State Rep. Karl Bohnak on Wednesday announced his support for record $12,000 per-pupil funding for schools in the Upper Peninsula and across Michigan. The House Republican School Aid Budget also guarantees at least one school resource officer per district.

“In the Upper Peninsula, we support our students and our schools, and that’s exactly what we’re achieving with this budget proposal,” said Bohnak, R-Deerton. “We’re putting record funding in our schools and ensuring every district has a designated resource officer.”

The current per-pupil amount is $9,608, meaning the increase to $12,000 will bring an additional $2,392 per student. The increased funding was achieved by removing bureaucratic red tape, burdensome program requirements, and other restrictions and transferring those funds into the highest per-pupil allotment possible.

U.P. school districts would see large funding increases in the House Republican budget plan. For example, Marquette Area Public Schools would receive an increase of $5,181,597, Negaunee Public Schools would receive an increase of $2,501,187, and Gwinn Area Community Schools would receive an increase of $1,601,480.

“Lawmakers aren’t the experts in education; the teachers and administrators working with our kids every day are,” Bohnak said. “I’m proud to support a plan that trusts and empowers our educators to make the spending decisions that make sense for kids throughout Michigan.”

The proposal also includes a $314.5 million grant program for schools looking to reduce class size, implement reading measures to improve outcomes, consolidate school buildings, and infrastructure projects.

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