The Michigan State University Board of Trustees voted Friday to correct a potentially costly math error.
On April 11, the board raised housing and dining costs for the 2025-26 school year by 2.9%. The resolution passed that day set the new rate of the Silver Unlimited student meal plan at $12,698 dollars per academic year.
But that was a mistake. A 2.9% increase would raise the rate to $12,928—a difference of $230 per meal plan.
Sandy Pierce, Chair of the Board’s Committee on Budget and Finance, says a resolution approved at Friday’s virtual board of trustees meeting resolved the issue.
“This is a correction of the math error,” Pierce said. “It was a mistake from some of the leadership team, but it’s been fixed and this is corrected."
The MSU Trustees voted 5-3 to correct the mistake. Trustee Mike Balow says he voted against the measure because he says they weren’t given the information in a timely fashion before the vote.
“Trustees aren’t voting no for any random reason,” Balow said. “But there are well-thought-out considerations and objections if we don’t have all the information that we need.”
Trustees Dennis Denno and Rema Vassar also voted against the measure. Balow, Denno and Vassar also opposed the rate increase when it was originally approved on April 11.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.