Schools are the heart of our communities. They bring us together for events and activities, serve as a home base for many families to access resources, and take on the responsibility of supporting students through their academic journeys. Schools across Michigan, including Wayne-Westland Community Schools, recently received one-time COVID-19 relief funding from the federal government, putting districts in a strong position to make much-needed upgrades and improvements to their schools. These improvements are critical and will create safer learning environments and help put students back on track after learning loss from the pandemic.
With this influx in school funding, many wrongly believe schools have abundant funds and more money than they need. Public education has been severely underfunded and under-prioritized for decades. According to the School Finance Research Collaborative, the average cost of educating the average student in Michigan is around $10,421 per pupil, but last year the state invested only $8,700 per pupil. This gap hurts vulnerable students.
While the influx of one-time funding is making a dent in the investments needed in our District, it isn't enough to address the long-term needs our children require to thrive. After decades of underfunding them, it will take long-term funding commitments that will start to rebuild our investment in schools. For our District to continue to provide vital resources and support to the children we serve, we must continue to prioritize school funding. We do this by passing sufficient school budgets and advocating against legislative deals that would result in cuts to school funding in the future. So, when the COVID-19 relief dollars run dry in 2024, we will still have the funding to continue with critical programming and upgrades to support our children.
To date, Wayne-Westland Community Schools has used COVID-19 relief dollars to make HVAC updates to improve air quality, purchased devices to support our students during virtual learning as well as in class, programs to supplement learning in the school environment as well as at home, PPE for staff and students, and nurses in our buildings. The last few years have been challenging for our school community, but together we have cleared those hurdles and come together to support our students' academic and emotional well-being.
I am confident we can do the same in the years to come by advocating for appropriate K-12 education funding. I encourage you to talk to your loved ones, neighbors and policymakers about the importance of school funding and its role in creating vibrant communities. Thank you, as always, for partnering with Wayne-Westland Community Schools on your child's academic journey.
I look forward to seeing all we continue to achieve together in the future. Have a wonderful summer.
Sincerely,
John Dignan, Ed.D
Superintendent
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