Griffith said he didn't know, however, if Michigan would be the only state to tie extra money solely to year-to-year improvement, rather than overall test scores, graduation rates or other such measures often used by states to award bonuses.
Besides the changes to elementary and middle school, the governor also would require results when awarding funding to universities and community colleges.
Higher education, which saw its funding cut 15 percent in the current budget, would get a 3 percent increase — but only for universities and colleges that meet certain benchmark improvements in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to all students and to low-income students receiving Pell Grants.
Michigan State Board of Education member John Austin, a Democrat, said Snyder is taking the right steps to reward public schools, community colleges and universities for their performance. But he worries funding remains too low, noting that cuts to elementary, secondary and higher education have been "decimating" in recent years.
"We have not combined accountability reforms with sufficient resources to empower great teaching, and turbocharge our colleges and universities as engines of opportunity," Austin said. "Other states and countries are much more committed to education."
___
Follow Kathy Barks Hoffman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kathybhoffman
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Reader Comments