Opinion ID: 1349849
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: State Match School Lunch Payments

Text: State law has long authorized local school districts to provide free and full-cost meals to students. 1927 P.A. 319, part 2, ch. 5, § 6; 1929 C.L. 7424, now M.C.L. § 380.1272; M.S.A. § 15.41272. Since 1946, the federal government has provided financial aid for the national school lunch program, 42 U.S.C. § 1751 et seq. Unlike the IDEA, the various permutations of the National School Lunch Act have not required that states, as a condition for receipt of federal funds, require that all local school districts participate in the federal program. It was not until 1977 P.A. 43, M.C.L. §§ 380.1272a through 380.1272d; M.S.A. §§ 15.41272(1) through 15.41272(4), [23] that the Michigan Legislature mandated that all K-12 school districts in Michigan operate a school lunch program [24] providing free and reduced price meals and meeting the nutritional standards of 42 U.S.C. § 1758 beginning October 1, 1978. [25] Under M.C.L. § 380.1272d; M.S.A. § 15.41272(4), the state committed itself to pay each school district up to five cents for each free meal served and up to two cents for each reduced price meal served. Defendants refer to this as the state supplemental payment. Defendants admit that the school lunch program is mandated by state law within the meaning of Const. 1963, art. 9, § 29, and they admit that they must continue the proportionate support of the state supplemental payments. [26] They contend, however, that the state's obligation to maintain funding under art. 9, § 29 does not extend to what is called the state match payment. This payment can be traced back to § 7 of the National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1756, which conditions federal grants to a state on that state supporting the program with a match equal to at least thirty percent of the prior year's federal grant to that state. [27] Defendants argue that the school districts voluntarily participate in the federal school lunch program, in the sense that they do not have to apply for and receive federal funds. They receive the state match payment only because they choose to accept federal funds. Defendants note that the amount of the state match payment is fixed and required by federal law and not subject to state control. Defendants argue that federal programs are not required by state law and are not activities or services within the meaning of Const. 1963, art. 9, § 29, citing Schmidt, supra, 441 Mich. at 262, 490 N.W.2d 584. They argue that, implicit in the requirement of art. 9, § 29 that the state maintain the state financed proportion is the assumption that the state chose to make the payment to the local unit and had control over the amount and manner of distribution. We reject defendants' arguments. We have already concluded that there is no exception in art 9, § 29 for federal mandates, as long as the activity or service is mandated by state law. [28] Even if there were such an exception, we would not find a federal mandate here, because the National School Lunch Act does not require that all local school districts in a state participate in the program in order for the state and participating districts to receive federal aid. Indeed, defendants do not contend that the National School Lunch Act constitutes a federal mandate. Const. 1963, art. 9, § 29 provides, in pertinent part: The state is hereby prohibited from reducing the state financed proportion of the necessary costs of any existing activity or service required of units of Local Government by state law.... In applying the provision to the school lunch program, there are two questions. First, is school lunch an activity or service mandated by state law? Defendants admit it is. M.C.L. § 380.1272a; M.S.A. § 15.41272(1). Second, is the state match payment part of the state-financed proportion of necessary costs? It is obvious that it is. Defendants make no argument that plaintiff school districts have not used the state match payments to help meet the necessary costs of the school lunch program. The defendants are really asking us to create an exception to art. 9, § 29 for instances where the state did not choose to make the payment to the local unit in the first instance and [does not have] the ability to control the amount and manner of distribution of the payment in subsequent years. This argument fails for two reasons. First and most important, no such exception is apparent in art. 9, § 29. The language focuses on one act of state decision making: the decision of the state to mandate an activity. In this case, the state chose to make the former option of local districts to provide a school lunch program into a mandate that, by coincidence, took effect only thirty-eight days before the election at which the people adopted the Headlee Amendment. The state could have, and still can, return to the local districts the option to participate. Second, once the people adopted Headlee, the state lost direct control over the amount of all Headlee-required aid to local units of government. The state lost its freedom to reduce aid below the base-year proportion. This was the clear intent of art. 9, §§ 29 and 30. Section 29 requires that the state maintain its proportionate financing for the necessary costs of a state-mandated activity. If these criteria are met, it does not matter that a portion of the base-year aid was designed to maximize the benefits of a local districts' voluntary choice to receive federal aid. The state match payment was part of the state financed proportion of the necessary costs of the state-mandated lunch program in 1978-79. Defendants argue that the state match payment has made well in excess of $100,000,000 a year in federal funds available to local school districts without any increase in costs to the local districts. Defendants argue that treating the state's cost in obtaining this benefit turns art. 9, § 29 on its head and is irrational. We think that defendants are confusing the merits of the state match program with the requirements of art. 9, § 29. Nothing in the constitutional provision addresses the merits of the state-mandated programs. The amendment leaves to the state the ability to adopt or continue those state mandates that the state deems meritorious, on condition that the state bear the necessary costs of new programs and maintain its support of continuing programs.