State Board of Education Considering Removing Ban on Teacher Prep Institutions
This week the State Board of Education had their regularly scheduled meeting. In discussing the wide spread teacher shortages across the state, some members raised the issue of removing the ban on additional teacher preparation institutions. Press coverage of teacher shortages has increased in recent months, with the most recent
article published in the Detroit News
.
According to MDE, the original ban was approved by the State Board in 2005 to combat a perceived oversupply of teachers.
The Board decided to extend the ban only for an additional six months and directed MDE staff to study the issue during that time.
August Revenues Come in Stronger than Anticipated
State revenues came in stronger than expected for the month of August. The state’s General Fund has $366.3m additional revenue than expected in the May revenue estimated conference. The School Aid Fund has $6.3m in additional funds compared with May estimates.
The House Fiscal Agency credits business and use taxes for the increase. Business taxes in general are up 7.6% from 2017 at this time. If you would like to read the entire House Fiscal Agency report,
follow this link
.
