If the court rules favorably for the schools on these programs, the schools will then compute the exact amount in which these programs have been underfunded. It is not greedy to ask the Legislature and Governor to comply with the Constitution and provide the funding the Constitution guarantees them. What the Legislature has chosen to do is raise the foundation allowance funding level and say that solves the problem. However, per-pupil funding is intended for the general operating costs of local school districts and in no way addresses the special education underfunding problem. In practical terms, the State is forcing schools to pay for the costs of their special education programs out of the foundation allowance monies rather than separately funding those costs as the Constitution requires.
School districts are, in fact, using foundation allowance money for that purpose.
However, that is precisely the problem. The Court of Appeals held that foundation allowance money cannot serve as the revenue source for services mandated to be provided by the State. The Headlee Amendment to the Constitution requires the State to allocate specific and additional monies to schools in order to fund mandates such as special education services. Foundation allowance monies, as the Court of Appeals concluded, are solely for the general operating expenses of each school district and cannot be diverted to meet the State's funding obligation under the Headlee Amendment. A. Yes, but only if Governor Engler and the Legislature are willing to follow the Constitution.