finance Research Collaborative study has determined the true cost of educating all students to make the way we fund schools more fair. Business leaders, school experts, parents, students and leaders from both parties agree: A new, fairer school funding approach is needed that addresses every student’s unique and individual learning needs.

School Finance Research Collaborative Study Fact Sheet

Fact sheet on School Finance Research Collaborative adequacy study

Overview: School Finance Research Collaborative Study

An overview of the School Finance Research Collaborative study and its key finding

Voice Your Support

Affiliated with a school board or related organization? Consider introducing this resolution supporting the Collaborative’s work: Draft Board Resolution School Finance Research Collaborative

INFORMATION

For more information, please visit the School Finance Research Collaborative’s website at www.fundmischools.org.