State superintendent calls on Michigan lawmakers to pass supplemental budget

(CBS DETROIT) — In recent years, Michigan has invested heavily in building mental health resources in schools. However, the budget for the next fiscal year cuts some of that funding , a move state Superintendent Michael Rice says could stall some of that progress.

"We were hoping to continue the momentum, to continue the growth. With the cut of this magnitude, $300 plus million dollars. That momentum will be stopped. It's not to suggest rollbacks. It's to suggest the inability to continue to build out and grow that helping professional workforce," Rice said.

According to the Michigan Department of Education, mental health and safety funding in fiscal year 2025 dropped from $491.8 million, down to $136.7 million.

"This is not just children's mental health-- it was school safety as well. It was the ability to put in physical improvements around school safety," he said.

Rice says that this funding could have also been used to improve the physical safety of schools through things like metal detectors and training for staff, students, and even parents.

"You're trying to make more aware your entire school community of potential children's mental health challenges, potential school safety challenges," he said. "It's really the notion that if you see something, say something, but it's also knowing what you're looking for in a peer who may be struggling."

Rice said he doesn't know for sure if lawmakers will be able to pass a supplemental budget to make up for that funding gap, but he's "hopeful they will."