EAST LANSING — The following is a statement from MEA President and CEO Chandra Madafferi regarding the Michigan Legislature’s passage of the 2024-25 School Aid budget:

“More than 100,000 school employees across Michigan will get a much-needed 3% of their salaries back in their pockets, and school districts will receive an average $250 per-pupil increase to help students learn, thanks to the advocacy of frontline educators who contacted their lawmakers ahead of the passage of the new School Aid budget.

“Hardworking educators have sacrificed 3% of their wages for years to help fully fund the school retiree health plan, and now that it is fully funded, the 2024-25 budget removes that tax on school employees. The budget will also reduce school districts’ retirement payroll taxes by 5.75%, allowing our local schools to invest more in our students and school staff.

“These changes respect the decade of financial sacrifices from both individuals and districts to fund a strong retiree health plan — and they keep Michigan on the track toward paying off the larger school employee pension unfunded liability by 2038.

“However, we cannot celebrate all aspects of this budget. There were deep cuts to categorical funding for school safety and student mental health — cuts that will need to be navigated at the local level to keep our schools safe learning spaces for all students and employees. Our hope is that state lawmakers will return after the summer break to pass a supplemental budget that funds these critical student mental health and safety priorities.

“Without additional funding through a supplemental budget, our state risks falling short of providing the quality public education that every student deserves and needs.

“This budget process has laid bare a critical issue that must be addressed: the lack of adequate revenues for public education and other critical state priorities. Report after report — from MSU’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative to the School Finance Research Collaborative and Launch Michigan to Growing Michigan Together — have all shown that we are not collecting the revenue needed to adequately fund our local schools and provide our students with the education and skills they need to succeed in college and the workplace.

“We need to stop pitting important student programs at all levels — from pre-K through higher education — against one another in a competition for insufficient resources. We must have an honest conversation about state revenues so Michigan can build world-class schools, better roads and infrastructure, safer communities and a stronger economy that works for everyone.

“MEA will continue advocating this summer, fall and beyond to ensure taxpayer dollars are invested wisely to support the needs of our students and the educators who serve them.”