By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-866658.mp3
LANSING, MI – The state Board of Education will hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss Michigan's school funding crisis.
AUDIO:
In a written statement, board president Kathleen Straus says the crisis to too urgent for the board to wait for its regular meeting in two weeks.
The K-12 budget just signed by Governor Granholm cuts school funding by $165 per student. And the budget is still underfunded.
The School Aid Fund is officially short $100 million. The state treasurer says that deficit could grow to $264 million because sales tax revenues are falling.
The board will hear presentations from economists and policy experts before the six Democrats and two Republicans vote on recommendations for addressing the crisis.
Those could potentially include a call for new taxes or other sources of revenue to avert more mid-year cuts to schools.