Court: Michigan Schools Forced to Bear Reporting Costs

Court: Mich. schools forced to bear reporting costs
BY DAWSON BELL • FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU • JULY 7, 2008
LANSING – Michigan state government has been shortchanging local school districts millions of dollars a year by failing to reimburse the cost of enhanced reporting requirements under education reforms enacted in the last decade, the state Court of Appeals ruled today.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the court said state officials – essentially the Legislature and governor – violated the 1978 Headlee Amendment by ordering schools to provide additional data on students and student performance without providing additional resources.
Dennis Pollard, a lawyer representing taxpayers from 460 school districts who initiated the suit in 2000, said the reporting requirements add between $50 million and $100 million annually to spending by local districts.
If the decision stands – state lawyers can seek additional review by the Michigan Supreme Court – Pollard said school aid payments for the 2008-09 year would have to be adjusted upward.
A spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox was not immediately available.